Patios are often deliberately situated in sheltered locations in a garden and positioned to capture maximum sunlight, also making them an ideal location to grow fruit trees in a pot.
Chris Bowers and Sons from Whispering Trees Nursery at Wimbotsham in Norfolk are the UK’s number one fruiting plant specialists and have identified two apple trees plus a pear, cherry and a plum that are perfect for pot growing on a patio – and they don’t need to come inside in winter.
John Bowers, the son of the founder of the nursery, explains: “Super-column trees are ideal for patio and terrace gardens and thrive in containers. What makes them so special, apart from their hearty cropping, is that being a columnar they have a greatly simplified pruning process. They take up very little space and enjoy a freely spurring nature creating abundant crops which ripen very well and quickly, benefiting from the hours of sunlight. This also encourages sugar production enhancing the flavour of the fruits.”
He has selected five varieties that can all be grown in this modern, intensive and easily managed way:
APPLE ‘RED FALSTAFF’
An indomitable cropper with frost resistant blossom. The handsome fruits are bold red and crisp. They will store for several weeks. This newer variety has great disease resistance.
APPLE ‘LIMELIGHT’
Very easy to grow and manage. It is perfect for those who like green apples. It has a refreshing, juicy flavour. It has average frost resistance.
PEAR ‘CONCORDE’
Bred from the famous ‘Conference’ pear but with a sweeter flavour. It is freely producing from late September and throughout October. It is a compact, easy to manage tree and self-fertile. It has excellent frost resistance.
BLACK CHERRY ‘SUNBURST’
A reliable, decadently sweet black cherry that ripens in July with large, black juicy fruits. The hardiest and most reliable sweet cherry for the UK climate and it is self pollinating.
PLUM ‘JUBILEE’
An excellent cropper regardless of the weather and a much better and tastier plum than the ubiquitous Victoria. It ripens early with an abundant yield of rosy purple, egg shaped fruits with yellow, finely flavoured flesh.
HOW TO GROW:
Plant in a 20-litre container and use a loam based compost, such as John Innes No 3. Water well after planting. Use a slow release fertiliser that can be pushed into the compost. Alternatively use a seaweed based foliar feed that should be applied every 3 – 4 weeks in the growing season. Water at the base of the tree every day when it is warm and dry or every 2 – 3 days otherwise. Do not water between October and March. Pruning is very simple, just pinch back all side shoots to 3 or 4 buds in late summer. The main growing or leader shoot can also be shortened at this time of year is desired.
These trees can be bought online at Top Fruits To Buy Online | Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherri – Chris Bowers