The next best time is now. We can provide an orchard planning consultancy service, including site visits, reports, advice on ground preparation, and we are happy to either plant or to supervise planting.
This is well worthwhile for larger planting plans. Ask for costs for these services. We are happy to give free advice by phone or email.
If you could download the Planning Your Orchard - answer the questions and get it back to me: email john scottishfruittrees. We supply fruit trees for. Local authorities, housing associations, schools and community organisations. Landscape architects, garden designers. Farms and landowners.
To discuss your order, please phone or email, or fill in and return our Orchard Planning Form - click on the box below. Site visits and orchard reports, with planting plans. Advice on ground preparation,. Either planting and supervising planting of larger projects. Pruning, restorative pruning and training. Management plans. How it works. We send out bare root trees by carrier over the bare root season late November through to April when they are dormant.
The cultivation of pineapples across northern Europe developed rapidly in the 19th century. The introduction of hot water heating systems and the invention of sheet glass to construct large glass houses which could accommodate thousands of fruits, saw an expansion in the scope and scale of pineapple cultivation in Scotland.
Alongside the pineapples, a variety of plants were grown here, including banana, figs and sugar cane. Pineapples were displayed at exhibitions up until the early s. However, cultivating the fruit on home soil dwindled, as canned imports were readily available and a cheaper alternative than the time consuming and expensive process of growing the fruit on home soil.
The Dunmore Pineapple, where at one time scores of pineapples were successfully grown by the Earl of Dunmore, near Airth, Stirlingshire. Photo credit: Ross on Flickr , creative commons license. This space has been transformed into a unique garden planted with 57 plant species - all connected in some way to Scotland's collective memory, whether through myth and folklore, heraldry, or association with individual famous Scots.
The garden is open to visitors during our usual office hours. Water newly planted trees frequently in their first spring and summer, and before the onset of any drought, when mature trees may need watering too. This is particularly important when the fruit starts to swell. In late winter, feed with a high potassium general fertiliser, such as Vitax Q4. In March and early April, mulch around the root area with a 5cm 2in layer of well-rotted manure, to help retain moisture in the soil.
This will help to prevent drought stress, especially in early to mid-summer when the fruit is swelling. Protect the blossom from frost by covering trees over night with horticultural fleece or clear polythene supported by bamboo canes. Covering is only really practical with fan-trained or containerised trees. Apricots are self-fertile, but they flower very early in spring when few pollinating insects are around, so hand-pollination is usually needed to ensure a good crop.
Trees grown under cover must be hand-pollinated. Lightly mist the tree with water to ensure the pollen sticks, but allow plenty of time for the flowers to dry out before dark. However, sometimes fruit set can be exceptionally good.
If thinning is required, it should be done in stages. Start thinning when the fruit reaches cherry size in late spring and remove any mis-shapen fruits or those growing towards the wall first. Read more information on thinning fruit. Apricots and other stone fruit should not be pruned during winter, to minimise the risk of infection by silver leaf and bacterial canker.
Pruning of young trees is carried out after bud burst in early spring, while established trees are pruned in summer. Apricots fruit at the base of one-year-old shoots, and on two-year-old and older wood. There are three commonly used methods for training apricots: as a fan, bush tree or pyramid tree. They each need pruning in different ways. When growing fans, erect straining wires Apricot fans can eventually reach 3. Then tie in new shoots as they develop. Fan-trained trees need regular pruning twice a year in early summer and after fruiting.
For full details, see initial pruning of fan-trained trees and established pruning of fans. However, young trees still require initial training, and mature trees benefit from thinning of old wood.
Prune back the central leader to just above the uppermost lateral. Remove shoots below the selected laterals. By the second spring or with a two-year-old tree often offered for sale in plant centres , the main laterals should have produced their own side-shoots, the strongest of which need shortening by half, pruning to an outward-facing bud to develop an open crown. Remove any weak or badly placed shoots.
Bought trees may come with the replacement leader that needs to be pruned out. Most apricot varieties are quite vigorous in growth but despite this they seem to take to containerisation quite well especially if you can invest in a half barrel sized container.
It is important to treat them well with the aforementioned watering and it is actually easier to influence the conditions they are grown in if they are in a pot, more so than in the ground. Cropping can be induced earlier with apricots in pots; 2 years is a common time to wait to sample your first delectable fruits.
In the ground it is usually a 3 or 4 years wait. Pot grown apricots should ideally be situated in a sheltered sunny corner, or you can keep them in a cold greenhouse or conservatory. In any case it is easier to move them to protection in the winter if the forecast is very bad and thus keep them from severe frost damage.
Any variety is suitable for container growing. Use a hearty loam based compost [John Innes no 2 or similar] and raise the pot onto little feet to make sure drainage is good. Because the container will heat up more quickly in Spring, and remain warmer during the growing season, growth will be earlier and it will also dry out more readily. Pruning for trees grown in containers is the same and after the first year or two you will probably need to prune less than you would normally as the tree will start to become naturally retarded.
Some of the roots can be trimmed back a bit if need be and this type of root pruning usually encourages good new growth. Based on hardiness I would still go for the old Moorpark [also known as Early Moorpark] Goldcott [ a newer variety] and the European favourites Bredase and Royal Orange. For flavour Alfred and Flavourcott are hard to beat.
And if you want really large apricots the French variety Tomcott is mightily impressive. Other varieties of note include New Large Early and Isabelle. The sought after des-res for Apricots is a good warm wall! One of the most important considerations is that of soil; it is often quite dry by a wall and you must make sure this is not the case before planting because Apricots hate dry roots.
Your aftercare regime for wall trained apricots must always include regular watering during the growing season. To fan train an Apricot you must start with a young tree; older specimens will already have been pruned lower down or in any case will lack the rejuvenating vigour required to accept the hard pruning required to produce a good fan.
When you receive your new young tree prune it back hard. If it has lower laterals at a suitable point then select two more or less opposite and remove the leader just above them. Higher or lower is fine too. These two laterals should be gently tied down more or less horizontal. They will form the basis of your fan because next summer lots of strongly growing upright stems will spring for and these will form the basis of your fan. During that summer they should be shortened back by about a third and this will encourage them to shoot again and also initiate fruiting for the following summer.
Always prune apricots un the summer. Winter pruning can encourage die back or frost damage.
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