Is it too late to plant trees?

[Mamma193838]

Gardening newbie - I have a newish build and a big garden that only has grass.

Is it too cold now to plant trees? I was thinking next week looks warmer and rainier, around 7 degrees.

No, if the ground's not too hard to dig it should be fine. The younger a tree you plant, the more chance it'll have. Water it in on planting, even if there's rain happening or due and keep it watered for a good few months if not longer, especially if it's dry in the warmer months. A good soak once a week rather than a daily dribble.

What sort of tree(s) do you have in mind? My other tip is, don't plant them too near to the house. Ask me how I know this

The best time to plant is when the tree is dormant (no leaves), usually about October to February. Not in frozen soil though. What species do you want?

We’d quite like a cherry blossom and fruit trees but we haven’t even started looking. I’m
Not sure where best to get them, see them in person at a garden centre but smaller selection, or buy online from treesdirect or RHS which were both recommended to me. They also suggested getting bare root trees.

Thank I for the advice! We wanted to get one tree to provide some dappled shade from
the sun coming into the house during the summer - how far away should we plant them?

Pick carefully because some trees grow to be big. I'd pick a cherry over an ornamental cherry.
Pick fruit you like, but bear in mind they don't keep very well.
I find pear and apples easy and productive, with pretty spring blossom.

@Mamma193838 When I'm filling in the form for my house insurance it asks if I have trees within five metres of the house so I'd say further than that would be a starting point. This will give you more idea:-

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/near-buildings

as pp says now us a good time unless the ground is frozen.
if you need to be able to move or are not sure of the location you can plant it in a large pot, at least 50l.
and look for dwarf root stock

Before you plant anything, can I suggest digging a hole where you are planning to plant the first tree, and reporting back on what you find. Dig down 2 feet as that's the minimum you will need for a bare root tree. Keep the topsoil separate from the subsoil [put down a small tarp, remove the grass and put that in one pile, take the topsoil and keep it in a second pile and any subsoil and keep that in a third].

If you actually get down 2 feet then what does that look like? Does the hole stay open? Pour a bucket of water down, does the water drain or sit in the hole all day?

and look for dwarf root stock especially with cherry trees.

Have a look online here,
https://www.frankpmatthews.com/

I’ve also had trees from here as well
https://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/

both are good.

I bought mine from Barcham trees. They are quite expensive. Even if you don’t go for them have a look ar the website. It is like an encyclopaedia of trees. I planted mine early January.

If you want instant dappled shade, look for mature trees of a height already. They’re more expensive £150+ but give instant results.
I’ve ordered quite a lot of fruit trees recently. This site have had good quality trees for a good price that will fruit same year of planting often for more general fruit trees. This one is six foot https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/duo-pear-fruit-tree-conference-and-williams?queryID=eef969f881029fd06de39ee43f031a33&objectID=19456&indexName=magento2_default_products