Compact Fruit Trees for Small Spaces

Everyone should eat more fruit and having your own fruit tree in you backyard can help provide a little organic fruit each year. Fruit trees are attractive garden plants, the blossom is wonderful and the produce pretty but, in smaller urban backyards most fruit trees grow to become too big. This article looks at some of the wonderful options available to those who only have small spaces in which to create a garden.

It would appear that we are constantly being told how unhealthy we are and how we should eat healthier food and take more exercise well gardening can be the perfect solution to the problem. Not only do we have the opportunity to grow our own home grown fruit we can do it without the use of any unnatural chemicals or fertilizers. Such organic fruit is usually a great deal more expensive in the shops so we can make a little saving here also. Another brilliant advantage to growing our own fruit trees is that we can harvest the fruit exactly when we require it, you can't get fresher than that. The fruit is so fresh that the flavor is much stronger and the vital vitamins and minerals have not had time to degrade. Furthermore by indulging in a little gardening regularly we are exercising regularly too.

Gardening in small spaces can be something of a problem when it comes to growing trees. Most trees grow to an enormous size, far too big for a typical urban backyard but, with a little research and some careful planning and garden design, it it possible to incorporate more than one compact fruit tree into the smallest of places.

In today's modern urban small backyard it is often the case that the garden comprises of little more than a tiny patio and an even smaller space of ground beyond. Because there are so many backyards that only offer small spaces the horticultural industry has made progressive advances in the development of smaller species of landscaping plants, trees and shrubs. Most fruit trees, available in nurseries, are of a dwarf variety. By grafting smaller examples of spreading cultivars onto dwarf or semi-dwarfing stock, such as M9 or the smaller (but more unreliable) M27 root stock, horticulturists are able to produce a compact fruit tree which can grow as small as 1m high.

Growing Compact Fruit Trees

Dwarfed fruit trees can grow in the smallest of places. It is possible to grow compact fruit trees in large tubs, or other containers, on small garden patios or even on a sunny balcony. Some varieties can be trained and pruned so that they grow flat against walls or fences making even more space savings. The really great thing about growing compact fruit trees in small spaces is that the amount of fruit produced is phenomenal, just look at the photographs on this page.

Compact fruit trees are suitable for most modern gardens and most produce high yields and are low maintenance, requiring only a small amount of annual pruning. By pruning your dwarf fruit tree correctly it is possible to have a tree of about 1.8m which is smothered in fruit. If this is too large for your small space then simply plant your fruit tree in a container to achieve a slightly less vigorous bush.

Compact Apple Trees for Small Spaces: Most examples of this type of tree are grafted onto M9 dwarf root stock which is far more reliable, and produces far more fruit, than using M27 root stock. When choosing a compact apple tree it is important to check that you have a tree which can cross pollinate or is self-fertile. There are basically two types of apple tree, those producing dessert fruit and those producing cooking apples. However it is possible to find examples which have two different types of apple tree grafted onto the same root stock (the advantages of which should be obvious).

If you have a really restricted small space for a backyard then you will be pleased to hear that there are a few species of apple tree that are really small. These trees are sometimes referred to as a "midget apple tree" as they are generally breeds of spur apples which have an upright and non-spreading habit. Although they can grow to 1.8m they can be pruned to remain as small as 1.5m but the important factor is the upright habit. Below you will find a few suggestions to consider for use in your garden or backyard.

Apple Red Spur: Shown above right - click to enlarge.
Apple Golden Spur: Shown above left - click to enlarge.
Sunset: A desert apple that grows well in the United Kingdom and similar climates.
Bramley Seedling: The most well known cooking apple.
Discovery: Produces fine dessert fruits.
Grenadier: A self-fertile cooking apple variety.
Laxton's Superb: A self-fertile dessert apple variety.

Of course there are other fruits which can be grown in a compact fashion such as pears, plums, cherries, nectarines, peaches, figs and Kiwi fruit. Hazelnuts can also be suitable for growing in small places and we will be looking at all the other types of fruit tree in future articles.

 

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