Cordon (Columnar) Fruit Trees

The modern way to grow fruit trees is to train them as vertical cordons. These space-saving columnar trees are attractive as well as fruitful and are perfect for smaller gardens. They can be spaced as close as 60-90cm (2-3ft) apart and are also ideal planted in containers on a sunny patio or balcony. Cordons should have their ultimate height restricted to 1.8-2.4m (6-8ft) and their fruiting laterals pruned during the summer months in order to retain their compact columnar shape. To ensure rapid establishment, cordon fruit trees are supplied bare-rooted and are approximately 1-1.2m (3-4ft) tall on despatch (including the roots).

Pollination

Many of our fruit trees are self-fertile and will pollinate themselves satisfactorily. However, some varieties of apple, pear, plum and cherry are not self-fertile and will require a pollinator from the same species. To ensure adequate pollination choose two varieties from the same species that are in the same flowering group or one group apart.

Don't forget to include tree stakes and ties on your order.  All young fruit trees require staking and for better establishment we strongly advise using Rootgrow when planting (as recommended in RHS planting guidelines).