Cheery tree

londonTiger

We've had plum and apple trees, and even an orange tree that has amazingly smelling leaves but sadly never fruits or flowers in UK climate.

My brother bought it decades ago, it had one orange when brought - thought it might keep on fruiting but I guess it was important from spain or somewhere.

Anyway. I'm done with plums and apples that nobody ever eats. They're too sharp.

One of my neighbours has a cherry tree. It's about 3 floors high and is HUGE. Which is making me reluctant to plan one myself.

It is a building regulation hazard - if it keeps gowing it's roots may well seep into other peoples buildings and lead to costly bills. In addition to that getting all the fruit off can be tricky. I'm not sure how the neighbours get the fruit off - perhaps just pluck them from lower branches and then collect whatever falls off.

I have come across so called dwarf cherry trees. No idea what they are - I took it that thgey're just normal cherry trees that are in pots so their root system is limited so they will not grow too big.

Is it possible to get a cherry tree that fruits and is 4-6 meters max height and can be planted in open soil?

I'm not so keen on the idea of potted plants because they're higher maintenance because you need to closely monitor it's soil nutrition and make sure you add a precise fertilizer for the plant every year.

Thanks.

Leif

Wild Prunus avium are giants. But most fruit trees are grafted onto root stocks, for various reasons, one of which can be to control growth. You can now get cherry trees grafted onto dwarf root stock such as Gisela 5, which will produce a mature height of roughly 2.5-3m. These can be planted in the ground, without fear that they will become giants. I think there are some even smaller cherry trees available. You still have to be careful not to plant next to buried pipes, but I think ~3 metres separation is enough. You can also get cherry trees that grow taller, but not so tall as wild ones. Check out online nurseries such as Keepers and Blackmoor.

I am told that you will have to net the trees if you want to eat the fruit. Blackbirds are devils with strawberries, and I am sure they are as bad with cherries.

londonTiger

thanks i googled gisela 5, great bit of info. I am seriously considering getting it.

But in order to make space I want to cut down the orange, plum and apple trees.

I hate the plum and apple trees, they look ugly and produce no real edible fruit. The orange tree is nice to look at, and I guess the leaves could be used to produce orange essential oils or something - but does not fruit so no use.

The only problem is that theyve been growing for 10+ years and so people have some sentimental value to them.

Money_maker

I would reconsider the cherry tree. Like Leif says, you have to protect the fruits from the birds. They start pulling them off the tree when they are still green. It's just not worth it. Only way I can get fruit is by stapling fleece around the young fruits. It looks horrible, takes time and gives a very small harvest.

I would consider another variety of apple and plum tree. Both should produce fruit easily. Crab apple is nice too.

Farway

Money_maker wrote: »

I would reconsider the cherry tree. Like Leif says, you have to protect the fruits from the birds. They start pulling them off the tree when they are still green. It's just not worth it. Only way I can get fruit is by stapling fleece around the young fruits. It looks horrible, takes time and gives a very small harvest.

I would consider another variety of apple and plum tree. Both should produce fruit easily. Crab apple is nice too.

I have dwarf cherry tree, [Sunburst] on dwarf stock, in open ground, I got mine from Blackmoor nursery, about 3 years ago, and this year is looking like a good crop, weather was awful last two years

But as pointed out you will have to fleece over the crop or you never eat a cherry

You could try apricots on dwarf stock, not as prone to peach leaf curl, lovely early blossom

Whatever you choose it will be a few years before you get worthwhile fruit

Because mine is dwarfing I can just drape fleece over [I use clothes pegs to secure it], same with currants of course

PS, given you user name, why not pop down to RHS Wisley, on A3 just off M25, they have tons of fruit trees grown in all manner of ways, and it is great day out

londonTiger

Do you have to actually put a fleece over the fruits? or can you not just put a net with 1inch squares all over the tree and wrap around the trunk so it stops the birds from getting in?

tootallulah

I second the apricot tree idea. Mine give pounds of fruit reliably, isn't too large and there is something genuinely magical about picking apricots and eating them straight from the tree.

Leif

tootallulah wrote: »

I second the apricot tree idea. Mine give pounds of fruit reliably, isn't too large and there is something genuinely magical about picking apricots and eating them straight from the tree.

Whereabouts in the UK are you?

londonTiger

I'm considering an apricot tree now, given that my neighbour has a giant cherry tree it's probably best not to plant our own because we can just trade fruits.

There are always dozens of different strains of plant. I was hoping for some guidance on the best one to plant in our garden. Garden is southfacing and has lots of space east and west so gets sunshine all day.

So not sure which one to pick: http://www.readsnursery.co.uk/categories/Apricot-Trees/

Also, here's a pic of the tree that I'm removing. We had 3 trees at close proximity to each other. One removed already.

One has been debranched and is just a post right now. I'm excavating around it's roots to get the roots off. Was wonder how far should I dig out in order to prepare the area for a new tree?

Apple tree at bottom left will be removed end of season because the fruit is not edible.

Waterlily24

We've got two cherry trees that are probably about 12 - 15 ft high but I've got no idea what variety they are. They are old and were here when we moved in. The trees are usually covered in cherries but we only get a few to eat because the birds take them virtually overnight.

londonTiger

Hi I planted my apricot tree last November (planting was recommended for either March or November for some reason). Neighbours thought I was crazy doing gardening in November.

The apricot tree is flowering now.. Is this normal?

I decided to dig about 2ft deep to remove all the old roots. It was hard work and a really messy process but all worth it in the end because I managed to fill about 150L of compost 2 ft deep for the new tree to flourish. The old tree may have taken the nutrients out of the soil so it was worth it I think