fruit tree are they worth while ?

When you look at the cost of fruit today ie apple/pear/cherry etc etc
And you look at the cost of the verious tree's you'll soon understand what a saving can and is made by having your own tree's providing you've the space.
no matter if it's the full grown or small tree's once they've been planted and allowed to come to the fruit stage then your on a long term winner,

Im a very keen on all the verious fruit tree's and bushes gardener and over the years ive planted over 34 larger fruit trees in my orchard plus currant bushes for both the home use and the bird food,
Ive never been disappointed by the results of the trees and its been avery long time since ive bought any of the normal fruit,
The Nut tree's are more expensive and its only now that im looking at buying one or two, My friends who live a few mile from me complain ref the squirrel and nut theft but as ive a forest 2 mins walk from my front door i think these nut problems wont be much of a problem and after alls said and done we are only tennants Mother nature is the real owner of all our gardens and one day she'll take the lot back.

 

Hi moonraker it sounds lovely where you live
My garden is not all that big but i did buy 3 miniture fruit trees 2 apple and1 pear to grow in tubs
within 1st year 1 fruit tree produced an apple and the pear tree died after that for next 5 years the apple tree that produced an apple in 1st year always just produced 1 apple while the other never bore no fruit but always blossemed in spring then last year they both died

 

Hi Janet,
Sorry to hear about your loss ref the fruit trees,
Some "not all pear need a cross pollination to have fruit, and your single apple and then again it to end up dead tells me maybe the tree's have not been in good condition ref feeding watering etc,
Like any plant put in to pots/tubs they're away from the ideal growing conditions and the grower must ensure they get all the feed and watering plus good drainage/ correct possition for these to survive,
If you drive along the motorways here in france and you drive past some of the large grape growing fields you'll see a rose bush growing at the end of each line of growing grape vines this again is a way of detecting (warning) to the grower that bugs ect are about as these bugs attack the rose first hence the grower then sprays the grape vine,
It's not like this when we plant into pots etc we have to do the work of detecting whats going wrong, After the one apple show and then nothing the following year !!!!!! the warning was given something was not right.

 

Hi moonraker when i bought those fruit trees specially to grow in tubs no intructions as regards looking after them was included but i did water them every day except when it was raining and we do attend to have a lot in England lol and i did look for insects but i moved them 2 years ago to bottem of the garden where there a big oak tree back of my fence so a few birds are there and if any insect appear they see them and have a feast lol they seemed to pick up but sadly they died in the end but if i get any more i know polllunate them and i wont get miniature tree off line

 

Hi @moonraker , I bought a corkscrew hazel a few years back, I only bought it as a novelty really, but it does give a good crop of hazelnuts (which I never get chance to eat as the squirrels beat me to it, but I'm happy with that) plus it looks good in winter with all the twisted branches, i grow it more like a shrub than a tree. I would go ahead and choose a few and plant them up, if you don't it'll probably drive you nuts.

 

Hi Janet.
Sorry to hear your fruit trees died. I agree with what was said above about fruit trees normally doing better in open ground rather than being limited to a container. When you say you watered them every day it makes me suspicious that they might have got a bit too much watering. From my experience of growing plants in pots and what I have read it usually is better to leave the soil dry out a bit before watering. It is generally good practice to check how damp the soil in the pot is before watering but often I just wait until the leaves start to droop a bit on my pot plants to tell me they need some water. If the soil in the pot is constantly wet there can be more trouble from fungal disease attacking the plants according to what I have read.

Planted lots of fruit trees myself but also like to plant things in the garden just for them to produce fruit and flowers for wildlife like amelanchier (Juneberry), leycesteria (pheasant berry) and aronia (chokeberry). Got my first white currant shrub at the end of last year and am still on the look out for more fruit varieties that might suit my garden. They can make really nice plants to have in the garden for many more reasons than just the price of the fruit they produce. My only fruit tree in a container is an avocado that was grown from seed and I have to keep it growing in a container as it would not survive our winters outdoors. I have read they can eventually bear fruit in the UK but it is a nice plant to have anyway.

 

Hi macraignil ii have no problems with veg and flowers even i have a rasberry and strawberry in a pot and grow ok and like u i like to grow plants for wildlife for eg i have grown up a corner of the garden borage for bees
I also agree that trees do much better in open ground

 

Hi macraignil and moonraker i mentioned all my tub fruit trees died well to my surprise i was wrong i got rid of one pear and apple and as i was going to get rid of the 2nd apple tree i had visters so i thought ido it later but i forgot so left it under the oak tree back of my fence then one day in feb i noticed some green shoots then a couple of weeks ago it has blossomed infact i have never seen it blossomed the way it is now i wonder if being by the oak tree or clemitis which also in flower has somehow pollinated it? Wonders never cease

 

There are a couple of factors for me.

The first is quality. In supermarkets and even greengrocers, you'll only ever find what's grown on a commercial scale and what's easy to transport. More unusual (and generally tastier!) varieties don't get a look in. And fruit just off the tree is simply juicier than anything from a shop.

And especially for those of us with kids (and many without there's a fascination with knowing where this stuff comes from. It's not just a plastic punnet which magically appears on a shelf any more.

 

Janet, fantastic to hear that your apple tree has come back to life!

To me, it suggests that Macraignil may be onto something re: over-watering. Perhaps try changing to a really good soak once or twice a week. Checking the soil for dryness can be more difficult with the large pots for sure.

Moonraker, I love growing fruit too and agree that it can save money or allow you to eat much nicer fruit that you would otherwise be able to afford

In Australia a fruit tree costs around $25-$40 and then you will need a few nets to protect from the birds (can share between trees that ripen at different times) so maybe $10-$20 worth of netting per tree. The ongoing costs for my trees are minimal - I can usually get mulch free, fertilize twice per year and spray some of the trees with a copper spray in winter. Definitely less than $5 per tree. For expensive fruits like cherries, the tree can 'pay for itself' with the first good crop.

As the fruit on each tree is only is only perfectly ripe for a short time, it's more worthwhile if you make jam, bake with the fruit, bottle/preserve/freeze or have a large family.

Of course their are the intangible benefits too, such as being able to eat unusual varieties that aren't available commercially, knowing that your food has been grown organically or without exploitative labour (does making the children pick count? ) and the sense of community you will build by sharing the excess with your neighbours.

And I agree with Graham, particularly for stone fruits like apricots and peaches, they taste SO MUCH better home grown as commercial crops are picked too early.