Growing fruit trees
Suttons fruit trees are dispatched at exactly the right time for you to plant them out. Supplied with a quality guarantee, here are some tips to help you grow them successfully:
When is the best time to plant fruit trees in the UK?
The best time to plant bare root fruit trees is between December and March while the plant is dormant. If the weather prevents planting them straight away, heel them in until you can move them to their final position. Container grown fruit trees can be planted all year round, although autumn and spring are best as you won’t need to water them quite as much as those planted in the summer.
How do you plant fruit trees?
Most fruit trees prefer a sunny, sheltered spot in free-draining soil that doesn’t get waterlogged. Prepare the ground in advance by turning the soil and adding a generous amount of compost or well rotted manure. When your new tree arrives, plant it as soon as possible by digging a hole about 15cm (6?) wider than the root ball and deep enough to allow it to sit at the same depth that it was growing in the nursery. See our Guide to Planting and Growing Fruit Trees for more advice.
How do you plant bare root fruit trees?
Bare root fruit trees are planted in the same way as pot grown trees, but you should remove them from the packaging immediately and rehydrate the roots in a bucket of tepid water for a couple of hours before planting. Learn more about growing bare root fruit and nut trees here.
Why are fruit trees grafted?
Fruit trees are often ‘grafted’ to limit their size and prevent them from growing too vigorously. It’s done by combining the resilient roots of one variety with the fruiting quality of another to get the best of both. When grafted onto dwarf rootstocks, it’s possible to produce patio fruit trees that don’t get taller than 2m in height. Grafted fruit trees often take less time to start producing a crop. Suttons has a wide range of grafted vegetable plants too.
