[J_B]

Bought a coupld of bareroot 2 yeras old trees - victoria plum and comise pear....expect them in early nov...this si the first time im trying fruit trees, the apples trees at home were already planted before we bought the palce...i am planning on growing them at home in pots....so taht they dont go beyond 7 ft...any suggestions ...tx

[sunshineband]

If they are on dwarfing rootstocks they should thrive in large pots.

Using a soil based compost or a mix of top soil and multipurpose compost helps with water retention. Plastic pots are better than clay in that respect too: they can dry our pretty quickly in hot weather

If the temperature falls very low, wrapping the pot in bubble plastic so that the root ball does not freeze is helpful

Position the pots somewhere out of the wind if possible. Plant the trees up to the same level as the soil was previously and stake them securely with a proper tree stake and a rubber tie.

A good feed of rose fertiliser or Blood Fish & Bone in February is helpful, with another dash around June.

And thinning the fruitlets after the June drop so that the branches are not overladen means you'll get decent sized fruit too

Hope that helps 

[solway cropper]

What rootstock are the trees grown on?

For the apple you'd really need a very dwarfing type such as M27 if growing in tubs. You might get away with M9 but trees in pots need a lot of attention and feeding if you want decent crops.

The pear would ideally need to be on a quince C rootstock.

[J_B]

Ok they have arrived so will plant them up tomorrow...im thinking of growing them in pots at home....however garden bargains have further discounts so am tempted to grow a couple in the allotment as well

[Yorkie]

If you are going to put them on the allotment make sure a) you are allowed trees, and b) it really is a dwarfing rootstock.