Planting columnar fruit trees

NaughtiusMaximus

After removing a very dilapidated arbour we know have a roughly 6' x 2' patch of bare earth which we think would be just right for a pair of column type fruit trees (damson + one other, possibly cherry). When is the best time of the year to plant them, have we left it a little too late to do it this year?

rosy10

If you plan to plant bare root fruit trees then you are a little early, as they should be planted when dormant (Nov - Mar though dependant on actual weather conditions); if buying trees in container it won't matter really though avoid frozen ground. Any decent fruit tree nursery will give you advice on rootstock/variety/training etc.

Have fun choosing!

NaughtiusMaximus

Thanks, that gives us a couple of months to decide what types to go for

Waterlily24

If you do decide to get a cherry it would probably be best to cover with netting of some sort. We have two cherry trees in our garden that are usually covered in cherries but when they start to ripen the birds have them off overnight.

Davesnave

Considering the dead nature of this board in the cooler months, you could be forgiven for thinking nothing worth doing in the garden ever happens then.

In fact, it's only a couple of generations since the winter months were regarded as the time to get planting done; plants in plastic pots being unavailable and most supplied bare rooted or in sacking.

One can have the best of both worlds now, by buying on-line in the dormant season from specialist nurseries with a real world physical presence. Google Earth/Street View and observe - places like Gardening Express are much less impressive than their flashy web-sites!

A wide choice and keen prices are the main benefits. Have a look at Buckingham Nurseries' web site. They're not fruit specialists, but they've a reasonable selection and give a good indication of base line prices.

DaftyDuck

For fruit trees, my two favourite are https://www.blackmoor.co.uk/ and https://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk - sorry for clumsy links, on small screen.

However, if you have a local, physical nursery, I'd use that every time. They'll know your growing season, soil type, altitude, and have plants suited to you.

NaughtiusMaximus

Thanks for the comment, a few things to think about. I hadn't considered the problem of birds eating all the fruit.

Can anyone recommend a physical fruit nursery in the midlands? I don't mind a bit of drive but Kent or Hampshire might be pushing it. Somewhere in Shropshire, Worcestershire or Herefordshire would be ideal.

rosy10

Hello - if you are looking for columnar form trees then you may be limited on who stocks these however a lot of online nurseries do mail order.

A good fruit tree nursery in the areas you have mentioned is Frank P Matthews near Tenbury Wells (they are wholesale but also do sell to retail customers) - though again I don't know if they do columnar.

Good hunting!

Farway

I bought columnar ones from Ken Muir, it was a few years back and I've since removed them

They were good quality, but not cheap

https://www.kenmuir.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

And second for Blackmoor