A delivery from the Apple store!

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No, this post is not about technology (thank Goodness). Just after Christmas I took delivery of a new apple tree from Victoriana Nursery Gardens. It is a curiously-named variety for an apple:- “Winter Banana”. Nevertheless it looks like a really nice specimen, and I have great expectations of it!

The “Scrumptious” apple tree I used to have never did very well, and I think the real reason for this was that it quickly developed Bitter Pit, a condition associated with an inability to absorb calcium from a dry soil. This time I have decided to grow my tree in a container, and I shall go to great lengths to keep it well-watered!

To this end, I ordered a container from LBS Horticultural Supplies. Actually I ordered two, because I am going to re-pot my Olive tree as well. The ones I chose were these, called “Heavy Duty Container Pots”:

They have a capacity of 60 litres. Diameter is 55cm (approx. 22 ins) and height is 38cm. They come with ready-made drainage holes and carrying-handles. I think they are good value too. The pair of them (including next-day delivery) cost me £15.54. This is a LOT less expensive than anything they had at my local garden centre!

Just for comparison, here they are next to one of the 35litre pots I bought last year, for growing potatoes in.

I think LBS have some great, and good value, products. It’s just a shame that their website is such rubbish! And I don’t recommend using their “Contact Us” facility. I used it to try to get information about the dimensions of these pots, but a whole week elapsed and I received no response of any sort, so I had to resort to the telephone.

Since I knew that the container would be too heavy for me to lift it when full, I positioned it where I wanted it before filling it.

Following advice from Stephen at Victoriana, I have stood the pot on top of a triangle of house-bricks, in order to assist with drainage.

Right, now here is the apple tree, after planting:

I have made sure that the joint of the rootstock and the main tree trunk is above the soil level. I also used a bit of soft string to help keep the tree upright just in case we get any severe gales before it settles in.

Along this side of my garden I have not only the new apple tree, but also a “Concorde” Pear tree, a Honeyberry bush and another apple (a Bramley). The latter may be a mistake: I hope it won’t get too big! The beauty of the new arrangement is that it is portable. If I want to move the tree at any stage, it will be eminently possible.

Just the other side of the fence you see here is a big apple tree in my neighbour’s garden. I’m hoping that it will act as a pollinator for the new arrival. If the two don’t “get it together” I may have to buy another little tree, but for the time being all I can do is wait and see…

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