BACK TO BASICS: TREE FRUIT

Welcome back to my two-part beginner’s guide to growing fruit trees. Last month we looked at how to choose the right fruit for you, and also had a look at pollination groups. This month we delve a little deeper into the knowledge you need to choose your new trees by looking at rootstocks and then a quick overview of the shapes and sizes of tree you can buy.

Almost no top fruit will come true from seed. Plant five pips from your supermarket ‘Braeburn’ apple and you will produce five new, genetically unique trees. Depending on the pollen that pollinated that particular tree, you may end with one or two quite similar, but you may also produce a crab apple, or a tree prone to pest and disease.