Joseph Atkin's latest Evening Post gardening column
Aberglasney’s Head Gardener Joseph Atkin continues his weekly column in the South Wales Evening Post -
As summer wanes and the crisp air signifies the beginning of autumn you hear the odd thud or crack in the distance.
Having worked in orchards, you instantly know this is the sound of apples falling from trees or laden branches snapping.
September is often a highlight in the fruiting season.
At Aberglasney, the Belgian fence is crammed with fruit and the old apple tree kitchen garden carpets the floor with apples.
Apples offer far more than just fruit or crab apple jam or any of the eating and drinking products we are so familiar with. There are some fantastic ornamental trees which are grown only for their ornamental value. Like many of you I would agree that edible fruit trees and their blossom are quite beautiful in themselves.
Fruit aside the early blossom and autumn colour of fruit trees is a welcome addition to the garden.
However, what the ornamental trees can give you is a very long late season of interest. In fact, this article is a little early as they are often at their best in the snow or frost.
What ornamental apples give you is usually excellent blossom followed by pleasant foliage ornamental fruit and autumn colour. In addition to this the fruit persist well into winter.
At Pershore some even persisted through a chilly -19.50C and were still on the branches in late February.
If you add all these different attributes together what you realise is that they are really good garden plants. Like most fruit trees they can be grown on different root stock to dictate final size and are very cold hardy.
They make excellent free standing trees in lawns or can be used in wild flower meadows, the latter is particularly useful as they increase the length of interest with blossom before and fruit after the meadow has flowered.
They also make excellent urban trees as they can be kept compact on dwarf rootstocks.
Alternatively they can be trained as wall shrubs or on arches at Aberglasney there is a Malus sargentii trained on an Arber which gives a wonderful spring and autumn show.
This particular plant is excellent for this job as it can trained very successfully and cloths its support very well.
It is extremely popular in blossom and the late season dark red crab apples make a wonderful show over a long period.
The trick to getting the most fruit and blossom is to regularly spur prune the extension growth back to 3 buds. Normally this work is carried out once or twice a year with conventional fruit trees. However if you want a really tight compact shape to allow for better flowers and fruit it is best done once a month over the growing season.
Another favourite at Aberglasney is Malus x atrosanguinea ‘Gorgeous’ which has larger brighter fruit on a small tree.
This year the branches are almost breaking with the weight which gives the tree a nice weeping habit.
This variety is excellent for the small garden as it stays compact and short.
Another really good variety is Malus ‘Sun Rival’ which is slightly larger than ‘Gorgeous’ but similar in habit and fruit. It makes an excellent tree for a lawn or border and has few but more striking fruit. For a really good tough long lasting fruiter then Malus x robusta ‘Red Siberian’ is one of the best generally sold as a small tree it is extremely hardy and the fruits last through to the following spring.
There are very many ornamental apples available like ornamental cherries there is a huge variety.
The important thing to look for when choosing is that it is the right size for your needs, has a good strong graft and is disease free.
Tips for the week
•Bulb planting now is the beginning of the season Narcissus first but later flowering types like Tulips can be left right into November
•Seed Collection from Hardy annuals (make sure you label them)
•Scarify the lawn or re seed as there will still be enough growing time for it to recover
•Make rakes to store and ripen picked fruit cool airy places are best and be careful not to bruise them.
Malus sargentii, top, and Malus Sun Rival, below.
As summer wanes and the crisp air signifies the beginning of autumn you hear the odd thud or crack in the distance.
Having worked in orchards, you instantly know this is the sound of apples falling from trees or laden branches snapping.
September is often a highlight in the fruiting season.
At Aberglasney, the Belgian fence is crammed with fruit and the old apple tree kitchen garden carpets the floor with apples.
Apples offer far more than just fruit or crab apple jam or any of the eating and drinking products we are so familiar with. There are some fantastic ornamental trees which are grown only for their ornamental value. Like many of you I would agree that edible fruit trees and their blossom are quite beautiful in themselves.
Fruit aside the early blossom and autumn colour of fruit trees is a welcome addition to the garden.
However, what the ornamental trees can give you is a very long late season of interest. In fact, this article is a little early as they are often at their best in the snow or frost.
What ornamental apples give you is usually excellent blossom followed by pleasant foliage ornamental fruit and autumn colour. In addition to this the fruit persist well into winter.
At Pershore some even persisted through a chilly -19.50C and were still on the branches in late February.
If you add all these different attributes together what you realise is that they are really good garden plants. Like most fruit trees they can be grown on different root stock to dictate final size and are very cold hardy.
They make excellent free standing trees in lawns or can be used in wild flower meadows, the latter is particularly useful as they increase the length of interest with blossom before and fruit after the meadow has flowered.
They also make excellent urban trees as they can be kept compact on dwarf rootstocks.
Alternatively they can be trained as wall shrubs or on arches at Aberglasney there is a Malus sargentii trained on an Arber which gives a wonderful spring and autumn show.
This particular plant is excellent for this job as it can trained very successfully and cloths its support very well.
It is extremely popular in blossom and the late season dark red crab apples make a wonderful show over a long period.
The trick to getting the most fruit and blossom is to regularly spur prune the extension growth back to 3 buds. Normally this work is carried out once or twice a year with conventional fruit trees. However if you want a really tight compact shape to allow for better flowers and fruit it is best done once a month over the growing season.
Another favourite at Aberglasney is Malus x atrosanguinea ‘Gorgeous’ which has larger brighter fruit on a small tree.
This year the branches are almost breaking with the weight which gives the tree a nice weeping habit.
This variety is excellent for the small garden as it stays compact and short.
Another really good variety is Malus ‘Sun Rival’ which is slightly larger than ‘Gorgeous’ but similar in habit and fruit. It makes an excellent tree for a lawn or border and has few but more striking fruit. For a really good tough long lasting fruiter then Malus x robusta ‘Red Siberian’ is one of the best generally sold as a small tree it is extremely hardy and the fruits last through to the following spring.
There are very many ornamental apples available like ornamental cherries there is a huge variety.
The important thing to look for when choosing is that it is the right size for your needs, has a good strong graft and is disease free.
Tips for the week
•Bulb planting now is the beginning of the season Narcissus first but later flowering types like Tulips can be left right into November
•Seed Collection from Hardy annuals (make sure you label them)
•Scarify the lawn or re seed as there will still be enough growing time for it to recover
•Make rakes to store and ripen picked fruit cool airy places are best and be careful not to bruise them.
Malus sargentii, top, and Malus Sun Rival, below.
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