There is nothing more satisfying than picking and eating your own home grown fruit straight from the tree.  It’s tempting to allow a heavy crop. This can result in smaller fruit and a risk of having little or no fruit at all every other year.

It is common to see a number of small fruits on the floor at this time of year. This is mainly because your fruit trees have their own way of dealing with excessive fruit by producing a hormone that results in self thinning. This is normal in apples, plums, pears, peaches and cherries and is known as the ‘June drop‘.

As a result remaining fruit gets more light and has space to grow. It also prevents excessive weight on the branches, which might cause them to break.

Wait until the natural June drop has occurred before deciding whether to perform any additional deliberate thinning.

When you do, start by removing what is known as the king fruit. This is found at the centre of the cluster and is recognizable by a characteristic misshape, the fruit developing with a thickening to one side of the stalk.

After removing this (where possible) aim to thin to a maximum of four fruits in a cluster of Cox for example, perhaps leaving only three for larger fruiting varieties such as Bramley.

At this time of year (aim to do this before mid July) fruits are easily dislodged with a flicking motion. Do not agonise over selection, just look to create space. Where stubborn fruits occur just leave these, choosing weaker neighbours in each cluster instead.

Apart from improving size and shape in this year’s crop, you should also find the act of thinning contributes to regular cropping year on year. Leaving fruits on the tree in the hope of a heavy crop this year could result in much lighter crop the following year (or even no fruit development at all).

A deciduous tree, which on a clear stem can grow to 30ft tall, though can also have a low bushy habit, a native of the Eastern Mediterranean it requires dry sunny sites to grow well and is better suited to southern England than the north. The leaves are rounded and heart shaped and late to appear in the UK.

The flowers appear when the tree is leafless, the rosy pink blossom is so profuse that it gives the impression of a pink mist in the distance.

The popular name Judas tree is commonly believed to be derived from the legend that this was the tree that Judas Iscariot hanged himself upon after the great Betrayal.  Though the name could also be a corruption of ‘Tree of Judea’

A small tree or large shrub, leaves are almost circular in general outline with seven or nine lobes.  The leaves are prettily tinted in summer and turn beautiful orange and red shades.

Native to western North America, it grows naturally under the shade of tall conifers as an understory and hence will tolerate dry shady

positions.

This maple is distinct and one of the most ornamental in flower, in April when well in bloom the wine-coloured sepals contrasting with the whitish petals make a very pretty display.

Malus Rudolf

A small tree of upright habit, the leaves emerge a deep bronze red, as they open and develop they become a dark bronze green.

The flowers are deep red in bud opening to large, single, strong rose red covering the tree in late April and early May.

White Flowered Japanese Cherry Trees

Prunus Umineko

An upright flowing cherry with large single white flowers about 1¼ inches wide in stalked umbels which come together with new green leaves in mid to late April.  The flowers have pink stamens which become more pronounced as the flower ages.   The regular upright habit makes this a good avenue tree.

Prunus Umineko is a cross between Prunus Speciosa,  Oshima Cherry and Prunus Incisa, Fuji Cherry, raised by Collingwood Ingram in the 1920’s,  The same cross was made in Holland by Mr Doorenbos and this has produced an almost identical tree, named ‘Snow Goose’.

Rather picturesquely Umineko is the Japanese name for ‘White-tailed sea-eagle’

The ‘Umineko no Naku Koro ni’ visual novel series features an extensive cast of characters created and originally illustrated by  Ryukishi07. The series takes place on the fictional secluded island Rokkenjima in Japan.

Prunus Tai Haku

Flowering at the same time as Prunus Umineko,  Prunus Tai Haku, known as the Great White Cherry also has single white flowers, however the flowers are much larger, 2½ inches across and pure white.

Prunus Tai Haku is a vigorous wide spreading tree from Kyoto which became extinct in Japan and was reintroduced from a single specimen found in a Sussex Garden.

As always comments and questions are welcome.

Simon

In almost everyone’s list of the best trees for small gardens, this North American deciduous plant is either described as large shrub or a small tree of bushy spreading habit.

This tree has a lot to recommend it, wonderful white blossom that emerges as star-shaped flowers in lax conical heads, just as the coppery pink young leaves unfold.  The leaves unfurl as the flowers fade and change to a pale green.  Small red berries which turn black in late June, give it it’s American name ‘Juneberry ‘ these are quickly eaten by blackbirds which seem to relish them.

In Autumn the leaves turn fiery shades of yellow, orange and red.

Amalanchier lamarkii (which is often confusingly call Amalanchier Canadensis)  has become naturalised and will grow easily in most conditions, it is sometimes reported  not to be lime tolerant, but we have not found that to be the case.

As Easter is the traditional end of the season for bare root plants we will this week be removing bare root trees and transplants from the online shop. For these plants under the column inviting you to specify the quantity you require you will see the message ‘Call us’

They will not now be available for dispatch again until November.

However as the very long cold winter has made spring late this year we will carry on dispatching transplants and trees ordered by telephone or by nursery visitors, if they are still available from stock.

As is usual bare root plants supplied this late,  will be on an ‘At your own risk’ basis, which reflects that once the buds have broken much more care needs to be taken in plant handling, though with the appropriate care many species can be successfully transplanted late.

If you still want to plant trees we have most of our ornamental and fruit trees available in either 15L or 30L pots, these are available to buy online, by phone or by visiting the nursery.

If you would like to pre order bare root plants for next season the best way to currently do this is either phone us or send us an email with the plants you would like to reserve.

Weeping trees are always a good option for a small garden. One of the most spectacular  is the Kilmarnock Willow,  Salix Caprea Pendula.   As the weeping branches are top grafted onto a stem of native pussy willow  it has a beautiful umbrella form and doesn’t grow bigger than the height of the stem normally 6-8ft.

Its stand out feature are the beautiful  catkins in late winter/early spring that cover the tree, offering a  cascade of siver and gold in bud which fades to grey.

This grafted willow that is a weeping form of our native  Goat or Pussy Willow is quite happy in wet ground.

This hardy evergreen which can be grown as a shrub or a small tree has glossy, dark green, leathery leaves.  It is mainly grown for the new growth which bursts forth early in the spring in a fiery red, giving a stunning display.  All subsequent new flushes of growth throughout the year are also brilliant red.

This is the most common form of a group of hybrids between Photinia glabra and Photinia serrulata which was raised in New Zealand.  This evergreen is thought of mostly as a shrub but can also be trained standard tree ideal for the patio or for screening, it rarely exceeds 5 metres in height or spread so rarely gets too big. An added attraction is that when mature red robin produces a display of frothy heads of pink tinged flowers.

Together with its feature of being an evergreen ‘Red Robin’, as its name suggests, provides a colour contrast within the border. Glossy red leaves at the end of each shoot turn this otherwise laurel-like shrub into an attractive selection. It can also be grown as a hedge and prefers a sunny position.

Photinias are usually trouble-free, but can suffer from photinia leaf spot which is not fatal and is an environmental disorder linked to cold weather, rather than a disease.

As always comments and questions are welcome.

Simon

Unlike the burning of fossil fuels like coal, gas or oil, burning firewood releases no more greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) than would be produced were the wood to simply rot on the forest floor. If we are responsible in the ways we grow, cut, and burn our firewood, wood burning can actually be a good choice for the environment.

Growing your own firewood is best carried out using the coppice system, which means cutting to the ground.   Most native broad-leaved trees can be cut down to the stump. They re-grow producing multiple stems called poles. These poles can be harvested.  The poles are harvested approximately every 10 years and converted into logs for burning.  Mixed broadleaved coppice woodland should produce approximately 1 tons of air-dried wood per acre per year.

To heat an average house with firewood alone would need about 7-9 tons of air-dried wood.  Therefore an area of coppice woodland would need to be at least 10 acres in order to be self-sufficient in firewood.  Of course if the firewood is for  a stove to supplement a conventional heating system less will be needed.

The most efficient way to manage coppice woodland is to cut all coppice stools in a particular area, known as a coupe.  This ensures that all the stools have a sufficient amount of sunlight in order to grow back rapidly after being cut.

The 10 acres of coppice woodland ideally should be divided into 10 coupes of 1 acre.  If one coupe is felled in turn each year on a 10 year rotation, each coupe will produce approximately 10 tons of air-dried wood over those 10 years, enough for one year’s heating requirements.

Ideally you would start with an area of derelict deciduous woodland that had been out of management for a considerable time, coppicing of the first coupe would provide sufficient firewood in the following winter for burning.

If you want to start from scratch, by planting a wood with trees for coppicing. It would be best to plant a mixture of 40% Ash, 10% Field Maple,10% Crab apple and 40%Hazel at 2m centres, these are best planted as 60-80cm tall transplants and protected with a rabbit guard and canes.  They will be ready for the first cutting after about 10 years.   Other good firewood species are Oak, Hawthorn and Wild cherry.

Another good source of firewood while you are waiting for the copse to grow is the excess brash produced when a hedge is laid, which is in its way a form of coppicing.

As always comments and questions are welcome.

Simon