Apples and Pears
Apples and pears are some of the most widely cultivated fruits in the UK trained as espaliers in small courtyards and standards in large gardens. Both of these delicious fruit trees flower in early-late spring, yet pears are ready to eat mid-late autumn and apples ripen from late summer to late autumn, depending on the variety you choose. They are fantastic July garden jobs, thin out the fruits and again a few weeks later as this will encourage them to produce better quality fruit. Make sure you thin ruthlessly and remove infected and infested crops as this will ensure even better cleaner crops in the following years.
Planting Your Apple Tree
When buying your trees make sure you find out how old the tree is first as this will give you an indication on how fast the tree will produce apples. If you want them sooner rather than later plant a two year old tree, but if you can wait a little longer one year trees are also available.
After deciding what tree to have and where you want to plant it dig a hole 1m wide and deep then part fill it with compost (home grown if you have a compost bin) then place the tree inside. With trees it is always best to have a support so tie the tree with a support that sits firmly in the ground and fill the hole with more compost them firm gently. Make sure you water the tree well and keep it well watered over dry months and in a couple of year’s time your tree should produce wonderful crops.
For those with small garden, apples can be grown in tubs. However, bear in mind that watering will be difficult and the trees will not be as happy as they would be if placed in the ground. For more information, follow our handy Trees for Small Gardens guide
The Pear
Like the apple tree, pear trees can be grown in orchards, large pots or as espalier trees against a wall or trellis and if you choose to grow your own pears you will need at least two trees to speed up fertilisation and crop encouragement.
If you want to train your own espalier tree it is best to get a young tree (year-old) but you will have to play the patience game when it comes to it bearing pear fruits. For those who want fruits quickly, already trained two or three year old trees are available and are the best choice for quick crops.
As pears are one of the finest of fruits they require better conditions than apples and are often best grown on a wall as they are not difficult to train. Make sure you take care when choosing a tree that is suitable for your location. Some pear trees are only happy in the warmer, drier south east of the UK. Pears also need a moist soil which is not often found against a wall, one way to combat this is regular mulching and watering as this will help prevent crops being small and not tasting as well as they should.
Another drawback to growing pears is that they generally do not store well and need to be picked just under-ripe then carefully matured in a warm, not very dry place. This way you will get all the flavour of the pear and truly get the most out of your crops.
Planting Your Pear Tree
It is best to plant pear trees in autumn, 10m apart. However, dwarf varieties only need to be spaced 6m apart. Make sure all trees are placed in a sunny position in well-drained, rich soil.
Planting preparation is the same for a pear as it is an apple; the pear tree needs a hole 1m wide and deep then part fill it with compost tied to a support. Fill the hole with more compost them firm gently. Again make sure you water the tree well and keep it well watered over dry months to ensure mature and good quality crops within two years. For those with small gardens, pears can be grown in large tubs, however like the apple they are not particularly happy in tubs and can be short lived.
Generally pears are not a problem tree, but can suffer from several pests and diseases and can become subjected to bird damage quite regularly.
Espalier – a practice of controlling woody plant growth by pruning and possibly grafting branches against a structure such as a wall, fence, or trellis.