Fruit Trees for Sheffield

[mecheng46 10]

I want to plant Fruit Trees in my back garden and I am not sure where to start from.

 

It will be much appreciated people who live in Sheffield and especially around S6 if they give me some information on what Fruit Trees are good Sheffield climate and especially the S6 area, when and where to buy them from considering that I don't drive.

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

Wilko had a fair few. Unless you want to travel for miles to a garden centre and pay a shed loads more for them I think they are a good option.

 

What do you want to grow? Apples are fine, Raspberries, Goosberries, red currants, they all do well.

 

Google planting though, don't just dig a little hole and chuck it in. You need to tease the roots out and give it some decent compost / water well etc. Internet is your friend.

[mecheng46 10]

I am thinking to plant apples (red delicious), plums, figs, pears, cherries etc.

 

I will have a look in Wilkos later today.

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

Really good trees are expensive so it depends on what you want to spend.

 

Figs need to be boxed in if i recall else they don't fruit.

 

The birds will eat all the cherries!

 

Plums are good

[mecheng46 10]

Can you suggest a place to buy such good trees? The purpose it to get good fruits

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

ferndalegardencentre.co.uk out Dronfield way, I don't know how good it is though.

 

wardsgardencentre.co.uk looks better, towards Coal Aston. A Nursery rather than a place that sells loads of tat!

 

---------- Post added 15-03-2015 at 11:57 ----------

 

On-line

 

jparkers.co.uk

 

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/

 

10 times the price of Wilko though!

[grenhouse 10]

aldi have some good ones in at the moment. I have bought in past and they have done as good as any more expensive ones. ferndale has some good trees in but new leaf which is on same road as ferndale are much better for plants. wards isn't bad either.

[Guest sibon]

Aldi and Tesco have some really cheap ones at the moment.

 

If you are really particular, Blackmoor supply most garden centres. Click here for their website, and cut out the middle man.

[Afilsdesigne 10]

I want to plant Fruit Trees in my back garden and I am not sure where to start from.

 

I guess the first thing is to do is loads of research into what types of fruit you want and then whether they will grow here successfully. Figs for example need warmth. So a south facing wall or better a greenhouse, will make crops more reliable. Then there is type. Brown Turkey will grow around Sheffield, even outside and have decent sized fruits of good flavour. Mine is a Rouge de Bordeaux which has even sweeter fruits but must have a greenhouse. The key with Figs is to restrict their roots.

 

Cherries are a waste of time for me as the birds eat all of them. Blossom is nice though.

 

Plum: Victoria plum is excellent but a Greengage which is similar to a plum can be even sweeter. Ideally, grow both.

 

Apple: My Gala and Greensleeves trees were no good and got dug up (five wasted years!). However the Lord Derby (cooker) is wonderful and got even better last year when my Fiesta graft took hold and gave a couple of decent eating apples off the same tree. Also have a Laxtons Superb looking to fruit this year for the first time. With apple trees, start off by deciding just what size tree you want and then pick the appropriate rootstock. The actual fruiting bit is grafted on top of the rootstock. With care, you can graft on additional varieties which is fun.

 

Pear: Conference but crops very erratically around here. Again, get the right rootstock.

 

Soft Fruit:

Blackberry - Apache and Reuben - Both errect but are BIG!

Best Blackcurrent is Ebony - Sweet and large berries. Easy to propogate.

Raspberry - Joan J which is prolific and sweet.

Strawberries (taken over 15 years to get this list) are Cifflorette, Gariguette, Royal Sovereign, Mara des Bois and Irresistable (T&M). I've tried dozens of varieties over the years but most have been poor or had a disappointing flavour.

Gooseberry - Lost the name sorry but you need a variety that is Mildew and Sawfly resistant - major pests around here.

Goji Berry - growing but no fruit yet. Erratic, first one died.

Maqui Berry - Grown from a seed and in its third year. Just planted this out.

Honey Berry - A few berries last year but they were really bitter. If they are the same this year, they are out!

Grape - Crimson Seedless - Fantastic! They need a greenhouse though and are a lot of work.

 

So my advice would be not to rush anything but do lots of research first and then make sure you are buying the right plants/trees.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Afilsdesigne

[Mecky 10]

In Sheffield the prevailing wind is from West to East so be sure to plant trees in shelter from the worse of the wind

[mecheng46 10]

I guess the first thing is to do is loads of research into what types of fruit you want and then whether they will grow here successfully. Figs for example need warmth. So a south facing wall or better a greenhouse, will make crops more reliable. Then there is type. Brown Turkey will grow around Sheffield, even outside and have decent sized fruits of good flavour. Mine is a Rouge de Bordeaux which has even sweeter fruits but must have a greenhouse. The key with Figs is to restrict their roots.

 

Cherries are a waste of time for me as the birds eat all of them. Blossom is nice though.

 

Plum: Victoria plum is excellent but a Greengage which is similar to a plum can be even sweeter. Ideally, grow both.

 

Apple: My Gala and Greensleeves trees were no good and got dug up (five wasted years!). However the Lord Derby (cooker) is wonderful and got even better last year when my Fiesta graft took hold and gave a couple of decent eating apples off the same tree. Also have a Laxtons Superb looking to fruit this year for the first time. With apple trees, start off by deciding just what size tree you want and then pick the appropriate rootstock. The actual fruiting bit is grafted on top of the rootstock. With care, you can graft on additional varieties which is fun.

 

Pear: Conference but crops very erratically around here. Again, get the right rootstock.

 

Soft Fruit:

Blackberry - Apache and Reuben - Both errect but are BIG!

Best Blackcurrent is Ebony - Sweet and large berries. Easy to propogate.

Raspberry - Joan J which is prolific and sweet.

Strawberries (taken over 15 years to get this list) are Cifflorette, Gariguette, Royal Sovereign, Mara des Bois and Irresistable (T&M). I've tried dozens of varieties over the years but most have been poor or had a disappointing flavour.

Gooseberry - Lost the name sorry but you need a variety that is Mildew and Sawfly resistant - major pests around here.

Goji Berry - growing but no fruit yet. Erratic, first one died.

Maqui Berry - Grown from a seed and in its third year. Just planted this out.

Honey Berry - A few berries last year but they were really bitter. If they are the same this year, they are out!

Grape - Crimson Seedless - Fantastic! They need a greenhouse though and are a lot of work.

 

So my advice would be not to rush anything but do lots of research first and then make sure you are buying the right plants/trees.

 

Thank you very much for all the advice. I will definitely do some research around the guidelines you already gave me. It is definitely a very good starting point.