Fruit trees at Lidl from 5 Feb for £3.99

Farway

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

Is this price right Faraway as my local Lidl is also offering these on Thursday but at £5.99 each. I'd hate to think Lidl had joined the "let's rip off Northern Ireland customers" brigade.

Just rechecked my flyer, 3.99 it is, seems they have joined the club

theGrinch

tired my locals in north london. no luck

Mozart321

Here, fruit trees are £3.99 and ornamental trees are £5.99, I believe. I just bough a Cherry Stella. Thanks OP.

MandM

We planted a Stella the year we got married. It was a brand new variety then. Great thing is that it is self-fertile, there need not be another tree nearby. We got a good crop in year 2. Beautiful blossom too.
The drawback is that the birds love 'em, and will get stuck in just before they are fully ripe.
If you plant more than 1 tree, plant them a hammocks width apart! It took our trees about 12 years to be strong enough to support a hammock.

Martin
P.S. The fruit is delicious!

katyk_2

I have bought a stella and a jonagold apple yesterday and am now at the 'gulp' stage whilst I wonder where to put them. Not too easy to say don't put them near the house - it ain't a big garden. had originally intended to buy dwarf trees which only go to about 6/7 feet high but these, according to the label, can reach over 12 feet! Had been being cash wary really - dwarf ones were from T&M and were about £18 each. Does anyone know if planting them in large containers would restrict the height any? Or could I do so by vigorous pruning each year? Presume they cannot live forever in pots, however big?

Have read the stella label and it says 'If you wish your tree to be a bush maiden, prune it back to 3ft. To make it a standard, cut it back to 4ft.
Next spring, prune all top shoots back to 9". In the following spring, cut its leading shoots back to 12". Prune any lateral shoots back to 6" '

That suggests I can keep it fairly small if I wish??

Have just realised that my jonagold is not self pollinating! Went and read it properly after reading all here! (Yes, I know I should have checked in the shop...) Can anyone advise how far away the other tree can be for them to pollinate? Would one in the back garden and in the front be too far? No way I will get 3 trees in my wee back garden! No neighbours close with fruit trees that I am aware of.

PS for anyone who is thinking about it the jonagold says it reaches 6-10 ft in height and needs red delicious, gala or fugi to pollinate

PPS Edited to add each is about 5" already when bought!

katyk_2

back again with other quick query if anyone able to help. Label reads 'Avoid planting in wet or frozen conditions. If the tree cannot be planted immediately, leave in it's plastic root bag, in a frost free place, until soil conditions are more favourable'

can anyone say how long it would last this way? I am in the NE of Scotland and all is under about 6-8" of snow with more en-route - could be a good while before I get the chance to put them anywhere!

Farway

As they are now dormant, keep them cool, in porch or unheated greenhouse maybe?

No idea how long they would last, but a guess would be a month if cold, my Lidl pear [just planted today, Hampshire], the root bag had moist soil in it, and as the trees are to basically in hibernation they do not require much in way of moisture, but keeping them cool is the trick here

MandM

I agree with Farway, keep them cool, but make certain the frost dosn't get to the roots. I would not prune it at all the first year you have it, but next year you will need to start cutting it back.(that gives you plenty of time to read up on pruning) Prune early Autumn, just before it would drop its leaves. It will make a big tree quickly if you don't prune it fairly brutally each year once it is established - I let one or two branches get quite big, then cut them off, as then I get nicely scented firewood. Cherry is a plesure for woodworking too if it ever really gets carried away!

katyk_2

aarghh!

Just went to my nearest Lidl this evening to buy second apple tree and they, and all other local, stores are out of the types of apples I need if my one is to be able to pollinate!

Am I safe to assume I could buy a gala, fuji or red delicious from anywhere and it would work with my one? Can't see me getting one for £4 though!

coolpran

i wanted to buy a conference pear tree, but its not available in the 3 stores i looked. the only ones they have are "doyenne du comice" and "buerre hardy" varieties.
i tried the first store on evening of the 5th feb, second on 7th feb and third one yesterday.
anyone knows what happens to the trees if they don't get sold? do they put them on sale online?
anyone got an extra conference pear tree they want to give away?