Knowledge Base

The key characteristic to be aware of when choosing apples for cooking is the level of acidity. The main organic acid found in apples is called malic acid, and the amount of malic acid in an apple has … read more

What is an espalier?An espalier is a form of trained fruit tree, pruned to grow flat against a fence, wall or trellis. Traditionally it has a main central stem, and then horizontal branches which are … read more

Knowing exactly when to pick your fruit isn’t as straightforward as it may appear. Even the professionals get it wrong. I know in these turbulent times this will certainly class as a first world pr … read more

For the ornamental gardener, there was a time you could put away the mower in October and, save for maybe raking up the last of the fallen leaves, be safe in the knowledge that the garden was put t … read more

How to summer prune apple and pear trees.Gardening is full of sayings about what to do and at what time of year – start box hedge clipping on Derby Day, the Chelsea chop for herbaceous plants and sh … read more

In Part One of our guide, we looked at some of the general considerations of choosing apple varieties, along with a few favourite eaters. Time to widen the net and offer up some more suggestions … read more

Choosing a new apple tree can be a daunting experience. There are just so many to choose from! There are over 2000 varieties in the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale in Kent, and whilst many of … read more

Without doubt, pruning fruit trees is the most common area people struggle with when growing fruit trees. Pollination, however, comes a very close second. I think it is because there is a little sci … read more

Maiden:A one year old tree - normally a straight stick approx. 90-100cm tall. This is the basic building block, suitable for growing on into a wide range of shapes and sizes (depending on the rootstoc … read more

Browse through our website and there is a bewildering choice on offer. There are over 5,000 named varieties of apple recorded in the UK, and although the vast majority are not available commercially … read more

If you were asked to name 5 varieties of cooking apple, the chances are that you would come up with ‘Bramley’ straight away... and then possibly struggle. However if you asked the same question a hu … read more

For many of us who strive to ‘grow our own’, the beauty of a plant often takes a back seat to usefulness. We care less about what a tree looks like, instead obsessing over flavour, cooking qualities … read more

You probably envisage a bucolic scene of rolling pasture, with rows of huge Bramley apple trees dripping with fruit. Or perhaps part of a country estate, ancient trees pruned by generations of Head … 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