American Gooseberry Mildew: Stop the Felt
American gooseberry mildew coats shoots and berries in white felt. Learn to spot it and beat it with pruning, potash and resistant varieties like Invicta.
Open guideFruit trees, soft fruit, and berry growing guides for UK gardens.
UK seasons Plain advice Free to read
Bacterial Canker on Cherry and Plum Trees
Gum oozing from your cherry or plum? Spot bacterial canker by its sticky gum and shot-holed leaves, prune it out in summer and stop it coming back.
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Peach Leaf Curl: Prevent and Cure It
Peach leaf curl blisters and reddens new peach leaves each spring. Why a simple rain shelter beats any spray, and the resistant variety that dodges it.
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Cherry Pollination Groups: Why Two Trees Fail
Cherry pollination groups explained simply: which cherries pollinate each other, why two trees can still give no fruit, and the easy self-fertile fix.
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Pear Rust: Why Your Neighbour's Juniper Did It
Bright orange spots on pear leaves? That's pear rust, and it comes from a juniper, not your pear. How to spot it, find the source and what really helps.
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Rhubarb Problems: Rot, Bolting and Pests
Rhubarb problems explained: how to tell crown rot, honey fungus, leaf spot, viruses and slugs from harmless bolting and thin stalks, and what to do.
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When to Stop Picking Rhubarb and Why
When to stop picking rhubarb in the UK: finish by the end of June so the crown can build up strength for next spring, plus how to pick it properly.
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Strawberry Runners: Free Plants by September
How to grow new strawberry plants from runners. Peg them into pots in July, cut them free once rooted and plant out by mid-September for fruit next June.
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Gunnera Ban: Is Your Giant Rhubarb Illegal?
Gunnera is now a listed invasive plant in the UK. What you can and can't do with an existing plant, how to stop it seeding, and legal big-leaf swaps.
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Apple Burr Knots: Should You Worry?
Knobbly lumps on your apple trunk? Find out what burr knots are, why dwarfing rootstocks get them, and the few times they need any action.
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Cherries Falling Off Early? Causes and Fixes
Why cherries fall before they ripen: read the timing to spot poor pollination, frost, June drop or dry roots, then fix it for a fuller crop next summer.
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Grape Shanking: Save Shrivelling Berries
Grape shanking makes single berries shrivel to sour raisins as their stalks brown. Spot it, tell it from mildew and grey mould, and fix your vine.
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Build a Vertical Strawberry Tower (DIY)
Build a vertical strawberry tower from a drainpipe for a balcony or patio, with a hidden watering core that stops the top drying out. Step-by-step guide.
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Silver Leaf Disease: Spot It and Stop It
Silver leaf disease on plums and cherries: the wood stain test that confirms it, how to tell false silver leaf, and the summer pruning that stops it.
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Pear Midge: Save Your Pear Crop
Pear midge makes young pears swell, blacken and drop in May and June. How to spot it, and the simple pick-and-fork routine that breaks its cycle.
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Cape Gooseberry Growing: Husk to Harvest
How to grow cape gooseberry (physalis) in the UK: sow in February or March, plant out after frost in lean soil, and pick when the husk turns papery brown.
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Biennial Bearing: Why Fruit Trees Skip a Year
Apple tree cropping heavily one year and barely the next? That's biennial bearing. Here's why it happens and how to break the cycle by thinning.
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How to Feed Fruit Bushes for a Bigger Crop
How to feed fruit bushes in the UK. When to give currants and gooseberries potash, why blueberries need acid feed, and how mulch keeps the crop coming.
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Fruit Tree Rootstocks: Choose the Right Size
Fruit tree rootstocks decide how big a tree grows and how soon it crops. Apple, pear, plum and cherry rootstocks compared for UK gardens.
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Why Do My Apples and Pears Taste Bitter?
Home-grown apples or pears tasting bitter, mealy, bland or off? Match the taste and the inside of the fruit to the cause, and fix it for next year.
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Autumn Raspberries: Grow and Harvest Guide
Grow autumn raspberries the easy way: cut every cane down in February, skip the wires and pick sweet fruit from August until the first frosts.
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Raspberry Pests and Diseases in the UK
Maggots in your raspberries or canes dying back? Identify raspberry beetle, cane midge, cane blight, root rot, rust and viruses, and how to fix each.
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Food Forest Design for UK Suburban Plots
Food forest design for an ordinary UK back garden. How many fruit trees fit, which rootstocks and spacings to use, where paths go and what to plant when.
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Brown Rot on Stone Fruit: Stop It Spreading
Brown rot on plums, cherries and peaches: how to spot the grey spore rings, clear mummified fruit, prune at the right time and stop rot spreading.
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Apple and Pear Scab: Spot It and Stop It
Apple and pear scab puts dark blotches on leaves and corky scabs on fruit. How to identify it, which varieties resist it and how to cut it back each year.
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Hand Pollination: Tomatoes, Squash and Fruit
Hand pollination for UK growers: how to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes, courgettes, squash, melons and early peach blossom, and when to let bees do it.
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Potted Fruit Trees in Winter: Keep Roots Safe
Winter care for potted fruit trees in the UK: how to wrap pots, where to move them, which fruit comes indoors, and how to water from October to March.
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Freezing Fruit: A Crop-by-Crop Guide
Freezing fruit from the garden: open-freezing berries, sugar and syrup packs for soft fruit, a crop-by-crop table and how to use it straight from frozen.
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How to Grow Damsons: The Tough Little Plum
How to grow damsons in UK gardens: the best varieties, rootstocks, planting, summer pruning to dodge silver leaf, common problems and harvesting.
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How to Grow Greengages in the UK
Grow greengages in the UK: the best gage varieties, a warm wall, safe summer pruning, and how to tell when these sweet plums are perfectly ripe.
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How to Grow Tayberries in the UK
How to grow tayberries in a UK garden: where to plant, training on wires, the yearly prune-out, picking when ripe and thornless versus prickly types.
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Best Cherry Tree Varieties for UK Gardens
The best cherry tree varieties for UK gardens: self-fertile sweet cherries like Stella, sour Morello for shady walls, and the right rootstock.
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Growing Almonds in the UK: Can You Get a Crop?
Can you grow almonds in the UK? Yes, with a warm wall and frost cover. The best varieties, pollination, peach leaf curl, pruning and harvesting the nuts.
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Best Plum Tree Varieties for UK Gardens
The best plum tree varieties for UK gardens, from self-fertile Victoria to sweet gages and cooking plums, with picking months and picks for small spaces.
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Why Trees Blossom Earlier and How to Beat Frost
Why UK trees are blossoming earlier, why that puts fruit blossom at risk from late frost, and simple ways to protect your crop and record your own garden.
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Best Pear Tree Varieties for UK Gardens
The best pear varieties for UK gardens, from reliable Conference to buttery Comice, with easy pollination pairs, picking months and picks for small spaces.
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Woolly Aphid: Spot It and Clear It From Apples
White cotton-wool tufts on your apple tree? Learn to identify woolly aphid, brush it off, let predators help and stop lumpy, cankered bark.
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Best Blackcurrant Varieties for UK Gardens
The best blackcurrant varieties for UK gardens: compact Ben Sarek, big bud resistant Ben Hope, sweet Big Ben and late Ben Tirran, and how to pick yours.
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How to Fan Train a Fruit Tree on a Wall
How to fan train a fruit tree: which fruit suits a fan, putting up wires, the first three years of shaping, and pruning peaches, plums and cherries.
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Verticillium Wilt: How to Identify and Manage It
Spot the signs of verticillium wilt on acers, strawberries and tomatoes, learn what to do with an affected plant, and choose safe replacements.
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Gooseberry Sawfly: Stripped Bare Overnight
How to spot gooseberry sawfly early, pick off the larvae before they strip your bushes, and get birds and beetles helping you all season.
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Perennial Veg: Plant Once, Pick for Years
Meet 14 perennial vegetables for UK gardens, from asparagus and rhubarb to sea kale and sorrel, that come back every year for less work.
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Codling Moth: Protecting Apple Trees
How to spot codling moth and stop maggoty apples and pears. Simple timings for pheromone traps, cardboard bands, nematodes and tidying up.
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How to Grow White Currants in the UK
Grow white currants in the UK: the best varieties, planting bare-root bushes in winter, easy pruning, netting against birds and picking in July.
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Grow Boysenberry and Loganberry in the UK
How to grow boysenberries and loganberries in the UK: planting, training canes on wires, pruning after picking, and how they differ.
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How to Grow Jostaberry in the UK
How to grow jostaberry in the UK: a thornless blackcurrant and gooseberry cross that's easy to plant, simple to prune and great for jam.
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How to Grow Nectarine Trees in the UK
How to grow nectarines in the UK: the best varieties, planting by a warm wall, fan training, keeping off peach leaf curl, pruning and picking your fruit.
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Forcing Rhubarb, Chicory and Seakale
How to force rhubarb, chicory and seakale in the dark for early, tender winter and spring crops, plus quick ways to give potatoes and salads a head start.
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Growing Nut Trees in the UK
Grow hazelnuts, walnuts and sweet chestnuts in the UK: which tree suits your garden, how to plant it, when to expect nuts and how to beat squirrels.
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How to Grow Mulberry Trees in the UK
How to grow a mulberry tree in the UK: choosing black or white mulberry, planting, light winter pruning, picking the berries and growing one in a pot.
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How to Grow Quince Trees in the UK
How to grow a quince tree in the UK, from picking a variety and planting to light pruning, picking the golden fruit and making quince jelly.
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How to Grow Muscari (Grape Hyacinth) UK
How to grow muscari (grape hyacinth) in the UK: when and how deep to plant, the best varieties, growing them in lawns and pots, and keeping them in check.
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Best Apple Varieties for UK Gardens
Choose the best apple varieties for UK gardens: reliable eating, cooking and dual-purpose apples, pollination partners, storage and picks for the north.
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Forest Gardening for Beginners: Where to Start
Forest gardening for UK beginners: what the seven layers are, the easiest plants to start with, your first winter's planting and the yearly jobs.
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How to Grow Honeyberry in the UK
How to grow honeyberry in the UK: why you need two varieties, how to plant and prune, when to pick and how to keep the birds off your crop.
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How to Grow Medlar Trees in the UK
How to grow a medlar tree in the UK: choosing a variety, planting, easy pruning, and how to blet the fruit for jelly, cheese and gin.
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How to Grow Olive Trees in the UK
How to grow olive trees in UK gardens: hardy varieties, pots or the ground, the drainage they need, winter protection, pruning and the odd olive.
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How to Grow Crab Apple Trees UK
Grow a crab apple for spring blossom, bright autumn fruit, happy birds and homemade jelly. Best varieties, planting, pruning and simple care.
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How to Grow Blueberries in the UK
Grow blueberries in the UK with ease: pick a good variety, use ericaceous compost and rainwater, then prune, feed and pick from July.
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How to Grow Cherry Trees in the UK
Grow a cherry tree in the UK: picking a size that fits, whether you need two trees, planting, summer pruning and keeping the birds off your cherries.
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Year-Round Pruning Calendar UK
What to prune each month in a UK garden, from roses and fruit trees to shrubs, hedges, lavender and wisteria, with simple timing rules that work.
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Canker in Fruit Trees: UK Treatment
How to spot canker on apple, pear, cherry and plum trees, cut it out cleanly, and stop it coming back with good timing and tidy habits.
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How to Prune Fruit Trees
When and how to prune apple, pear, plum, cherry and fig trees, in plain steps. The right season for each, the tools to use and the mistakes to avoid.
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Grow Redcurrants and Blackcurrants
How to grow redcurrants and blackcurrants in the UK, with easy varieties, planting tips, the different ways to prune them, and keeping birds off.
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Grow Fruit in Pots and Containers
How to grow fruit in pots in the UK: the easiest fruits to start with, the right pot and compost, watering, feeding, winter care and a monthly calendar.
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How to Grow Grape Vines in the UK
How to grow grape vines in a UK garden or greenhouse: easy outdoor varieties, planting, training on wires, winter and summer pruning, and picking.
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How to Grow Rhubarb in the UK
How to grow rhubarb in the UK, from planting crowns and the first-year wait to pulling stems, forcing early pink rhubarb and dividing old plants.
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How to Grow Apple Trees in the UK
Grow your own apples in the UK: pick the right rootstock and a pollination partner, then plant, prune, thin and harvest with confidence.
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How to Grow Fig Trees in the UK
Grow your own figs in the UK with this friendly guide. Pick a warm, sunny spot, keep the roots snug, water well, and ripen fruit on a wall or in a pot.
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How to Grow Plum Trees in the UK
How to grow plum trees, damsons and gages in the UK: picking a rootstock and variety, planting, summer pruning, thinning fruit and harvesting.
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How to Grow Fruit Trees in the UK
How to grow apple, pear, plum, cherry and fig trees in UK gardens, with simple advice on rootstocks, planting, pruning and the easiest varieties.
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How to Grow Blackberries in the UK
How to grow blackberries in UK gardens: thornless and thorned varieties, planting, training canes on wires, pruning after picking and easy new plants.
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How to Graft Fruit Trees: A Beginner's Guide
How to graft fruit trees at home: collecting scion wood, whip-and-tongue and cleft grafts, summer chip budding, aftercare and why grafts fail.
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How to Grow Strawberries in the UK
Grow juicy strawberries in UK beds or pots: the best varieties, when to plant, feeding, beating the birds and making free new plants from runners.
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How to Grow Gooseberries in the UK
How to grow gooseberries in a UK garden: easy varieties, planting, simple winter pruning, cordons for small spaces, sawfly and mildew, and picking.
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Dwarf Fruit Trees for Small Gardens
Grow apples, pears, cherries and plums in a small garden or pot. Which dwarf trees to buy, how big they get and how to keep them cropping.
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How to Grow Pear Trees in the UK
Grow pear trees in a UK garden with easy advice on rootstocks, varieties, planting, pollination partners, pruning and picking pears at just the right time.
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How to Train Fruit Trees: Espalier
Grow apples and pears flat against a wall or fence. A friendly UK guide to espalier, fan, cordon and step-over trees, wires and pruning.
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How to Grow Raspberries in the UK
How to grow raspberries in the UK, with easy summer and autumn varieties, planting, simple supports, the right way to prune, and keeping birds off.
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How to Plant Bare-Root Trees in the UK
Plant bare-root trees and hedging the easy way: when to do it, how to dig the hole, staking, mulching and simple first-year care to get them growing.
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