Knowledge Base

History of trained fruit trees.Trained fruit trees can be the highlight of any garden – they are a superb example of form, function and beauty. From the elegant bare branches covered with frost in t … 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

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

Visit our Plant Centre here in Pickering on any day of the year and hopefully you will find a fruit section with an array of plants for sale. The selection may change slightly from season to season, … 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

“Well-drained but moisture retentive soil, sheltered position in full sun”. The Shangri-La of gardening. A mythical utopia where any plant will flourish. How many times have we read about a fruit t … 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

In the first part – Beginner's Guide - Part 1 - we looked at how or choose the right fruit for you, and also had a look at pollination groups. Now we delve a little deeper into the knowledge yo … read more

For many people, their working life has been substantially altered in the past few years and the large increase in people working from home has led to many reconnecting with their gardens and outsi … 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

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

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

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