Fruit Trees FAQs

• What are the easiest fruit trees?

  There are many fruit trees that will thrive in a garden in the UK. Choosing your selection wisely can help you in cultivating the tastiest and most succulent fruit grown in your own garden. If you're looking for low maintenance fruit trees, you should plant:

  • Apple trees
  • Apricot trees
  • Cherry trees
  • Peach trees
  • Pear trees
  • Plum trees

  Who knows, after plenty of practice with these easier options, you might want a challenge with a harder tree to care for.

• When to plant fruit trees

  Fruit trees produce fruit annually and are often harvested in late fall. Because of this, the best time of the year to plant your fruit tree is in early spring. Containerised fruit trees can be planted all year round, but avoid when your soil is hard and dry – moist soil is ideal for the tree to become established and grow well. If you're planting a bare root tree, it's best to plant it during the dormant season which can be anywhere between November to February. Planting bare root trees during the dormant season will give the root system the best chance of establishing, producing a healthy tree for the harvest season.

• When to prune fruit trees

  As a general rule of thumb, you should prune your fruit trees when they are dormant and before any new growth starts. Winter or early spring is the best time of the year to prune.

  Pruning your fruit tree can help train it and keep it in an attractive shape. When doing so, you will remove any dead or diseased branches to stop them from being an energy drain as well as keeping them looking healthy and in good shape.

• Fruit Trees: What is pollination & what are pollination groups?

  Self-fertile plants are identified in the ‘Specifications’ or ‘Pollination’ dropdown on each product page. Self-fertile trees don't require a pollinating partner, although they'd likely produce higher yields if there is one present. For the most common fruiting species such as apples, pears and stone fruit, it's unlikely that there won't already be a pollinating partner within the radius required.

  Pollination is important for fruiting plants that require a pollinating partner. You can locate the pollination group in the ‘Specifications’ or ‘Pollination’ dropdown on each product page. You'll need a partner with either the same pollination group or one above or below which will make it suitable as a pollinating partner.

  If you’d like to know more about this, we have a wonderful guide on what pollination is and why it’s important.

• What is the best fertiliser for fruit trees?

  When it comes to fertilising fruit trees, for newly planted trees, we recommend AfterPlant Tree & Shrub with rootgrow™ by Empathy which is an all purpose, organic plant food with added rootgrow™ mycorrhizal fungi. Trees and shrubs establish far quicker with better early growth when using Afterplant Tree and Shrub and is endorsed by RHS gardeners. 

  We also recommend 60g Empathy rootgrow™ Mycorrhizal Fungi which benefits include superior water and nutrient uptake with enhanced natural vigour, and heavier cropping plants. Your trees should have an added resilience in overcoming replant probleme and disease, need less synthetic fertiliser, and will survive better in dry conditions. 

  The most common issue with fruit trees is magnesium deficiency. This can be identified by yellowing between the leaf veins, usually in early summer. If you have thin soil or higher rainfall, your trees will be more likely to suffer from this. In fact, apples and peaches are the most suceptable to nutrient deficiency. Magnesium deficiency can be rectified by spraying the tree with 8 oz (226g) epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to 2.5 gallons (11.5 litres) of water.