I have two raised beds beside a sheltered south facing wall and I
intend to put a cherry tree in one and a morello cherry tree in the
other. Both will be on dwarfing stock and will grow to be 2ft wide and
8ft high. The beds are both about 80cm by 100cm and about 50cm deep.

Two questions:

I would prefer to plant the trees into the raised bed so about 40cm
above ground level. In this case I expect the roots will be above
ground level too at least to begin with. Will this be OK? The trees
will be bare rooted and I think maiden trees and not due to arrive
until winter.

I would like to plant annual herbs by the trees; probably dill and
basil. Would this cause any problems for the trees? Regular watering
is not a problem

Sally

"Sally Green" wrote in message
...
I have two raised beds beside a sheltered south facing wall and I
intend to put a cherry tree in one and a morello cherry tree in the
other. Both will be on dwarfing stock and will grow to be 2ft wide and
8ft high. The beds are both about 80cm by 100cm and about 50cm deep.

Two questions:

I would prefer to plant the trees into the raised bed so about 40cm
above ground level. In this case I expect the roots will be above
ground level too at least to begin with. Will this be OK? The trees
will be bare rooted and I think maiden trees and not due to arrive
until winter.

I would like to plant annual herbs by the trees; probably dill and
basil. Would this cause any problems for the trees? Regular watering
is not a problem

What rootstock will they be on, Gisela 5?
If so who has said they will be restricted to those measurements?
I ask as I'm going to but two cherry trees this winter and on Gisela 5 but
understood they might be restricted to about 8ft tall but eventually about
the same width.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

Sally Green wrote:
I have two raised beds beside a sheltered south facing wall and I
intend to put a cherry tree in one and a morello cherry tree in the
other. Both will be on dwarfing stock and will grow to be 2ft wide and
8ft high. The beds are both about 80cm by 100cm and about 50cm deep.

Two questions:

I would prefer to plant the trees into the raised bed so about 40cm
above ground level. In this case I expect the roots will be above
ground level too at least to begin with. Will this be OK? The trees
will be bare rooted and I think maiden trees and not due to arrive
until winter.

I would like to plant annual herbs by the trees; probably dill and
basil. Would this cause any problems for the trees? Regular watering
is not a problem

No problem for the trees, but the herbs don't like shade. They'll grow,
but to generate the essential oils, lots of sunlight is required.

--
Rusty

Thanks everyone for your feedback

The trees are supercolumns from

http://www.chrisbowers.co.uk/

I dont know what the rootstock is but a friend has these trees growing
in her garden. I expect that they need to be pruned to keep them to
the right shape but they do seem to do what they say on the tin

I dont think that the trees will shade the herbs but if they do and
the herbs fail then so be it. I am more concerned that the trees would
not do well with herbs around the base as I know that it is not
recommended to grow grass close to a young tree. I am not sure how
sharp the drainage will be in the bed as I am planning to put lots of
good compost into the bed to give the tree a good start, but again, I
would rather have conditions to suit the trees than to suit the herbs
because it is a baking hot spot in summer

I shall just go for it then ...

Sally

On 13/10/2010 04:51, Sally Green wrote:
Thanks everyone for your feedback

The trees are supercolumns from

http://www.chrisbowers.co.uk/

I dont know what the rootstock is but a friend has these trees growing
in her garden. I expect that they need to be pruned to keep them to
the right shape but they do seem to do what they say on the tin

I dont think that the trees will shade the herbs but if they do and
the herbs fail then so be it. I am more concerned that the trees would
not do well with herbs around the base as I know that it is not
recommended to grow grass close to a young tree. I am not sure how
sharp the drainage will be in the bed as I am planning to put lots of
good compost into the bed to give the tree a good start, but again, I
would rather have conditions to suit the trees than to suit the herbs
because it is a baking hot spot in summer

I shall just go for it then ...

Sally


If you wanted to grow something beneath the trees that would both cope
with the situation and be pretty in a different season, you could try
snowdrops, winter aconites, Anemone blanda, dwarf narcissi for the
spring and Cyclamen hederifolium for the autumn. For summer, you could
try Mecanopsis cambrica, which would be dainty but cheerful and cope
with the conditions. I have M. cambrica in my woodland garden.
I know these aren't edible plants, but they would still be a good use of
the ground.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:27:07 +0100, Spider wrote:

If you wanted to grow something beneath the trees that would both cope
with the situation and be pretty in a different season, you could try
snowdrops, winter aconites, Anemone blanda, dwarf narcissi for the
spring and Cyclamen hederifolium for the autumn. For summer, you could
try Mecanopsis cambrica, which would be dainty but cheerful and cope
with the conditions. I have M. cambrica in my woodland garden.
I know these aren't edible plants, but they would still be a good use of
the ground.

Hi Spider

Great minds think alike! There is an established pear tree in a third
bed which is more visible from the window and I am planning to plant
around that one with snowdrops, winter aconites, dwarf narcissi,
primrose and cyclamen hederifolia all of which I have been collecting
together from elsewhere in the garden. I will add anemone blanda and
particularly mecanopsis cambrica to the list as I have not decided
what to do there in summer.

Thankyou for the suggestions
Sally

Sally Green wrote:
On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:27:07 +0100, Spider wrote:

If you wanted to grow something beneath the trees that would both cope
with the situation and be pretty in a different season, you could try
snowdrops, winter aconites, Anemone blanda, dwarf narcissi for the
spring and Cyclamen hederifolium for the autumn. For summer, you could
try Mecanopsis cambrica, which would be dainty but cheerful and cope
with the conditions. I have M. cambrica in my woodland garden.
I know these aren't edible plants, but they would still be a good use of
the ground.

Hi Spider

Great minds think alike! There is an established pear tree in a third
bed which is more visible from the window and I am planning to plant
around that one with snowdrops, winter aconites, dwarf narcissi,
primrose and cyclamen hederifolia all of which I have been collecting
together from elsewhere in the garden. I will add anemone blanda and
particularly mecanopsis cambrica to the list as I have not decided
what to do there in summer.

Fritillaries might do quite well, and if you can keep it in check,
ramsons. (Allium ursinum - which my Concise British Flora misnames
'ransoms'.)

Just learnt that 'ramsons is a double plural - the correct plural being
'ramson' (or more likely, 'ramsen' - Ed) - the singular being 'ram'.
(Chambers)

--
Rusty