Do you dream of having your own fruit trees but don’t have enough space in your garden? The good news is that you can still enjoy fresh, homegrown fruit, even in small spaces, by growing columnar or cordon apple trees. These unique trees are perfect for growing in small gardens, patios or balconies, and containers.

When fruit trees are grown and trained in this specific way, you can grow far more fruit in a far smaller area – so this can be a great way to make the most of your space. Minarettes® and Supercolumns are a form of cordon, grown vertically. Most apple or pear varieties can be grown in this fashion, but they require more maintenance than the other columnar forms. Plums and cherries can be grown this way too but the risk of disease entry from pruning cuts makes them less suitable.

Columnar Fruit Tree Care

Cordons are apple or pear trees trained in a columnar fashion. For best productivity and easier maintenance, they are usually planted at an oblique angle. One important thing to note, whether you are training your trees against an existing structure, or making a new support structure, is that it must be strong enough to withstand gales, and support the weight of your trees in windy conditions. Also known as urban fruit trees, columnar fruit trees are basically trees that grow up instead of out, giving the trees a spire shape and a rather elegant appearance. Since the branches are short, the trees are well-suited to small gardens in urban or suburban environments. Read on to learn more about columnar fruit tree care. Urban Fruit Tree Information

Apples need pollen from a different type of apple tree to set fruit successfully, so you’ll need at least two trees of two separate varieties to provide cross-pollination. Plant the trees within 100 feet (30 m.) of one another so bees and other pollinators will visit both trees. According to St Ives Community Orchard, some of the best companion plants for fruit trees include Nasturtium, Basil, Yarrow, Comfrey and Chamomile. 3 Langley, E. (2020, April 20). Companion / Guild planting. St Ives Community Orchard. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://www.stivesorchard.co.uk/companion-planting-around-fruit-trees/ Fruit Tree Care & PruningThe leader itself should also be shortened by a few inches as this induces better spurring lower down. This should be done every season in late Summer. A new leader forms just below where you cut. Once the trees are fully established in 4-5 years then it largely becomes unnecessary. Because they do not have major side branches, cordon trees will not crop as heavily as standard trees or fruit trees with other forms. So make sure your fencing wire and fixings are good quality, durable, and up to the task. Planting Cordon Fruit Trees They will produce delicious full sized fruit in the first year after planting and grow no larger than 1.8m provided they are given an annual trim.