How to Grow Fruit Trees in the UK

Growing your own fruit is one of the nicest things you can do in a British garden. A dwarf apple tree takes up less room than a shed and can crop for decades. Almost every garden has room for at least one tree, even if it’s in a pot on the patio.

This page covers the main fruit trees that grow well here, with links to a full guide for each one. For something a bit different, see our guide to mulberry trees.

Which fruit trees grow in the UK?

Five fruit trees do well in our mild, damp climate: apples, pears, plums, cherries and figs. With modern dwarf rootstocks, you don’t need an orchard to grow them.

Apple trees are the backbone of British fruit growing, with hundreds of varieties from sharp cookers like Bramley to sweet eaters like Cox’s Orange Pippin. Rootstocks range from tiny to full size. Our apple tree growing guide covers varieties, partner trees, pruning and problems.

Pear trees flower earlier than apples and like a warmer, more sheltered spot. Conference is the easiest, reliable and partly self-fertile. Grow them as trees, espaliers or cordons. Our pear tree guide has the details.

Plum trees flower early and crop well once settled. Victoria is the classic self-fertile choice. The golden rule: never prune plums in winter. See the plum tree growing guide for more.

Cherry trees are either sweet, for eating fresh, or sour, for cooking. Stella and Sunburst are self-fertile sweet cherries. Morello is the sour cherry that copes with a north-facing wall. Birds love cherries, so you’ll need a net. The cherry tree guide covers it all.

Fig trees sound exotic but grow well in southern and central England. Keep the roots squeezed in a lined pit or a pot so the tree makes fruit rather than lots of leaves. Brown Turkey is the most reliable outdoor fig. See our fig tree growing guide.

How to choose the right rootstock

The rootstock is the most important choice you’ll make. It decides how big the tree gets, how soon it fruits and where you can plant it.

Every fruit tree from a nursery is two plants joined together. The variety on top decides the fruit. The rootstock underneath decides the size. Check the label names both.

Heights are a rough guide. Small rootstocks fruit soonest but need a stake for life, as their roots stay small. Medium rootstocks are a good middle ground and can stand on their own after a few years. Large rootstocks suit orchards and allotments with plenty of room.

For small gardens and pots, stick to the small ones. Our dwarf fruit trees guide covers every option, including step-over apples and slim upright varieties.

That bump near the base is where the variety meets the rootstock. Keep it above the soil, or the tree loses its small size.

Planting fruit trees: step by step

Plant bare-root trees between November and March, while they’re dormant. That’s when nurseries send them out and when they’re cheapest. Trees in pots can go in at any time, but autumn still gives the best start.

Pick a sunny spot. Fruit trees want at least 6 hours of sun a day. Avoid frost pockets, where cold air settles on still spring nights and kills the blossom. Some shelter from wind helps bees get to work. South or west-facing is ideal.

Prepare the soil. Fruit trees cope with most soils except ground that’s always waterlogged. Dig a hole twice as wide as the roots and the same depth. There’s no need to add compost or fertiliser to the hole. Mulch the surface instead.

Get the depth right. The graft union, the bump where the variety joins the rootstock, must sit above the soil. If you bury it, the variety grows its own roots and the tree loses its small size. Stake small trees for life with a short stake and tree tie. Water well and mulch 7-10cm deep, keeping the mulch off the trunk.

Planting a bare-root tree in winter. Bare-root trees settle in well and cost less than trees in pots.

Should you buy a one, two or three-year-old fruit tree?

For most gardens, a two-year-old tree is the sweet spot. A one-year-old tree, called a maiden, is a single stem or has a few side shoots. It’s the cheapest and the best start for cordons and espaliers, because you shape it yourself.

A two-year-old tree already has a few main branches. It usually fruits a year sooner than a maiden and needs less shaping. Older trees cost a lot more and can be slower to settle, as more of their roots get cut when they’re dug up.

Understanding pollination

Pollination decides whether you get fruit. Get it wrong and you’ll have lovely blossom but nothing to pick.

Self-fertile varieties can pollinate themselves, so they’re the easy choice if you only have room for one tree. Victoria plum, Stella cherry and the apples Scrumptious and Sunset are self or partly self-fertile, and Conference pear is partly self-fertile. The RHS guide to choosing fruit trees lists more. Even these crop better with a partner nearby.

Varieties that need a partner need a different variety of the same fruit flowering at the same time nearby. Apples and pears are sorted into pollination groups by flowering time. Pick two from the same group, or neighbouring groups. A tree next door counts, as bees don’t mind fences.

Triploid varieties like Bramley and Blenheim Orange can’t pollinate other trees. They need two other suitable varieties nearby, so plan ahead.

Short of space? A family tree has two or three varieties on one trunk, so it brings its own partner.

How to prune fruit trees

Pruning keeps trees healthy, fruitful and a sensible size. Timing depends on the fruit, and pruning plums and cherries at the wrong time can harm them badly.

Apples and pears: Prune in winter, November to February, while they’re dormant. Take out dead, diseased and crossing branches, and keep the middle open for light and air. Shorten new side shoots to 4-6 buds to encourage fruiting spurs. Trained forms like espaliers and cordons get a summer trim in August too.

Plums and cherries: Prune established trees in summer, June to August. Shape young trees in spring as the buds open. Winter cuts let in silver leaf, a fungus that can kill branches and even the whole tree. Take out dead wood and thin crowded branches.

Figs: Prune in spring after the last frost. Remove frost-damaged and crowded shoots. Figs fruit on last year’s wood, so don’t cut back healthy young shoots. In autumn, pick off any figs bigger than a pea, as they won’t ripen. The tiny pea-sized ones are next year’s crop.

Winter pruning an apple tree. Leave plums and cherries until summer.

Do fruit trees need feeding?

Yes, most like a feed once a year in late winter or early spring. The RHS feeding advice says all fruit trees need potash for flowers and fruit. Plums, cherries, pears and cooking apples also like a little extra nitrogen.

Sprinkle a potash-rich general fertiliser, such as rose feed, over the root area just beyond the branches. Follow the pack and use less on trees that are already growing strongly. For trees in grass, clear a 1m circle around the trunk, as grass steals the food. Mulch young trees each year for their first three or four years, keeping the mulch off the trunk.

Clear a circle of grass round young trees before you feed. Grass steals the food otherwise.

Growing fruit trees in small spaces

You don’t need a big garden. With small rootstocks and trained trees, a sunny wall, patio or balcony is enough.

Pots suit small trees well. A 45-50cm pot of John Innes No. 3 compost will hold an apple on M27, a cherry on Gisela 5, a plum on Pixy or any fig. Water daily in summer and feed every two weeks with tomato feed from April to September. Our fruit in pots guide has the full method.

Trained trees grow flat against walls and fences. Espaliers have flat tiers of branches and look great on a sunny wall. Cordons are single stems planted at an angle, just 75cm apart, so you can fit several varieties along a fence. Fans suit plums and cherries on a warm wall. Our espalier guide covers wires, pruning and care.

Step-over apples on M27 grow only about 40-45cm tall with sideways arms. They make a pretty, fruitful edging along paths and beds.

Cordons are planted just 75cm apart, so you can squeeze several varieties along one sunny fence.

Best fruit trees for beginners

The best first tree is one that crops without a partner. These five are forgiving and crop well across most of the UK.

All five will grow in pots on the right rootstock, and all are happy in ordinary UK soil.

If you only have room for one tree, Scrumptious apple on M9 is a lovely choice. The RHS lists it as self or partly self-fertile, and you can expect fruit by your second or third autumn.

Fruit tree pests and diseases

A few common problems turn up on British fruit trees. Spotting them early makes a big difference.

Codling moth is the main apple and pear pest. Its caterpillars tunnel into the fruit from June. Hang pheromone traps in late May to see if they’re about. In autumn, a nematode treatment sprayed on the trunk and branches targets caterpillars hiding in the bark.

Plum moth does the same to plums. Hang pheromone traps in mid-May to catch the males, and pick up fallen fruit quickly.

Brown rot turns fruit soft and brown with pale spots, and spreads fast in wet summers. Remove all affected fruit straight away, including shrivelled fruit left on the tree over winter. Pruning for good airflow helps prevent it.

Silver leaf gets into plums and cherries through winter pruning cuts. Leaves on infected branches turn silvery. In summer, cut back to clean wood with no brown staining, and take the prunings away.

Canker makes sunken, flaky patches on apple and pear bark and can kill branches. Cut it out back to healthy wood. Cox and James Grieve are prone to it. Improve drainage and go easy on nitrogen feeds.

The RHS website has pest and disease pages with photos, which help you check what you’ve got before you act.

Soft brown fruit with rings of pale spots is brown rot. Pick off every affected fruit straight away, including shrivelled ones left over winter.

Can you grow a fruit tree from a pip or stone?

You can, but it’s a lucky dip. Apples, pears, plums and cherries don’t come true from seed, so a Cox pip grows into a new, unknown variety, and most give so-so fruit. A seedling also grows on its own roots, so it becomes a big tree and can take years to flower.

For a known fruit and size, buy a named variety on a rootstock. Figs are the exception. They root easily from hardwood cuttings in late autumn or winter, and the new plant is the same as its parent.

When to harvest UK fruit trees

Picking time depends on the fruit, the variety and where you live. Gardens in the north run a couple of weeks behind the south.

Apples are ready when they come away from the branch with a gentle lift and twist. Pick pears while still firm and ripen them indoors. Pick plums and cherries fully ripe. Figs are ready when they droop and feel soft.

Late keepers like Bramley, Howgate Wonder and Winston store for months somewhere cool and dark, so you can eat your own apples well into spring.

A late summer harvest. Even a few small trees can give you a lovely crop.

Fruit tree growing calendar

Complete UK fruit growing guides

This page is the starting point. For more detail, follow the links below.

Tree fruit:

• How to grow apple trees in the UK: rootstocks, partner trees and lots of varieties
• How to grow pear trees in the UK: Conference, Williams, Comice and old favourites
• How to grow plum trees in the UK: plums, damsons, gages and mirabelles
• How to grow cherry trees in the UK: sweet and sour cherries, and keeping birds off
• How to grow fig trees in the UK: squeezing the roots, wall training and winter care

Small-space fruit:

• Dwarf fruit trees for small gardens: rootstocks for patios and tiny plots
• How to grow fruit in pots and containers: compost, watering, feeding and winter care
• How to train fruit trees: espalier guide: cordons, espaliers, fans and step-overs

Soft fruit and vines:

• How to grow grape vines in the UK: outdoor and greenhouse varieties
• How to grow blackberries: thornless varieties and fan training
• How to grow gooseberries: bushes, cordons and the best varieties
• How to grow redcurrants and blackcurrants: how pruning differs, and picking
• How to grow blueberries: acid soil, pots and choosing varieties
• How to grow raspberries: summer and autumn types and looking after canes
• How to grow strawberries: beds, pots and hanging baskets

Now you know the basics, read our guide to dwarf fruit trees for small gardens to pick the right rootstock for your patio, raised bed or pot.

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest fruit tree to grow in the UK?

An apple tree is the easiest place to start. Apples cope with most soils and fairly exposed gardens. On an M9 rootstock they stay about 2.5m tall. Self or partly self-fertile varieties like Scrumptious and Sunset crop without a partner. A two-year-old tree usually fruits within two or three years.

When should I plant fruit trees in the UK?

Plant bare-root trees from November to March. That’s when they’re dormant, and November planting gives the roots longest to settle before spring. Trees in pots can go in at any time, but autumn and winter are still best. Never plant into frozen or waterlogged ground.

How much space does a fruit tree need?

It depends on the rootstock. A dwarf apple on M27 needs about 1.5m and will grow in a big pot. An apple on M9 needs 2-3m, and one on MM106 needs 4-5m. Cordons need only 75cm between trees, while espaliers need 3-4m of wall. Choose the rootstock first, then plan the space.

Do all fruit trees need a pollination partner?

No, plenty of popular varieties crop on their own. Victoria plum, Stella cherry and Scrumptious apple all fruit without a partner, and Conference pear is partly self-fertile. Most other apples and pears need another variety flowering nearby at the same time.

Can I grow fruit trees in pots?

Yes, dwarf rootstocks make it easy. Use a pot at least 45cm wide filled with John Innes No. 3 compost. Apple on M27, cherry on Gisela 5, plum on Pixy and figs all do well. Water daily in summer and feed every two weeks with tomato feed from April to September.

Why is my fruit tree not producing fruit?

Usually it’s pollination, frost, shade or the tree’s age. Late frost can kill the blossom, and a dry spell at flowering doesn’t help. Check that a suitable partner flowers nearby at the same time. Trees on vigorous rootstocks take longer to fruit. Too much nitrogen feed gives lots of leaves and little fruit.

How do I protect fruit trees from frost?

Cover small trees with fleece on frosty nights during blossom. That’s mostly March to May. Don’t plant in a frost pocket where cold air collects. Trees trained on a wall get some warmth from the brickwork. Take the fleece off in the day so bees can reach the flowers.

What fruit trees grow well in shade?

No fruit tree crops well in full shade. Morello cherry is the classic choice for a shady, north-facing wall. Gooseberries and redcurrants are the best fruit bushes for shadier spots. Otherwise, give fruit trees your sunniest spot, ideally facing south or west.