i'm told a local store is selling, victoria plum trees, hardy pear trees
and beurre stella cherry trees. since our garden is so tiny, we only at
the moment really have room for two out of the three of these trees.

which two would you experts choose, from the point of view of getting most
fruit from them?

i'm a novice so its best to be the ones that are easily looked after. If
any could cope with being in a large flower pot then i could get more than
just the two, so which please would cope best with being in a pot. Many
thanks for advice.

On 20/10/08 14:44, in article , "john
d hamilton" wrote:

i'm told a local store is selling, victoria plum trees, hardy pear trees
and beurre stella cherry trees. since our garden is so tiny, we only at
the moment really have room for two out of the three of these trees.

which two would you experts choose, from the point of view of getting most
fruit from them?

i'm a novice so its best to be the ones that are easily looked after. If
any could cope with being in a large flower pot then i could get more than
just the two, so which please would cope best with being in a pot. Many
thanks for advice.


In my limited experience and my husband's far more extensive experience,
birds always get to the cherries the day you think "those will be ready to
pick tomorrow"! I don't think any of these would be happy in pots but I
don't know if the dwarf types might be.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

In my limited experience and my husband's far more extensive experience,
birds always get to the cherries the day you think "those will be ready to
pick tomorrow"! I don't think any of these would be happy in pots but I
don't know if the dwarf types might be.

Stella (dwarf) should be, and in any case, is very easy to net for the
first five or six years.

However, I'd have needed a cage to protect mine (in ye olden dayes down
on the smallholding) 'cos the goats escaped (as usual) and ate them.

Not the cherries - the trees.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

I would buy fruit trees from a specialist (mail order possible) rather than some from a local shop which just has one or two things which are probably not what you want. A large nursery will have popular things on several different root stocks, so you can get one with a root stock suitable for you, eg, there are dwarfing root stocks which may be suitable for a small spot or even pot cultivation in some cases. Fig and grapevines generally grow well in pots, but maybe you can grow many other things if you find the right plant. Also such nurseries they will have more interesting varieties, which may be much better than well-known ones. After all you can buy Victoria plums in the shop for not very much money; how much better to grow something that is not in the shops. It is also worth bearing in mind that many fruit trees require a cross-pollinator, including Victoria plum and most pears. Now maybe your neighbours gardens provide this, but maybe they don't, in which case you should be looking for self-fertile varieties, or kinds of fruit that don't need it.

One reliable nursery with a huge range of things and superb info on its website is keepers nursery (no financial interest).

On 20/10/08 21:08, in article
, "Rusty Hinge 2"
wrote:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

In my limited experience and my husband's far more extensive experience,
birds always get to the cherries the day you think "those will be ready to
pick tomorrow"! I don't think any of these would be happy in pots but I
don't know if the dwarf types might be.

Stella (dwarf) should be, and in any case, is very easy to net for the
first five or six years.

However, I'd have needed a cage to protect mine (in ye olden dayes down
on the smallholding) 'cos the goats escaped (as usual) and ate them.

Not the cherries - the trees.

Oh oneupmanship where art thou? ;-))

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

john d hamilton wrote:
i'm told a local store is selling, victoria plum trees, hardy pear trees
and beurre stella cherry trees. since our garden is so tiny, we only at
the moment really have room for two out of the three of these trees.

At this time of year I would be more inclined to buy bare rooted trees
on a good quality dwarfing stock to control the size. The ones in the
shops tend grow a bit on the big side. Plum doesn't like being pruned.

which two would you experts choose, from the point of view of getting most
fruit from them?

Where do you live? Williams pears are worth growing. Family apple
trees with two varieties on a single stock are worth considering in a
small garden though you do have to prune them to keep the vigorous one
from taking over.

i'm a novice so its best to be the ones that are easily looked after. If
any could cope with being in a large flower pot then i could get more than
just the two, so which please would cope best with being in a pot. Many
thanks for advice.

I'd suggest one of the specialist nurseries that do bare rooted trees
mailorder. They are almost certainly cheaper and in better condition
than the ones that have been dessicated in some high street store.

It is the right time to plant them now.

Regards,
Martin Brown

The message

from Martin Brown contains these words:

Where do you live? Williams pears are worth growing. Family apple
trees with two varieties on a single stock are worth considering in a
small garden though you do have to prune them to keep the vigorous one
from taking over.

Recently I've planted a family tree, with Charles Ross, James Grieve and
Discovery.

I don't mind if the Charles Ross takes over, as that was the variety I
was looking for, and it is predominant on the existing tree, and the
other two are failsafe pollinators.

James Grieve is a good apple, but I really don't mind if Discovery drops
off...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 21/10/08 17:55, in article
, "Rusty Hinge 2"
wrote:

The message

from Martin Brown contains these words:

Where do you live? Williams pears are worth growing. Family apple
trees with two varieties on a single stock are worth considering in a
small garden though you do have to prune them to keep the vigorous one
from taking over.

Recently I've planted a family tree, with Charles Ross, James Grieve and
Discovery.

I don't mind if the Charles Ross takes over, as that was the variety I
was looking for, and it is predominant on the existing tree, and the
other two are failsafe pollinators.

James Grieve is a good apple, but I really don't mind if Discovery drops
off...

There's no way I can think of putting this other than - Rusty, does James
Grieve have quite a prominent 'navel'? I ask because I had a very old tree
in a previous garden, probably 100 years old or more and never did identify
it for certain but was told it was 'probably' James Grieve.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

There's no way I can think of putting this other than - Rusty, does James
Grieve have quite a prominent 'navel'? I ask because I had a very old tree
in a previous garden, probably 100 years old or more and never did identify
it for certain but was told it was 'probably' James Grieve.

Hum - can't unforget.

IIRC it's a medium-sized green apple with a touch of blush, and - er -
apple-shaped. That is, not top-shaped like a codlin, not
tangerine-shaped like a (proper) Cox.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 21/10/08 22:05, in article
, "Rusty Hinge 2"
wrote:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

There's no way I can think of putting this other than - Rusty, does James
Grieve have quite a prominent 'navel'? I ask because I had a very old tree
in a previous garden, probably 100 years old or more and never did identify
it for certain but was told it was 'probably' James Grieve.

Hum - can't unforget.

IIRC it's a medium-sized green apple with a touch of blush, and - er -
apple-shaped. That is, not top-shaped like a codlin, not
tangerine-shaped like a (proper) Cox.

Well, that sounds about right insofar as it goes, apple-wise. ;-)

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)