[YorkshireLass]

From Suttons.
I may have indulged... 


http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Fruit/Fruit+Plant+Offers/list.htm#?psc=0_WebsiteHierarchySortOrder&pf0=1

[farmershort]

Thank you! 2 plums, a green gage,  a medlar,  and a quince.

Think that'll do for now

[GribinIsaf]

Thank you for the alert.

Purchases have been made.

[pgkevet]

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

[YorkshireLass]

Now to research how to cordon-train everything...

[big soft moose]

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

[pgkevet]

Now to research how to cordon-train everything...

..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.

[big soft moose]

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...

[Steph Hen]

Missed it! I was filling up a shopping basket last night, and now they're unavailable 
Never mind! Next year!

[pgkevet]

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)

[doganjo]

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.

[Steph Hen]

Wow! Your trees all look incredible!

[YorkshireLass]

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)

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.

[pgkevet]

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.

[Penninehillbilly]

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?