It's a stunning fact that around 40% of our total fruit consumption in this country is home grown. No surprise, therefore, that fruit trees are very popular additions to any garden.
The main influence on the size a fruit tree, such as an Apple, will attain is the rootstock on which the variety has been grafted. This often confuses novice gardeners, but to keep it simple, there are just 5 types of rootstock for Apples:- vigorous (MM111), semi-dwarfing (MM106), dwarfing (M26), very dwarfing (M9), and extremely dwarfing (M27). For Pears, most are grafted on to Quince A (final height about 15ft) or C (smaller) rootstocks.
We stock Apple and Pear varieties that encompass all the rootstocks, and depending on the size of your garden plot, there will be a tree to suit you. We are only too happy to provide advice about which variety would be best for your situation.
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There are various ways Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries can be trained.
Free-standing bushes and standard trees, or where space is more limited prune and train as a 'cordon', 'espalier', or 'fan', against a fence or wall. These latter three shapes require pruning in summer, but can be spaced as close as 2'6" apart (for cordons).
In order to produce fruit, your Apple, or Pear tree may need a pollinating partner - that is a different variety which flowers at the same time of year. If your neighbours have compatible trees, then you will probably not need to plant other compatible varieties yourself.
There are some varieties of Apples and Pears (known as 'Triploid') that require two different, compatible pollination partners in order to set fruit.
Some Apples and Pears will set fruit without a mate, and most Plums, including the popular 'Victoria', and many Cherry varieties, are self-fertile and do not require a pollinating partner.