"Fruit Trees"
- the rules and regs!

Eating fruit from your own garden fruit trees must be one of the most pleasurable experiences you can have.

However, whether you're planning a small orchard or one simple tree in the back yard, there are a number of rules and regs before you start!

Choosing your plants

Find out what grows in your region. It's doubtful you'll be able to grow mangoes in Scotland, or paw-paws in Novia Scotia. Unless you can afford to construct a tropical greenhouse of course, then by all means, go for it!

Also, make sure whoever will be eating your crop actually likes it. No point in a huge apple harvest if everyone in the family hates apples.

Check if your tree is self-pollinating. Some trees need another one close by to complete its pollination process.

For ideas on availability, try Nature Hills ( For U.S. deliveries )- they have an extensive supply of all nursery plants and these mouth watering pictures are irresistable....



Order Fruit Trees. Apple, Cherry, and more!

For UK deliveries browse Crocus UK They have a wide range of fruit trees, including kiwis and olives - for a more mediterranean style garden perhaps, but these trees can grow very well in northern climates with a little care and attention :-)




Positioning:

Check on planting instructions for all the fruit trees you purchase. In general, full sun and minimum cold air currents will work well with most trees. Many fruit trees produce blossom in late spring, and a cold spell will kill all the young fruits. Try to make sure they are not positioned in a frost pocket or wind tunnel

Also, fruit trees, like most plants, don't like wet feet, so the ground needs to be fairly well-drained.

Planting

Again you should double check the instructions when you buy your fruit trees. But be prepared to dig a big hole! Use a sharp edged spade and dig around a 2 foot or half metre square, about 3 feet deep. Throw in any well rotted manure or compost. Fresh manure can be too strong for young plants and shouldn't be used.

Make sure the root ball is damp and tease the roots out with your hands. Place in hole and fill with topsoil and compost. Pour in lots of water, add more soil and compost and tread round the tree with your heel to make it firm.

Place a stake in the ground if the tree will need support.

Pour plenty of water over the area until the soil stops absorbing it.

Caring for your fruit trees

Grow wild flowers and herbs around your trees to deter pests. Try and buy certified 'virus-free' plants but if your trees do get a virus or disease, treat it straight away.

When your fruit starts to fall, pick up all the windfalls and either eat or compost. Leaving them lying around will encourage bugs back into the ground and could cause a problem next season.

Prune your trees back after fruiting has finished. Pruning is considered to be a specialist job but you can learn how to do it.. Find a book in the library and study how to prune your particular variety of tree. General pruning won't do the trick. Each species has its own likes and dislikes.

Some trees and shrubs produce fruit on second year growth, others on the new growth - so you really need to know before you start cutting.

Netting

Netting fruit trees is probably one of the more contraversial issues of gardening. The problem is; The birds eat your fruit if you don't net the tree. The birds also don't know that you've netted and will invariably fly straight into the netting and either die or, if you manage to rescue them, will suffer wing damage.
Gardens Alive in the US have a non-collapsible netting to prevent birds getting tangled. Gardens Alive (takes you to homepage - type in 'netting' in search box.)
And in the UK, I came to a full stop. We seem to have bird scarers and all sorts of 'pea and bean' netting, but I couldn't find the same type of bird friendly netting as at Gardens Alive. Any UK gardeners out there who know of an online source?

Another way round this is to build a light wooden frame big enough to sit over your tree, and stretch VERY FINE netting all around ( and over the top!)

This will discourage the birds and hopefully will not cause them any damage.

Oh, AND you may just get to eat the fruit yourself! This method of netting also saves the damage done by tangled netting in new branches.

If denying the wild birds your fruit makes you feel guilty, plant a few wild cherry fruit trees and let the birds feast on them.
Don't let the do's and don'ts put you off..... for the little effort in the beginning, you will have many years of healthy fresh fruit in your garden. Take another look at the piccys above to refresh your tastebuds!

Happy Gardening!

More "Fruit Trees" Reading

www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/fruittrees.html