Fruit tree guides

Here are our recommendations of the best fruit trees for various planting situations.

• The best self-fertile apple trees for your UK garden

  Do you only have space for one apple tree? If so, choose a self-fertile variety, which will produce apples without needing another pollinator apple tree nearby.

• The best fruit trees to give as a present

  Fruit trees make ideal presents but choose one of these reliable varieties that will establish quickly and soon be producing fruit.

• Top 10 fruit trees for cooking with

  What are the best fruit trees if you want to start cooking with home-grown fruit? Here are the top 10 fruit trees for the UK kitchen garden recommended by our fruit tree experts. These are apples, plums and other fruits that we think are particularly good for cooking with, and which grow well in the UK climate.

• The best plum varieties for eating fresh

  What are the best plum trees to grow in the UK.? Plums and Gages offer potentially the sweetest and most luscious of temperate fruits, ideal for eating fresh off the tree, so here are the recommendations of our fruit tree experts.

• The best cider apple trees for the UK garden

  These are the best apple trees for making cider. These cider apple varieties will give you a range of interesting flavours for blending your own cider.

• Low-chill apple varieties for the UK

  What are the best apple trees to plant if you are concerned about climate change and warmer weather in the longer term? The answer is 'low-chill' apple varieties which can tolerate milder shorter winters.

• Top 10 fruit trees for wet and cold UK climates

  Which fruit trees are best for planting in cold, wet, and windy parts of the UK? Here are the recommendations of our fruit tree experts for varieties that will thrive in difficult climates.

• Top 5 unusual fruit trees

  If you already have a small orchard and are wanting to add something a bit different, have a look at these fruit trees, which you don't often find growing in the UK.

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• 1. RHS Award of Garden Merit varieties

  Fruit tree varieties that hold (or have previously held) the RHS Award of Garden Merit. These are varieties that are rated by the RHS as excellent for all-round garden value.

• 2. Fruit trees suitable for HLS grant applications

  This is a list of fruit trees available as 1-year maidens on vigorous rootstocks, which should comply with the requirements of Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) grant applications.

• 3. Self-fertile apple varieties

  A list of apple varieties which are reliably self-fertile or partially self-fertile, and don't need another varietiy nearby for pollination.

• 4. RHS Plants for Pollinators varieties

  The RHS Plants for Pollinators initiative shows gardeners which plants and trees are attractive to pollinators because they offer pollen and nectar.

• 5. Disease-resistant apple varieties

  Traditional apple varieties with good natural disease-resistance and modern disease-resistant varieties.

• 6. Cooking apples

  Apple varieties which produce large apples with the acidity and textures needed for baking and preserves.

• 7. Apple varieties which are good pollinators for other apples

  Apples and crab-apples which produce widely-compatible or long-lasting pollen, useful for pollinating other apple varieties.

• 8. Apple trees for the beginner

  Reliable apple varieties which are easy to grow, disease-resistant, good-cropping - ideal for the new apple grower.

• 9. Best apple varieties for juicing and pressing

  All apples can be juiced, but if you want press your own fresh apple juice these varieties have the best flavours and juice colours.

• 10. Apple varieties that are good keepers

  This is a list of apple varieties that are good keepers, and can be stored in a fridge or garage over the winter.

• 11. Pear trees for beginners

  Reliable pear trees which are easy to grow, ideal for beginners - but try to find a sheltered spot in full sun.

• 12. Plum trees for beginners.

  Most plum trees are easy to grow, but these ones are particularly straightforward, ideal for beginners.

• 13. Cherry trees for beginners

  Self-fertile sweet cherry varieties which are easy to grow and should succeed in any spot in full sun.

• 14. Black cherries

  A list of so-called "black" cherry varieties, these are sweet cherries with a black or dark-red skin.

• 15. Fruit trees for North West Scotland

  A selection of fruit tree varieties that should survive and be productive in cool temperate maritime climates, such as north-west Scotland, where wind and rain are a particular problem.

• 16. Traditional apple trees

  A collection of old-fashioned English and Scottish apple varieties from the Victorian era or earlier.

• 17. Fruit trees for a north-facing wall

  Fruit tree varieties that will tolerate the low-light and cold of a north-facing wall, allowing you to get a crop of fresh fruit even in this difficult situation.

• 18. Apple trees for Devon and Cornwall

  Apple trees that are suited to the mild damp climate of Devon and Cornwall (and also Wales, Cumbria and south-west Scotland ).where diease resistance is important.