Knowledge Base

‘Replant disease’ refers to the problem of re-establishing plants in soil where the same species has previously grown. Roses are perhaps the most commonly known example, but there are many species … read more

Background: Our summer crop of potted roses has been grown by us for the past 2 years by our skilled nurserymen here in Pickering. The roses have then been lifted from our fields during the winter a … read more

Let’s start with some background. Did you know that strawberries aren’t actually berries? From a strictly botanical point of view, they are actually classed as ‘aggregate accessory fruit’ – which do … read more

The first key point to remember – all stone fruit should be pruned during the summer. This is done to avoid serious diseases such as silver leaf and bacterial canker, which can prove fatal. Silver l … read more

Blueberries are part of a large genus called Vaccinium, which forms part of the heather family. They are found growing wild across much of North America, from Nova Scotia in Canada down to the south … read more

How to grow cordon fruit trees.What is a cordon?Cordons are a single main stem, with very short side branches which are pruned back hard to only 10cm or so from the main stem. Fruit appears on spurs … read more

How to grow Cobnuts and Filberts.Did you know…Filberts are named after the 7th Century French abbot St. Philibert of Jumieges. His feast day, 20th August is at the time filberts are starting to ripen. … read more

Annual pruning is one of the most important jobs for the home orchardist, and for several reasons: It helps form a sturdy tree. Formative pruning makes sure the tree is evenly balanced, with a stro … read more

The choice of rootstock is probably the most important decision you have to make when buying any top fruit tree - arguably even more important than the choice of variety! Get it wrong and you could … read more