Need a new fruit tree

Overnight we have had a tree be blown down (elder) that we will now need to hack up and dispose of. In fairness, it's days were already numbered as it hasn't looked all that healthy for two or three years, with this year being particularly sorry looking; earlier this year, we looked at it and thought we would take it down and put a fruit tree a little bit further along the same side of the garden (to place the new tree further away from a large evergreen that we have sucking the life out of that corner of the garden.

So, I am looking for a new tree - a fruit tree, and I am fairly set on using Ashridge Trees simply because I have used them in the past and was very impressed with their service.

We have a plum tree (which needs pruning but that is a whole different thread!), and it hasn't been particularly successful for us with loads of bugs meaning unusable fruit.

We are sort of leaning toward apples, but are not fixed on that and are open to suggestions.

 

Oooh, now that might be a possibility - but, I already have one tree that I cannot eat the fruit from, I don't want another....

 

What do mulberries taste like? We already have raspberries, loganberries, blackcurrants, blackberries and gooseberries with varying degrees of success, but would mulberries just be yet another berry to deal with? How best to preserve it?

 

An apple is a good bet. I would suggest a 'Sunset' or a 'Charles Ross'. Both are relatively disease free and are semi self fertile. They're both in group three fertility but I understand that Sunset is slightly more self fertile than Charles Ross. The flavour of Charles Ross is marginally better than Sunset but both are excellent. The sellers may say that both are fully self fertile and that's most often the case. Other fruit trees in neighbours' gardens are likely to make it 100%.

 

I don't think there is any apple trees within kicking distance of here, although I do have a (very small, and potentially not very healthy) Golden Delicious tree in my own garden. The Golden Delicious came from T&M, so you will understand what I mean by not healthy.... I have been trying to encourage it to do something ever since I got it, but it hasn't done much.

Other than cider/perry, what is the best way to preserve apples? I am assuming that cooking them and then freezing them or making them into apple sauce is about the top and bottom of it?

 

And of course the next silly question is, do I go for a bush or half-standard? I don't think cordon or espalier is suitable for my garden (but happy to be persuaded otherwise)

 

If you don't want to have to get on a step ladder to pick the higher fruit, after a few years, then get the bush variety. Otherwise half standard is best.

 

How big is the space? No-one is ever disappointed with an apple tree so that gets my vote; if possible fit in a desert and cooking variety. Spartan and bramley are good. Ive never bothered with a bush type only half standards but will be planting some new trees next year. Good time to grab them bare root too

 

Not a huge space really - from the greenhouse to the back of the garden can't be much more than 40ft, and the garden is about 30ft wide, so I wouldn't want a huge tree (especially as there is a plum tree and a few evergreens dotted around also.