Back in January, we took delivery of our new season’s bare root fruit trees. We sourced them from a British grower. They were immediately potted and we are extremely pleased with how they are progressing.
They produced some stunning blossom in the spring, and this is now beginning to form into fruits. We shall be hoping for another bumper crop of fruits in the autumn!
Fruit trees are an excellent addition to a garden, especially if space is limited. They can be ideal to grow in pots. Every other year, it is advisable to remove them from their pot, trim off 10% of the root system and re-pot them in the same container, refreshing some of the compost. This keeps the tree and roots fresh.
Our fruit trees have given great success with our nesting birds again this year and they have certainly taken advantage of the insects around the nursery by feeding them to their young. We inform and suggest to our customers about putting up bird boxes that will encourage wildlife into their garden to keep the insects at bay naturally – what’s great is that fruit trees certainly help in this respect.
We have a good selection of fruit trees in stock now. Here are some you could consider:-
Cherry ‘Morello’ is a traditional English cherry, primarily used for making jams, preserves and pies. ‘Morello’ is a large black fruit with a dark red flesh. When it is cooked, it has a rich, strong cherry flavour. ‘Morello’ can be eaten fresh, but they need to be very ripe, otherwise their taste will be very acidic and bitter. ‘Morello’ has a compact, spreading growth habit and is self-fertile. They have a good resistance to disease and their picking time is July\August.
Prunus dulcis is a small deciduous tree, which has the added feature of producing almond nuts in the autumn. In spring, Prunus dulcis produces beautiful single and double pink flowers, that are followed by bright green leaves. These are slightly serrated around their edges. The leaves turn yellow and orange in the autumn. Prunus dulcis prefers a well-drained, reasonably fertile soil. With an eventual height of up to 7m, it is a perfect choice for a small garden.
Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’ is a large, deciduous shrub. It has deeply lobed leaves and produces small flowers, which are followed by medium-large fruits with a brownish-red skin. The red flesh of Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’ is rich and juicy. It is suitable for growing outdoors or under glass. In a hot environment it is possible to get a second crop of fruit. It is a reliable and heavy cropper. It can be grown in full sun in a sheltered position. The fruits are ready between August-September.
The pollination of the fig fruit is a fascinating story (but not great if you are a vegetarian!). The fig fruit is actually a cluster of many flowers and seeds, which are inside a bulbous stem. The seeds (which are technically the ovaries of the fig) need a specialist pollinator and this is where the fig wasp comes in.
The queen of the fig wasp is perfect for the job and she enters the fruit through a tight opening in the fig. Once she is inside the queen will travel within the chamber and lay her eggs, depositing any pollen she has collected from other fig plants at the same time. Once she has laid her eggs she dies. When her eggs hatch, male and female wasps appear and take on their very different roles. They mate with each other and then the females collect pollen whilst the wingless males begin to make a path to the fig’s exterior. This action is to create an opening for the females to leave. The females will then pollinate other fig plants as queens. The males spend their life cycle within a single fruit.
So, if you are a vegetarian (or not for that matter!) you probably won’t want to eat figs again as you have probably eaten a wasp in a fig! However, common figs have all female flowers that do not require pollination for fruiting and luckily, ‘Brown Turkey’ being one of these!
Morus alba ‘Pendula’ is the weeping mulberry. It is deciduous, with shiny green leaves. Morus alba ‘Pendula’ is ideal for small gardens and requires little maintenance. Its weeping habit growth will reach the ground. The tree produces green flowers in the summer, which are followed by berries in the autumn. These emerge white, gradually turning dark pink\red or black.
We have an extensive range of fruit trees in stock and our website is designed to give an indication of what we currently have.
Our knowledgeable staff will be very happy to assist you in the purchase of a fruit tree for your garden.
