Anyone used You Garden to order fruit trees?

[SunnyUpNorth]

I started a thread recently about buying fruit trees online. But I spotted an ad for this company in the paper recently and they appear to have some good deals. They are doing 3 trees for £19.99 (Braeburn, conference pear and a Victoria plum) and then you can add on cherry or Brantley apple trees for £12.99 each.

They are 5 foot trees on dwarfing rootstock. Does that sound ok? I know nothing about such things!!

I looked on the Keepers website as recommended but it had so much information and varieties that I was lost. I emailed them but they said I would have to ring for advice and I haven't had a chance.

Give Keepers a call, they are super-helpful and friendly :) It's totally overwhelming otherwise, there's a whole new language with fruit trees.

I was thinking of your thread last night when I read this, it might be helpful to you.

Thanks Eau. I have just been looking at the Keepers site again and it is like looking at a foreign language! I am scared that if I speak to them I won't remember any of what they say as it will be too technical.

I have just realised from their website too that I don't know what our soil is like. There are probably a million other things I am overlooking too. I've emailed them back and asked if they could give me any tips by email so I can at least have it in writing to refer back to.

We've used Blackmoor previously, although didn't need any additional support beyond the basic delivery so I have no idea how good they are in that respect.

You may want to reconsider getting a Victoria plum though. We had one that just never took. Probably because DH over-pruned it! MIL was round the other day & we were chatting about it & apparently Victorias are well-known for being difficult. MIL is a gardening encyclopaedia so I'll be consulting her in future before buying anything! They've got another variety of plum that's done really well in their garden but she couldn't remember which of the 2 varieties they bought was the best. She was supposed to be checking for me but hasn't got back to me yet.

The thing to look for is that the trees are grafted on to rootstocks that are dwarfing, (makes picking fruit and maintenance safe and easy) that they are self fertile (means that they do not need another variety of the same plant to carry fruit) and that they are suitable for home gardens. The You Garden ones do tick all of those boxes and carry a lifetime guarantee too so you can't go wrong! By the way, ref the comment on plums, they tend to be biennial in their fruiting cycle so it's normal to get occasional poor years - Victoria is one of the best to grow in the UK though...

It's perfectly ok to say you don't know your soil type to Keepers. They are really nice, and very helpful, and they've got a sale on at the moment so doubly worth it. They'll guide you through what you need to know and you can order there and then on the phone so you don't have to remember anything! Top quality trees.