Sibley’s Patio Trees – A Range of Fruits for Small Gardens

It’s more than fifty years and over three million grafts since I first held a grafting knife in my hands and was captivated by clonal propagation techniques. I marvelled at how a plant with roots would accept what is no more than a small shoot cut from another tree and that in a very short space in time, that shoot would grow and flourish and bear fruits attached to its newly adopted parent. Continue reading

Pomona Fruits

Winter Pruning Fruit Trees

The only fruit trees that should be pruned in the winter months are apples, pears, quince and medlar. Stone fruits – plums, gages, damsons, cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines and sweet almonds – must never be pruned in the dormant season (October to March) to prevent possible ingress of diseases such as bacterial canker and silverleaf. Continue reading

Cordon fruit trees growing in pots

Potting Up & Re-potting Fruit Trees & Soft Fruits

It is quite possible to grow most fruit trees and soft fruit plants in containers; however to do this you do need to carefully prepare in the same way that you would prepare the open ground before planting out. Unfortunately many people acquire a tree or plant and then just shove it in a pot or container without any thought and that usually ends up with the poor thing hardly surviving or perhaps dying. Continue reading

A Vigoroot Planter will enable the roots to develop without spiralling

Growing Fruit on the Patio

Although many TV gardening programmes would have you think otherwise a very large percentage of the UK population have a very small garden or perhaps just a patio. This makes those owners of these small spaces wonder what they can grow. My advice is always that you can grow many plants nowadays in containers so why not have a go yourself if the majority of your garden is a patio? For many years shrubs, perennials and even small trees have been grown in containers but – despite a small following – it is only recently that there has been a trend towards growing fruit in containers. Continue reading

Pomona Fruits

The Benefits of Autumn Planting

Over the years there has been much discussion as to whether it is best to plant fruit trees in the autumn (late November/December) or spring. So much so in fact that the novice and often more experienced gardener becomes totally confused! I have always been an advocate of planting in the autumn and I preach this message wherever I go; most certainly I very rarely plant anything in my garden in the spring unless there are real extenuating circumstances. But why plant in the autumn when there is still so much to do in the garden? Continue reading

Pomona Fruits

Preparing for the New Fruit Season Ahead

Despite the wintry weather that we have been having recently we are not very far away from the early days of spring and therefore it won’t be long before many of our fruit trees start showing the first sign of life for the oncoming fruit growing season. To maximise our fortune with our fruit the important thing is to be ready for the season ahead as once our trees start moving it may be too late to help them to be at their very best. Continue reading

Young pear fruitlets infested with pear midge

Health & Hygiene in the Fruit Garden

To ensure success in the fruit garden hygiene is absolutely critical and it can really make the difference in helping to win the battle for achieving good crops. Good garden hygiene includes ensuring that fallen and decaying leaves and fallen or damaged fruit are removed, weeds are not allowed to grow and that broken and dead wood is removed from trees. Who knows what can be hiding under a pile of leaves and weeds or what fungus spores decaying leaves and damaged fruit are carrying? Continue reading

Pomona Fruits

Selecting & Preparing the Planting Site

In order to grow fruit well – and this applies to any other garden plants and trees – it is essential to carefully consider where you are going to plant your trees and plants and also undertake careful site preparation before planting. Indeed I believe this element is one of four major cornerstones which act as a foundation for either success or failure (the others being the careful selection of the varieties and kinds of fruit to grow, keeping the plants and trees healthy and an early identification of any pest or disease problems). Continue reading