Fruit & berries

Fruit & berries

Fruit trees and berries give a garden a crop as well as beauty. The section covers apple trees and columnar apples, pears, plums, sour cherry and sweet cherry, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, blueberries, chokeberry, sea buckthorn and rowan, as well as less usual crops such as hardy kiwi, mulberry and grapevine.

How to choose. The first question is pollination. Most apples, pears and plums are self-sterile: to get a crop you need at least two cultivars flowering at the same time, or a suitable tree nearby in a neighbour's garden. Sweet cherry also needs a partner; many sour cherry cultivars do not. Currants, gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries crop on their own. The second question is timing: take early, mid-season and late cultivars together, and the harvest will run from August into October, with winter cultivars keeping in the cellar. The third is size — a small garden suits columnar apples and trees on a dwarfing rootstock, which crop sooner and fit a strip 1.5 m wide.

Planting. Bare-root fruit trees are planted in spring before the buds break, or in September–October; container plants all season. Dig a hole 60–80 cm wide and 50 cm deep, mix in compost and a phosphorus fertiliser, and drive in the stake before you set the tree. The graft union on a fruit tree must stay 5–10 cm above the soil: a buried union throws up suckers and the tree loses the controlled vigour the rootstock was chosen for. Give 2–3 buckets of water after planting, then mulch.

Care in the Estonian climate. In zones 4–5 the most vulnerable part is the flower buds: a night frost can arrive while cherry and plum are in bloom, so plant them in a warm, sheltered spot, ideally on the south side of a building. Prune in March–April before the sap rises, or in July; the aim is to keep the crown open and airy. Protect young trunks over winter from hares and mice with a guard or spiral, and whitewash them in late autumn so the February sun does not split the bark. Feed berry bushes with nitrogen in spring and with potassium and phosphorus after cropping.

Frequently asked questions.
How many apple trees do I need? At least two different cultivars flowering at the same time; in built-up areas a neighbour's tree is often enough.
When will a young plant crop? Berry bushes in the second year, a columnar apple in year 2–3, a standard apple tree in year 3–5.
Do raspberries need support? Yes — a wire or post frame keeps the canes upright and the fruit clean.

Our plants are grown in our own nursery and suited to Estonian conditions. We deliver across Estonia and to European Union countries.