Dwayne & Angela wrote:

"Rupert" wrote in message
...

"Dwayne & Angela" wrote in message
...

anyone know of a place either in the midlands or mail order where I can
get a apple and plum or pear and plum? I seem to remember reading about
them but cant find them have tried googling but no joy. or maybe I was
dreaming???

You can buy what are commonly called "Fruit Cocktail " trees which contain
as many different fruits as a green grocer.

knew I had seen them somewhere although I doubt if some of those fruits
would fruit properly here, but I am new to all this stuff and am willing to
listen to any advice either way.

I can't see plum or any other stone fruit working well on an apple or
pear root stock. But you can get family trees which combine two or three
compatible and cross pollenating cultivars of apple (or pear) on a
single root stock. I have one Egremont Russet & Sunset that works well
though you have to prune more carefully to keep them in balance.

e.g..
http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?pid=5556
Not certain that they perform particularly well.
Somewhere it is suggested that if you are limited for space planting
different varieties in the same hole may be a solution.

US advertising standards need to be considered carefully.

This however sounds promising would they stunt each others growth though? if
this is possible what about apple, pear and plum in the same hole? I think
it would be pretty cool if they twined around each other.

I expect they will fight pretty badly. Plums really detest being pruned
and apples/pears require some pruning to perform well.

Nectarines and peaches are pretty well impossible to grow in the north
of England (and fairly easy in Belgium). I know I have tried.

In the UK nectarines & peaches are martyrs to fungal attack by peach
leaf curl after our damp cold dank winters. Surprisingly the extra
warmth of a few degrees further south makes all the difference.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Martin,
I wouldn't go as far as to say impossible, for I have seen several good
examples of peaches grow in the North.
Last September I saw members of the Northern Fruit Group exhibiting
peaches at their show at Harlow Carr.
The variety -- Perergrine, a white fleshed peach which in the groups
experience is reliable against a warm wall.
In the Northern Fruit Group's leaflet "Suggested Fruit Cultivars for
the North" the variety Rochester is also recommended, with members
suggesting that it is a reliable cropper.
There are varieties of peaches refered to as Patio, which are grafted
on to a special dwarfing rootstock that will remain in a pot. The
rootstock is much more knarled than St. Juliean or Pixy.
Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire