Im moving to a new house in a village with a smallish garden.

I want to grow fruit as I like trees and it sounds rewarding etc

I figure on apple but which is gowing to be the easiest etc for a newbie. Obviously oranges may not be realistic

"gasdoctor" wrote in message
...

Im moving to a new house in a village with a smallish garden.

I want to grow fruit as I like trees and it sounds rewarding etc

I figure on apple but which is gowing to be the easiest etc for a
newbie. Obviously oranges may not be realistic


I was amazed when I moved here to a house which had some established plum
trees, how good the plums tasted when they were allowed to ripen on the
tree. I'd never liked plums before- supermarkets & greengrocers have to
have them picked when hard & the plums never ripne properly. (You can also
get the sweet Santa Rosa type plums on supermarkets these days, but compared
ot proper plum, they're just bags of sweet juice.)

For a fruit experience you can't get at the shops, pick a plum.

Don't choose Victoria; don't prune in winter.

--
Anton
www.btinternet.com/~treesandfruit/

The message
from gasdoctor contains these
words:

Im moving to a new house in a village with a smallish garden.

I want to grow fruit as I like trees and it sounds rewarding etc

I figure on apple but which is gowing to be the easiest etc for a
newbie. Obviously oranges may not be realistic

Oranges are not realistic. Not in this country, anyway, unless you have
an orangery or a good big conservatory.

Think about a 'family tree' - you can either buy as is, or choose a
variety you want, say, Bramley, then graft or bud other varieties on to
it.

Then you can grow it as a free-standing tree or on cordons, as the whim
(or circumstances) take you.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , gasdoctor
writes

Im moving to a new house in a village with a smallish garden.

I want to grow fruit as I like trees and it sounds rewarding etc

I figure on apple but which is gowing to be the easiest etc for a
newbie. Obviously oranges may not be realistic

Apples don't pollinate themselves - you need two varieties which flower
at the same time. Or a 'family tree' which has two varieties grafted on
to the same rootstock, but you won't get such a choice.

Same applies to pears.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Kay wrote:
In article , gasdoctor
writes

Im moving to a new house in a village with a smallish garden.

I want to grow fruit as I like trees and it sounds rewarding etc

I figure on apple but which is gowing to be the easiest etc for a
newbie. Obviously oranges may not be realistic

Apples don't pollinate themselves - you need two varieties which
flower at the same time. Or a 'family tree' which has two varieties
grafted on to the same rootstock, but you won't get such a choice.

Same applies to pears.

I'm in the plum camp: sometimes you can get a decent apple in the
shops, but I don't think I've ever bought a good plum. Not only not
Victoria (though years ago I had an excellent one in Reading, and one
in West Wales didn't perform too badly) but also beware greengages:
they need the best condtions, too.

But on family trees. Can we have a little discussion, please? I've
always fought shy of the idea, as it seems to me you'll never get
three varieties whose vigour matches precisely, so you may end up
with a rather lop-sided tree on which one variety dominates. Is this
wrong?

Mike.

In article ,
anton wrote:

"gasdoctor" wrote in message
.. .

Im moving to a new house in a village with a smallish garden.

I want to grow fruit as I like trees and it sounds rewarding etc

I figure on apple but which is gowing to be the easiest etc for a
newbie. Obviously oranges may not be realistic

I was amazed when I moved here to a house which had some established plum
trees, how good the plums tasted when they were allowed to ripen on the
tree. I'd never liked plums before- supermarkets & greengrocers have to
have them picked when hard & the plums never ripne properly. (You can also
get the sweet Santa Rosa type plums on supermarkets these days, but compared
ot proper plum, they're just bags of sweet juice.)

For a fruit experience you can't get at the shops, pick a plum.

Don't choose Victoria; don't prune in winter.

If you have the space, go for a greengage and a damson (both traditional
varieties). If not, choose one :-)

The older, small varieties are likely to need less coddling, and have
a better flavour. Farleigh Prune is a damson with enough sloe flavour
to make dishes that really taste of something.

And plums typically have white flowers in spring where apples have pink.
Both are very decorative.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Had a look around my local garden centre, good place but a little thin on the ground stock wise. Any suggestions on where to get a plum tree (or an apple)?

Cheers

Also, is plum harder to grow than apple, Im very new to this.

Ive also heard that plums take about 5 years to fruit re apples 3?

Cheers again

In article ,
gasdoctor wrote:

Had a look around my local garden centre, good place but a little thin
on the ground stock wise. Any suggestions on where to get a plum tree
(or an apple)?

NOT from a garden centre. Go to a specialist. Reads are good.
www.readsnursery.co.uk.

My damsons fruited within a couple of years of planting.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"gasdoctor" wrote in message
...

Also, is plum harder to grow than apple, Im very new to this.

No- they're both easy.

Here's one mail order supplier:
http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.u..._Trees_22.html


Ive also heard that plums take about 5 years to fruit re apples 3?


Plums should be about 3. (Mine take ~4, as I train them to be standards i.e
with no low branches, which delays things by about a year, I think)

--
Anton

Cheers,

Some of the varities are said to be self fertile, in particular plums. I was wondering if its possible/ok to grow just the one tree. Is this self fertility reliable enough to produce a crop. Cross polination is prefarble for genetic reasons but i dont intend to "breed" trees

For example could i succesfully grow an apple and a plum (family trees are hard to come by especially plum).

Thoughts please,

thanks

Ed

gasdoctor wrote:


Cheers,

Some of the varities are said to be self fertile, in particular plums.
I was wondering if its possible/ok to grow just the one tree. Is this
self fertility reliable enough to produce a crop. Cross polination is
prefarble for genetic reasons but i dont intend to "breed" trees

For example could i succesfully grow an apple and a plum (family trees
are hard to come by especially plum).

Thoughts please,

thanks

Ed


You will get a crop from a single, self-fertile tree. It is said, although I
don't speak from personal experience, that you'll get a heavier crop from a
self-fertile tree if it is pollinated by pollen from a different individual
tree.

--
Excellent day for putting Slinkies on an escalator.

In article , bigboard
writes
gasdoctor wrote:


Cheers,

Some of the varities are said to be self fertile, in particular plums.
I was wondering if its possible/ok to grow just the one tree. Is this
self fertility reliable enough to produce a crop. Cross polination is
prefarble for genetic reasons but i dont intend to "breed" trees

For example could i succesfully grow an apple and a plum (family trees
are hard to come by especially plum).



You will get a crop from a single, self-fertile tree. It is said, although I
don't speak from personal experience, that you'll get a heavier crop from a
self-fertile tree if it is pollinated by pollen from a different individual
tree.

Which apples are self fertile?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

My garden is south facing, so should get plenty of sun shine

The trees will have to be free standing (not against a wall)

I want them to to have an ornamental element to them as well as producing a crop. I love trees. (not in a tree hugging sense though)

The garden is ~50' by ~70' (i think)

Im only interested in desert types.

Thoughts:

- grow two apple trees (?most reliable and foolproof)

- grow two plums (?high risk of total failure)

-grow a self fertile plum and apple (one might work), adding in an apple in a pot if pollination problems or ?artificial pollination.

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , bigboard
writes
gasdoctor wrote:

You will get a crop from a single, self-fertile tree. It is said,
although I
don't speak from personal experience, that you'll get a heavier crop from
a
self-fertile tree if it is pollinated by pollen from a different
individual
tree.

Which apples are self fertile?


Crab apples !

;-)


--
Anton