What fruit tree do i want for christmas

Hi so i am digging out a 8 foot pear tree that is half dead , want to dig out the plant whole and replace soil and plant another fruit tree, i have looked at meddlar and mullberry but interested in other suggestions , looking for something different or unusal or a interesting heritage varity so any type of fruit as long as its a tree. Its a sunny site but is exposed to south westerly winds soil is improved clay and is 3-4 meters away from other fruit trees . All suggestions welcome i am also easly swayed by trees on other people wishlist lol

 

To me (black) mulberry is the most delicious fruit in the world, sweet and sour. The trees do get large eventually over time but are gnarly and interesting and can be pruned. The foliage is grand, and as a tree I find it a much more natural look then e.g. apple, pear, cherry or plum trees. They do well on clay. Yay for mulberry!

 

We have a medlar and are very pleased with it. The flowers are white in the Spring, the fruit gradually developing and ready late Autumn/early Winter. The leaves then have a lovely autumnal colour. We have given away loads of fruit this year as it fruited so brilliantly. Medlar jelly turns out to be a fabulous colour and you can eat the inside flesh once it has "bletted".
We also have 2 quinces and when the fruits are ready the aroma is wonderful. You can also make jelly, bottle par cooked slices, make membrillo and wine.
We also have a mulberry that was a RHS award winner some years ago. This was given to us but it hardly fruits and when it does the fruit is smaller than a 5p.

 

Are medlar worth the whole procress of bletting? Are they resistant to scab and canker at all? Never tryed eatting them before just see them on gardeners world etc and love the look of them and there history

 

Yeah was looking at the black mulberry , had mulberry in gin once it was great, says on internet they get up to 8m i could handle that i think , is there fruiting affected badly by wind as the spring and late summer wind we get is pretty strong

 

Apparently mulberry trees are wind-pollinated. So more wind might mean a larger area of pollen supply .

"most commercially sold mulberry trees are self-pollinating, meaning they have both male and female flowers on the same tree and can produce fruit on their own. However, while a single tree will produce fruit, cross-pollination from another mulberry tree can lead to a larger and more abundant yield. Some older or wild trees can occasionally be dioecious, having only male or only female flowers, which would require a second tree for pollination."

 

I have just bought and planted (yesterday) Apricot "Isabelle" which I bought from Chris Bowers. Very compact (said to be easily kept to 6 foot high) and self fertile. It is taking the space of the goji berry bush I gave up on.

 

@Bear you don't have to process the medlar fruit at all. They do it themselves. When it is windy the fruit that is ready will fall to the ground. You just leave them for some days and then harvest what you want. Bletting sounds as though the fruit is rotten but it isn't.
Bletting is a crucial ripening process for medlar fruit, transforming it from hard and tart to soft, sweet, and aromatic, making it enjoyable to eat.
What is Bletting?
Bletting is a unique ripening process that certain fruits, including medlar, undergo to become palatable. When first harvested, medlar fruit is high in acid, starch, and tannin, making it too hard and tart to enjoy. Through bletting, which typically takes two to four weeks, the starches convert to sugars, tannins become more palatable, and the cell walls break down, resulting in a soft, mushy texture.
We still have fruit on the tree as well as much on the ground which we are gradually harvesting.
It is very rare to see medlars in shops to buy but we were amazed how in our village neighbours have been delighted to reap some of our fantastic harvest this year.

 

I just ordered a medlar , should i now pick a fresh site to plant it or would i get away with digging out a half dead small pear tree replace soil and put medlar in?

 

@Bear depends on what happened to your pear tree. The soil maybe contaminated or not. So on the safe side probably better to go for a new site. Our medlar is in clay soil so no problem with that.

 

If you want to put something in where the pear was, you could try a fig. They are far enough unrelated to pears it shouldnt get the same diseases. Put new soil in as well though.
"Brown Turkey" and "Brunswick" are the most tried varieties here and they both fruit well provided they get good sun.

 

For figs you really need to restrict the roots otherwise they get large with no fruit.
Also the sap is an irritant.

 

I've got an unrestricted fig and it crops like crazy, the root restriction idea is for those that dont want a full sized tree.
Even cuttings have a couple of fruit from the first year.

 

Go with @pete he has experience of doing it. Me I was going with what I was told over the years.

 

There are figs in the ground here that yield like mad but theyre still fairly young, they will eventually get very big and then you cant pick them.