How to choose an apple tree in 5 minutes

Plans are for a plum arch

I love the idea of having the freshest, tastiest fruit, for free. Well, almost free. So having persuaded hubby, AKA Mr Realistic, to help me collect my two plum trees, I couldn't resist dashing round for a quick look at the apple trees.

Not being indoctrinated into the Super Speedy School of Gardening yet, he looked interested for a moment then wandered off back to the car. He was busy thinking about how we would get the two plum trees to fit in said car without them poking one of my eyes out as I sat in the back seat.

I, meanwhile, was chatting with the tree expert at Arundel Aboretum. That's SS gardening advice #1: go to a specialist nursery rather than a garden centre. You don't have to waste time looking for someone to ask for advice, only for them to not have a clue what you're talking about.

SS gardening advice #2: Ask them what you need to know about the plant you're buying.

In this case you need to know about rootstock, ie how big is this tree going to grow? I chose M26, ultimate height 2.4-3m. And pollination, ie do I need to buy more than one tree to ensure cross pollination and lots of fruit? I chose something incredibly exciting: three different varieties of apples all grafted on to the same tree. I'd originally seen an example of this only on a much bigger scale at Paul Barnett Trees near Chichester. So I'm over the moon at having my own mini version, ready to be planted as a centre piece in the middle of our new veggie lawn. Watch this space.

I suppose the last piece of advice is, will it fit in the car? 5 minutes later, with a bit of cajoling, Mr Realistic did manage to fit all three trees into the front passenger footwell, and I really didn't mind having our aptly named 'Family Tree' poking my eyes out all the way home. Baby was highly amused.

My fabulous new 'Family Tree' Apple

P.S. You can taste a huge range of apples sold by Paul Barnett Trees at his tasting events. We orginally met him at Apple Affair at West Dean College, near Petworth in West Sussex.