UK Fruit Trees for Sale Online: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Choose Fruit Trees for Your Garden

If you know nothing of fruit trees and just want to buy a fruit tree online, choose a potted, self-fertile variety on a rootstock that keeps your tree to around 3–4m high. Good luck with your online tree purchase, thanks for reading this far.

If you are still confuddled, keep reading. Below are the options explained.

Potted: comes in a pot and can be planted all year round. Usually 10–15 litres for a 2–3 year old tree, as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. ^{[4] [5]}

Self-fertile: will produce fruit without another fruit tree nearby. ^[6]

Rootstock: most fruit trees are two parts joined together, the roots, called the rootstock, and the rest of the tree. Choose a rootstock that gives you the height you want. Most people go for the 3–4m range. ^{[7] [8]}

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Rootstocks Most People Buy for an Average UK Garden

This assumes you have an average to large sized garden for your fruit tree, so buy rootstocks from the medium and semi-vigorous columns. Although you can prune it to whatever height you wish, 3–4m makes fruit picking and pruning straightforward compared to 5m+ trees. ^{[7] [8]}

Fruit tree	Very Dwarf	Dwarf	Semi-Dwarf	Medium	Semi-Vigorous	Vigorous	Very Vigorous
Apple	M27 (1.2–1.8m)	M9 (1.8–2.4m)	M26 (2.4–3m)	M116 (3m)	MM106 (3–4m)	MM111 (4–4.5m)	M25 (4.5m+)
Pear	—	Quince C / Quince Adams / Elinée (2.5–3m)	—	—	Quince A (3–4.5m)	Pyrodwarf (4m)	Pyrus Communis / Kirchensaller (5m)
Cherry	—	Gisela 5 (2.4–3m)	—	—	Colt (3.5m)	—	F.12/1 (5m)
Plum / Gage / Damson	—	—	VVA-1 (2.5m)	—	St Julien A / Wavit (3.5m+)	—	Brompton (5m)
Peach / Nectarine	—	—	—	St Julien A (3.5m+)	—	—	—
Apricot	—	—	—	St Julien A / Wavit (3.5m+)	—	—	—

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Best Fruit Trees for Beginners to Grow in UK Gardens

The easiest are usually plums, damsons, self-fertile cherries and self-fertile apples. Pears are quite easy but their sun requirements can be high, so that technically makes them not as easy as the easiest. At the other end are apricots, peaches and nectarines, which can be a bit needy.

The Easiest Fruit Tree Options to Grow

These are the easiest options to buy for each fruit tree. Half standard means a lollipop shape, usually with 80–100cm of clear stem. A bush has much less clear stem and starts to branch out closer to the ground like a conventional bush shape. ^[9]

• Apple: M26 or MM106, potted, bush or half standard and self-fertile.
• Pear: Quince A, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.
• Cherry: Colt, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.
• Plum: St Julien A or Wavit, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.
• Gage: St Julien A or Wavit, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.
• Damson: St Julien A or Wavit, potted, bush or half standard.
• Peach: St Julien A, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.
• Nectarine: St Julien A, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.
• Apricot: St Julien A or Wavit, potted, bush or half standard, and self-fertile.

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Patio Fruit Trees for Small Gardens and Pots

A patio fruit tree is usually a fruit tree grown on a dwarfing or very dwarfing rootstock and at maturity will be in the 1.5 to 2.5m height range. ^{[7] [10]}

For a smaller tree at maturity, look for:

• Apple — M27, around 1.5m
• Pear — Quince C, around 2.5m
• Cherry — Gisela 5, around 2.5m
• Plum — Pixy, around 2.5m
• Gage — Pixy, around 2.5m
• Damson — Pixy or VVA-1, around 2.5m

Their smaller size makes them very suitable for container growing. Use the largest pot you can find because it means they need feeding and watering less often. ^{[5] [10]}

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Bare Root, Potted and Mature Fruit Trees

Fruit trees are usually sold in three main ways: bare root, potted or mature.

Bare Root Fruit Trees

These are usually 1–3 years old, are sold and can only be planted after leaf fall in November and before new leaves appear in April, also known as the dormant season. The supplied height range can be from less than a metre to over 2m. ^[11]

Advantages of Bare Root Fruit Trees

• Cheaper than potted versions.
• The one year maiden option means you can prune them into any shape you wish, such as half standard, bush or fan.

Disadvantages of Bare Root

• Shorter planting window.
• Less forgiving for beginners, with a potentially higher failure rate.

Potted Fruit Trees

These are usually 2–4 years old, in a 9–15 litre pot and 150–240cm tall on average.

Advantages of Potted Fruit Trees

• Can be planted all year round except in frozen and waterlogged conditions. ^{[4] [5]}
• Better suited for the novice as there are fewer complications.
• No rush to plant them.

Disadvantages of Potted Fruit Trees

• More expensive than bare root.

Buying Mature Fruit Trees Online

If you are looking to buy a mature fruit tree online then be prepared for the extra price. Not only do you pay more for the tree, anything over 200cm cannot go through the cheaper courier network.

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Choosing the Right Fruit Tree for Your Garden Conditions

Make sure your site is not working against you. If you have any of these conditions, this is our advice.

Fruit Trees and Frost Pockets

Frost pockets are particularly bad for apricots, peaches and nectarines. The main frost risk usually tails off through May. Frost generally passes early May in London and the south west, mid-May in the south of England, late May in much of England and Wales, and June in Scotland. ^{[1] [2]}

Fruit Trees and Exposed Windy Sites

For example, coastal sites and hilltops. Wind can reduce fruit yield, even with self-fertile trees. If it is too windy for bees and other pollinators at flowering time, it is not a good site. ^{[3] [6]}

Fruit Trees for Wet Soil or Poorly Drained Ground

Worst for apricot, peach, nectarine and cherry. Better options for less-than-ideal sites are plum, gage, damson, then pear. ^[12]

Fruit Trees for Shade

Most fruit trees crop best in sun. Sour cherries and some early cooking apples cope better with shade, but less sun usually means weaker cropping and poorer fruit quality. ^[3]

Fruit Trees and Very Acid Soil

Most fruit trees prefer slightly acid to neutral soil, around pH 6 to 6.5. Apples and pears are among the least happy on very acid soil. ^[13]

Fruit Trees and Shallow Chalk Soil

Not great for apples and pears. Plum, gage and damson are usually better choices. ^[13]

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When to Plant Fruit Trees

Bare root fruit trees are planted from November to April while dormant. Potted fruit trees can usually be planted all year round, but autumn to early spring is still the easiest time because the tree is under less stress and needs less watering. Avoid planting when the ground is frozen or waterlogged. ^{[4] [11]}

Growers usually release new-season stock around August and September, so availability is often highest from late summer into autumn. ^[14]

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