The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Fruit => Topic started by: YorkshireLass on April 17, 2017, 07:19:48 pm
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From Suttons.
I may have indulged... :innocent:
http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Fruit/Fruit+Plant+Offers/list.htm#?psc=0_WebsiteHierarchySortOrder&pf0=1 (http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Fruit/Fruit+Plant+Offers/list.htm#?psc=0_WebsiteHierarchySortOrder&pf0=1)
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Thank you! 2 plums, a green gage, a medlar, and a quince.
Think that'll do for now
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Thank you for the alert.
Purchases have been made.
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Well spotted but I'll reserve final judgement on planting bare root this late after the event...
It so happens i bought an Avalon peach ast year and it does appear to be curl free while my other one is just doing it;s annual cutling despite sprays... so a second one ordered and the curl sufferer may well get scrapped.
Also ordered another almond. I was goign to give up on them since the three that I've tried have all died each time despite putting them in different parts of the 3 acre curtilage... but for a fiver worth another go
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Now to research how to cordon-train everything... :D
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It does seem a bit late in the year - especially given that its a within 28 day delivery ... so we might not be planting them until mid may.
Mind you at the price its worth a punt, even if only some of them survive
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Now to research how to cordon-train everything... :D
..easy enough though i went with espaliers. The only pics I have handy are a couple of years old and i;ve recently put better posts in and a neater tie-ing in. I have a new camera coming next week so time to update my albums.
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00268_zpsvhqafl5e.jpg)
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And 5 ordered , 2 apples, a pear, a peach and a mirrabelle... an extra 10% off at the checkout with code S16Garden makes it only 4.50 each...
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Missed it! I was filling up a shopping basket last night, and now they're unavailable :-[
Never mind! Next year!
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Some poor quality pics I just snapped with a phone of my espaliers.. the early pears flowering. They're about 5 yrs old now and the one apple I've shown has almost spread as far as I'll allow. It's about 7 feet between (aiming for 14 feet spread per tree)
Once they're all fully flowering and showing some leaf.. letalone later with fruit.. they look rather good.
Cordons , as you know, much the same process except closer together, angled and kept way more compact laterally. If tight for space then an easy way to get bags of variety.
I've got lots of space so have some 25 apples, 5 pears and 8 stone fruit along the fence as well as the original orchard and the ones !'ve scattered around (another 15 or so cherries/plums/pears)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00704_zpskoogebw6.jpg)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00705_zpsokj6cue6.jpg)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00706_zpsvdqy310m.jpg)
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Tesco selling all theirs off cheap as chips. My son bought me three apple trees for £5.68. Not true bare root - in little plastic bags that they couldn't water. But they're in pots with good compost now till they establish themselves then I'll plant out next autumn.
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Wow! Your trees all look incredible!
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Some poor quality pics I just snapped with a phone of my espaliers.. the early pears flowering. They're about 5 yrs old now and the one apple I've shown has almost spread as far as I'll allow. It's about 7 feet between (aiming for 14 feet spread per tree)
Once they're all fully flowering and showing some leaf.. letalone later with fruit.. they look rather good.
Cordons , as you know, much the same process except closer together, angled and kept way more compact laterally. If tight for space then an easy way to get bags of variety.
I've got lots of space so have some 25 apples, 5 pears and 8 stone fruit along the fence as well as the original orchard and the ones !'ve scattered around (another 15 or so cherries/plums/pears)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00704_zpskoogebw6.jpg)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00705_zpsokj6cue6.jpg)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t361/Peter_Knapp/CAM00706_zpsvdqy310m.jpg)
Gorgeous!
I should be able to squeeze in some cordons along my south-facing fence, though medlars don't like being trained apparently? So I have another spot for that.
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There is one medlar in the original orchard here but it has tiny fruit and isn't worth the bother. From the way it grows i'd reckon one could espalier or fan one but I doubt it'd cordon, Frankly don't think they're that nice to eat either (or mine isn't) and there's better fruit options if space is tight.
The reason I went with espaliers was that I'd grown a single one in the past (before buying this place) and it makes picking fruit, pruning and spraying easy. I did make a lot of mistakes with this set-up, though. Firstly I started with posts I cut from other trees around here and those started to rot after two years. Secondly the first lot of posts were put in with enough gap between them and the original fence for a walk-behind mower but not my ride-on. These new posts were moved a few inches out (it was tight to do) and life is way easier BUT in neither case did I space things out for strainer posts at the ends for wires which is why I have to use canes for the horizontals and they need more maintenance and replacing. Lastly one has to really keep on top of the tightness of tie-ins. I missed the time slot for checking last year and a couple of apple trees have canker where the ties cut in and may have to get swapped out. In a few years the laterals should be almost self-supporting.
Stone fruit is harder to espalier so they are fanned.. easy enough with plums and gages but the cherries aren't producing as many side shoots and look a bit sad which is why i stuck a lot more untrained ones around the place. Not that the birds leave me many. I've got 5 dwarf ones i was going to cage but that never happened either.
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3 trees arrived today, very dry, i would have expected them to at least have the bag round the roots tied at the neck. Dunked in a dustbin full of water. Going to email Sutton on whether to pot up and keep in a shady place or to plant out.
What do others think?
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Plant out in a well prepared hole and water in well, they'll soon establish. :thumbsup:
If they are destined for planting out anyway the only real benefit to having them in a pot in the interim is so they can be moved.
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Dry roots may have set them back. I'd photograph this and send a complaint to Suttons as tree roots shouldn't be allowed to dry out, even in Winter. If they don't thrive you can then perhaps ask for a refund. Dunk roots in water and leave for a few hours before planting put in the ground, with a stake or cane for support (depending on the size).
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Thanks, perhaps I should have taken the photo as soon as I saw them, but they were in water literally seconds within unwrapping, i was outside when delivered so opened them next to shed.
My thoughts on potting first was so they could go in a cool place so roots could get going before leaves started calling for moisture? And make sure they stayed damp until autumn, plant out then?
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Mine arrived yesterday, also dry. The medlar is in leaf!
Planning to train as fans or espaliers, that involves a brutal branch prune to get started, correct? In which case I don't need to worry about not having enough roots yet to support topgrowth?
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I wouldn't rush into pruning before they're established. Espaliers are a longer term venture anyway.
My trees are still in transit so i hate to thing what state they'll be in on arrival..bound to need penty of water and mulch and prayer.
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I emailed Suttons, they said they had been in cold storage and would be still dormant, i should soak overnight, plant out and water every other day, they would start leafing up in about 6 wks. Beneficial to add fish blood bone to planting hole.
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I finally got a reply to chasing up my non-delivered trees..apparently returned to suttons (dead) and refunded. No note left here re delivery and there's almost always at least one of us near the house.
A shame i fancied those at that price.
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They certainly looked dead, but i wonder who decided and sent them back? Mine have now started to leaf up, less than the 6 weeks, so i hope the roots can keep up. This heatwave may be bad news for them.
Had an email the quince is unavailable till autumn.
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They've got good deals on citrus plants - Don't know whether to risk it.
Anyone got them to grow and produce fruit in Central scotland - barring this week which is mediterranean just now :excited:
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Oooo tempting...
Mine are all starting to grow leaves ;D
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They've got good deals on citrus plants - Don't know whether to risk it.
Anyone got them to grow and produce fruit in Central scotland - barring this week which is mediterranean just now :excited:
No reason why not. Lemon best to start with since they happily flower with fruit on. Obviously need to keep them frost free (they can take a mild frost) but unhappiest when kept overheated/too dry atmosphere when indoors in winter-- a frost free greenhouse is better than really heating one. Biggest problem is when they end up in pots too heavy to move easily. I;ve had a problem with the lemon getting a fungus the last few winters..controlled with diy bordeaux but foolshly waited until it got it rather than preventative spraying (will this year) and lost the developing fruits. Currantly budded up to flower.... the scent is superb when they do. I was getting about 20 lemons a year.
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Mine arrived a couple of weeks ago - they had plastic bags and compost round the roots - I guess it varies with variety. The Braeburn and the Buerre Hardy pear are doing very well ... the Issac Newton has a few leaves coming whilst i'm not sure the mirrabelle will make it (the quince was out of stock and will be delivered in october)
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The little apple stub is covered in flower buds! I think I'll leave them for the bees but not let any fruit form.
Or, maybe let one form, for a taste test...
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Mine arrived a couple of weeks ago - they had plastic bags and compost round the roots - I guess it varies with variety. The Braeburn and the Buerre Hardy pear are doing very well ... the Issac Newton has a few leaves coming whilst i'm not sure the mirrabelle will make it (the quince was out of stock and will be delivered in october)
I got the pear and mirabelle as well, plastic bag round roots but no compost, dry as a bone. Now almost in full leaf.