Plum Reine-Claude d’Oullins

This is an old variety which is both vigorous and disease resistant.  It is self-fertile but an excellent pollinator of other plums if needed.In March it is covered in white flowers and develops fruits for July and into August.  Although the golden fruits are large and trees are heavy cropping, the fruit does not drop easily so teees are more tolerant of windy sites.  Fruits are very juicy, sweet and fragrant, suitable for jam making or eating fresh.

Mirabelle de Nancy.

Smothered in white umbels of flowers in April.  In August and early September the tree is covered in small golden yellow fruits. 
These sweet-tasting fruits can be eaten or used for jams/pies etc.  Vigorous trees which will make 3-4mtres when mature.  They are in flowering group 3 and are partially self-fertile but a nearby pollination partner of a different variety is beneficial for fruiting.

Golden Japan

Produces large golden yellow plums from Mid-July. The white flowers appear in March and cover the tree.  Again, self-fertile and another strong vigorous variety highly aesthetic when fruiting, the yellow fruits hanging down along all the branches.

Quetsche de Alsace

One of the best known and most popular of the French plums. The large purple fruits are ready in September.  The flesh is golden yellow and is a pleasant mix of sweet and sharp.  Excellent as a cooking plum or for drying.  Strong trees which will tolerate windy sites and are self-fertile.

You can see what varieties we have in stock in our latest catalogue:

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Apples are one of the most popular and versatile of fruits.  Great for eating straight from the tree and enjoyed as a puree and in many favourite desserts.  They are generally very hardy and easy to grow.  The only thing you really need to consider is that they do need to be planted near at least one different apple variety, with a similar flowering time, to fruit well.  Apples are split into 4 groups which relate to their flowering times.  Below is some more detail on the apple varieties we currently have in stock:

Royal Gala

These are some of the strongest looking apple trees, with superb grafts and have the following characteristics:

Royal Gala is one of the most widely grown apple varieties in the world and for good reason.  Firstly, it has the unique feature of being good for growing in both hot and cold environments, ideal of course for us in the Southwest of France, with sometimes very cold winters and regularly hot Summers.  Apart from the ease of growth, what about the apple itself?  Well, the fruits are very sweet tasting and look great when they mature in August to a strong red colour.  It is therefore an early apple that can be stored for several months.  No wonder Royal Gala is so popular around the world.

Like all apples it does need a pollinator and is in Group 4 (Flowering time).

Chantecler

Another group 4 apple and so would be a great pollinator for either Royal Gala or Cox.

With golden yellow skin and soft sweet, mild, quite large fruits maturing in October, making this French variety a great apple to include in any orchard or potager.

Chantecler is commonly grown commercially in France and is often available in supermarkets.

Cox’s Orange Pippin

The classic English apple often regarded as the finest of all eating apples. 

For the real apple connoisseur, it is said that the Cox has complex ‘aromatic’ flavours more than most other apples, which make it very appealing to many people.  It produces striking orange/red fruits in September.  It is in pollination group 3 (which will cross with group 4 apples as well).

You can see a full list of fruit and ornamental trees currently in stock here:

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Here we will try and demystify some of the terms you come across when buying trees, explain why they are used and how to interpret them.

Why don’t we just use the height?

The height is not a very good measure of how old or big a tree is.  For example, you could have a tree that’s 2m high, but is very spindly and only a year old and you can have a tree 1.5m high that has a very thick trunk is 10 years old…  Therefore, when selling trees there is a different system used universally to let you know roughly what size and age the tree you are ordering is.

So what does it all mean?

You will see in the size column on our Tree Catalogue “6-8 std BR’, but what does that mean? Let’s break it down for you:

6-8      std       BR
Girth     Form     Roots

It’s all about the girth!

The first numbers i.e. “6-8”, “8-10”, “10-12” etc refer to the average size around the trunk of the tree or the “girth” in cm’s.  Most trees grow approximately 2cm’s in girth each year.  On average a tree with a 6-8cm girth will be approximately 2-4 years old.  Therefore, a tree with an 8-10cm girth will be approximately 3-5 years old, a 10-12cm girth will be 4-6 years old and so on.

A 6/8 tree will be approximately 2m high (depending on the variety).

The bigger the girth, the older the tree and the more expensive it will be.  We have found the 6-8 is generally the best size at the most affordable price.  However, we can supply larger trees if you want a more instant effect – please contact us for prices and availability.

For fruit trees, a 6-8 tree will produce fruit in the first year or two. However, it’s normally 3 years before you can expect a good crop.  If you want a fruit tree to crop more quickly, then choose a more mature tree (larger girth).

What does “std” stand for?

STD in the tree growing world refers to the form or shape and stands for “Standard”.  A standard tree in simple terms means having a clear trunk, free of branches (important for maintenance around the tree). 

Some trees are sold in “bush” form – for instance, Hazelnuts – and these are normally shown in height rather than girth.  For example, 1m means the bush will be approximately 1 metre high and will have multiple stems.

What on earth does BR mean?

BR stands for Bare Root – A bare root tree is a tree that has been grown in a field rather than a pot and is lifted out of the ground for sale.  It’s a cheaper way of buying trees, however they need to be planted quickly as the roots must not dry out.  Bare root trees are only available in the autumn when their roots have stopped growing for the winter.  We store our bare-rooted trees in compost until they are collected or delivered.  Once they are removed from the compost, they need to be planted the same day if possible but can be stored overnight if the roots are covered and protected from drying out and frost.  Providing these steps are taken bare-rooted trees have an excellent success rate.

The other ways to buy trees are:

Potted – as you might expect, these trees have been grown in a pot.  This is a more expensive way of buying trees because of the cost to the grower to raise them, but has a better success rate than bare root trees and are available to buy all year round.

Root balled – this method is used for trees grown in a field (like bare-root trees) and is used for very large trees.  A special machine uproots the tree, exposing a large root ball with soil included between the roots.  The “root ball” is wrapped in hessian or something similar.  Large trees sold in this way have a great chance of surviving the replanting process

We hope this guide helps you to decide what sized tree to buy.  We’ll be publishing more guides over the coming weeks and months.  Subscribe to our Newletter below if you’d like to keep up-to-date and learn more about gardening in France or follow us on Facebook.

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