Fruit trees for shallow soil

Leif

I've decided to plant some trees at the bottom of the garden, near a 2m fence. They will get semi-shade till they are mature. The problem is that in one area there are two large concrete cubes 6 foot wide, 1 foot below the soil surface, the remains of a septic tank. I removed the cast iron covers and filled them with flints for safety. Over one cube I compressed the soil and seeded with grass. The other has loose soil, which was going to be for veg.

Anyway, would fruit trees be able to cope with shallow soil? I was hoping for a dwarfing medlar or apple i.e. 2.5 - 3m tall, or even a plum, or Morello cherry.

TonyMMM

Could try a Fig - they fruit best with restricted roots.

May depend on how shady your "semi-shade" is though.

Mollymoonlight

I believe all prunus have naturally shallow root systems, so you should be fine with cherry or plum. I would just make sure you keep the height in check so that you don't end up with something that could do damage if it topples because of the shallow roots. Good luck!

Leif

Thanks, I toyed with the idea of a fig, but it might not be sunny enough, sadly. The cherry appeals for the shallow part, and perhaps it will wrap around the tank, and even into the tank. I forgot they have nice blossom. It is a shame that fruit trees are deciduous, meaning they do not provide as good privacy as evergreens.

mansars

Hi Leif,

Would it be worth growing the trees as Cordons/Espalier against the fence?

This would reduce then strain on the roots, decrease the chance of toppling.

This is what I have done...mainly for space saving and privacy reasons.

hth

Blackjack_Davy

You shouldn't have too many problems so long as they don't get too tall and risk getting blown over, they may also need irrigation during the summer months as there isn't much of a reservoir of moisture below for them to tap into.

Leif

Good point about the summer watering.

sobie

Mollymoonlight wrote: »

I believe all prunus have naturally shallow root systems, so you should be fine with cherry or plum. I would just make sure you keep the height in check so that you don't end up with something that could do damage if it topples because of the shallow roots. Good luck!

Yes the roots are shallow but they also spread a long way The roots will spread at least double the tree canopy. Cherrys are notorious for causing damage to underground pipes and they'll lift patio slabs & pathways.

sobie

You wont get any fruit from a tree grown in shade.

You would be better going for soft fruit that love part shady conditions (at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day) such as Raspberrys, strawberries (some varieties such as alpine strawberries), gooseberries and blackberries/ currants.

Leif

sobie wrote: »

You wont get any fruit from a tree grown in shade.

You would be better going for soft fruit that love part shady conditions (at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day) such as Raspberrys, strawberries (some varieties such as alpine strawberries), gooseberries and blackberries/ currants.

The young tree at the end of the garden will get full sun till ~2pm, longer in high summer, and as it grows, it will get more sun, and sun all day for the higher branches. The reason for the that one is privacy, and I've ordered a Medlar on Quince C rootstock, it should do the job. A quince on quince C rootstock is higher up the garden, away from the septic tank, with more direct sun.

It is a strange soil. I planted the quince yesterday. There is 1 foot of clay rich soil, with large flints, then a drier, hard soil full of flints, very hard to dig. In other places it is clay rich for 1 foot, then a sandy clay going down a meter or more. I'm told the soil goes down 20 feet.