Best UK Websites for mail order fruit trees?

[Robert B]

Need some good recommendations for mail order fruit trees as the one I use went bust

 

[oneeye]

If you buy local your varieties will already be adapted to your area. If you have plants shipped from different zones the plants may not do as well as when bought locally. Also, the local horticulturist can give planting recommendations for each plant too.

 

[Susan BBPM]

I've not used any others so can't really compare, but I've used https://www.chrisbowers.co.uk/ many times and always been very happy with my trees. So much so that I'd be reluctant to try anywhere else. I've brought around 12 trees in total over the past 4 years or so and never had a bad one.

 

[oneeye]

I live deep south and many years back, my dad bought some pecan trees from Michigan bulb co. way north. The trees grow ok the first 5 years but after those first years, the trees have suffered greatly. I planted local pecan trees in the same area and they are growing so fast and strong that they have to be pruned heavily every year. If you can always buy from locals to get native or area-grown stock you will get better results. .

 

[Susan BBPM]

I live deep south and many years back, my dad bought some pecan trees from Michigan bulb co. way north. The trees grow ok the first 5 years but after those first years, the trees have suffered greatly. I planted local pecan trees in the same area and they are growing so fast and strong that they have to be pruned heavily every year. If you can always buy from locals to get native or area-grown stock you will get better results. .

The UK is smaller than some of your US states, so wherever you buy from in the UK it's fairly local. That said, the site I suggested does allow you to search for trees 'suitable for the North' where it's a bit colder. Most people in the UK are in the South and within a couple of hundred miles of each other. You'll find very few companies that cater specifically for the North of the UK so the option to buy local is very limited - there just isn't a market for it here.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Malling Fruits, New Road, East Malling, ME19 6BJ
Tel: +44 (0)1732 843833
Email: (e-mail address removed)

Associated with Malling research, part of NIAB.