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Training fruit trees
AshleyCanterbury
Posts: 18
in Fruit & veg
I'd been looking to buy some fruit trees and the local garden centre had some nice fan trained ones for £40+... then I was in B&Q and they had some discounted to £7, so I took a punt. I went a bit overboard and got 3 different apple varieties, a couple of pears, a couple of cherries, and a plum.
However, these ones are about 150cm tall, with dwarf rootstock, not many side shoots lower down. Is there any way I can encourage new shoots lower down so I can train these as espalier, as I have a small garden.
I've read some sites that say you can cut them down to 30cm after planting, which will take some bravery. The cherry I wanted to do as a fan.
0
Posts
Thanks for the reply
Yes, a lot of learning to do! After years of reading and watching Monty Don make it look easy, putting it in to practice finally is quite nerve wracking. I'll have to bite the bullet and cut some of them down for retraining, and I will keep some of them as simple cordons...
Cordons can be very productive and take up less space so you will have room for more in any given space. If you plant them at a 45 degree angle they look attractive too. Glass Half full
More advice at www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=87. However the picture they use is of a double U cordon one of the most difficult shapes to achieve.
www.growveg.co.uk/guides/cordon-fruit-trees-how-to-get-the-best-harvest-from-a-small-garden/
Better picture & more advice here.