Fruit Trees – Something Different 

One of the things you can do with fruit trees like Apples, Pears, Plumbs and Peaches is grow them either out in the open with supports, in a sunny place, like the Pear trees in this picture. Alternatively you can grow them against a wall or fence. If you decide upon the fence or wall option, it should preferably be South Facing, to get the greatest amount of direct sunlight that you can.

These ‘Patio’ fruit trees have become available in recent years, and are great if you’re in a flat and have a balcony. but other ways of saving space with fruit trees have been around for years.

The extremely talented Head Gardeners whose domain was the ‘Walled Gardens’ of the large Country Houses are probably where this style of management was honed.

By growing trees in a flat plane like this, and by pruning back the current seasons growth in the Summer instead of in March, the fruiting spurs are encouraged all the way along the branches.

In July/August, any new vertical growths which exceed 15/20 cms are cut back to 3/5 buds from the base. The whole process requires less strength because the ‘wood’ is still soft

And as you can see from this picture, harvesting is quicker because in most cases there is no need for steps or ladders.

So if you fancy trying something different, why not give it a go ?