I was just randomly browsing the t'interweb and came across the following site that seems to be very reasonable, and they had a 10 pack of apple trees for £75 (chosen according to post code, polination types etc)

Collection for cordons or espaliers -Ten Apple Trees Apple Collections £75 - Apple Trees, Fruit Trees For Sale, Apple Tree Fruit Tree

Has anyone had any dealings with them before?

We bought a collection of cider apples and a few fruit trees from them last Autumn to plant this Spring.

I rang up for advice regarding our site and was a bit disappointed with the response (maybe it was a bad day) which was vague in the extreme and worse, unenthusiastic, we are complete novices where fruit trees are concerned. When the plants arrived, I was shocked at how little root they came with, they really looked like they had been yanked out of the ground, basically a main root with very few side roots. They were well packed.

HOWEVER, and this is the important bit, after an absolutely horrible start to their lives here - boiling hot weather straight after planting into only just unfrozen ground, which made them start to grow, no rain so they had to be hose piped, followed by four really grim, wet, windy, cold months which took out the top of the growing point on three or four, they are all looking well, leafing up and seem to be surviving caterpillars so for the price, it's probably worth a shot.

I bought a collection from them about 5 years ago, and am very pleased with them. They all fruited in the first year of planting and are going from strength to strength. Lovely flowers this spring. The catalogue was very informative, I seem to remember, about varieties to plant in different areas of the country, and for different uses,whether for storing or eating straight away etc. I also bought a tayberry,red currant and white currant, all of which have done well. I didn't need to ring them about anything though so can't comment on their after sales .

My experience of Adam's has been good.

I am shocked to hear of poor attitude to customer service and carelessness when dug out causing root damage. I will remove them from my recommended list.

The finest trees are from Keepers, in Kent. But they cost a few pounds extra.
You can usually tell the best nurseries because they run out of stock more quickly, because those "in the know" know which nurseries tend to offer the best trees.

A big problem these days, is the limited number of suppliers offering trees on vigorous rootstocks suitable for half-standard trees with a 4-6ft (1.2-1.8m) trunk and 10-16ft (3-5m) mature height/spread.
MM111 and M25 are the only options, but are hard to find. I am hoping to offer MM111's and M25's grafted with old, rare, very-disease-resistant varieties at "cost price" (a couple of quid each) some time in the next couple of years.

MM106 is not vigorous enough in certain soils - especially low-rainfall Eastern or coastal areas and light sandy soils. But with adequate rainfall and a fairly vigrous variety, MM106 can make a half standard.
If MM106 is the only option available, and if it is to be planted in a low-rainfall area, consider planting so that the roots are partially shaded by a fence to keep the ground cooler and damper (but don't plant too close to the fence, due to the fence blocking rainfall; soil is very dry directly under a fence).
Also consider mulching well to lock-in moisture.

However, in sheltered/shady locations, the above-ground portion of the tree may be a target for woolly aphids.

MM106 is not strong enough for standards (5ft trunk or more) unless the soil is excellent and the variety grafted to it is very vigorous, such as Bramley or certain other triploids.

FB,

I'm sure I speak for others too, but personally I can't wait until you start offering trees for sale. The advice you have given me personally (and the massive amount I've read from your replies to other threads) is invaluable. Any chance you will have a very limited few available this winter?

Originally Posted by DuncanM

FB,

I'm sure I speak for others too, but personally I can't wait until you start offering trees for sale. The advice you have given me personally (and the massive amount I've read from your replies to other threads) is invaluable. Any chance you will have a very limited few available this winter?

I might have some available later in the year, but this cool, dull, wet weather is playing havoc with the happiness of most of my fruit trees at the moment, so I am expecting qute a few grafts not to "take" properly.
Most of my trees are unhappy and looking very sorry for themselves - they desperately need some bright sun and some warmth. The last 2-3 months are the coolest, wettest and dullest I can ever recall in this area.
Without plenty of sun and warmth, even if the grafts do "take", they will be very small maiden trees; probably best grown-on for another season.

So we'll have to see - and hope for lots of warm sunny weather.

I'd be happy to be a test bed for any small maiden's!

FB
Just wanted to say good luck with the supply trade. As I have said, your advice is really valuable and so much more comprehensive than any I've found elsewhere. I hope any commercial enterprise you undertake doesn't mean you won't be bale to contribute to the vine although I note the reference to cost price.

I'd like to re-emphasise that the trees do seem to be growing well despite my feeling brushed off by whoever answered the phone at Adam's and they did have M25 root stock, which we did really need with hindsight, although it was only after reading your advice that I realised just how much we needed it!

Don't go away!

marchogaeth

I won't be running a commercial operation.
As the old saying goes: how do you make a small fortune in agriculture? - Start with a large one.

It'll be small-scale, not-for-profit, as a hobby.

I'm more interested in offering varieties which have special characteristics - such as some of teh following:

Long life expectancy (lifespan of over a hundred years).
Tolerance of soil/climate conditions where other varieties will not grow.
Resilience to recover from massive structural damage after severe weather.
Drought or frost resistance.
Fruit resistant to insect/maggot/wasp damage.
Fruit resistance to bitter pit or other storage disorders.
Resistance to woolly aphid (the scion and the rootstock).
Very early-ripening (July).
Very long storage qualities in very simple conditions (six months in a sack in the shed)

.

In other words: the kind of varieties that we all need, but never knew existed because they have fallen out of fashion, in favour of modern, even-sized, round, smooth, shiny, colourful, bred-for-commercial orchards- types of fruits which now fill the supermarket shelves.

.

FB, Please add me to your list of potential customers!

It does sound wonderful. I remember some one telling me about Pembrokeshire Apples in orchrds of the same: specific to here and able to cope with the climate. I have asked and asked locally to no avail yet obviously they would be so useful now as people try to produce more of their own in much more diverse climates than the traditional areas and possibly with climate change effects.

I have been told no cherry tree would fruit here but the wild ones are covered in fruit which are stripped by the birds before they ripen so is this a complete misunderstanding by "those who know"?

If/when I have any available (which won't be for at least a couple of months, if at all this year), I will try to put a topic in the seed swap section and note in my signature.

If the current batch turn out well, I may do a graft-to-request late next winter (i.e. in about 6-8 months time), with baby tree available from about July of the year of grafting (they'll only be a stick about 2-3ft tall at that time, but on strong roots so will soon get up to size!).

I may also be able to buy-in small quantities of other rootstocks (e.g. dwarfs such as M9) onto which could be grafted any of a number of wierd and wonderful varieties.