[AndyRVTR]

So.. I popped into Lidl this morning and bought 3 of their dwarf fruit trees, 2 x Elstar apple trees (malus domestica) and a Kordia (prunus avium) cherry tree, all in 18cm pots.
The thing is... I know absolutely nothing about growing them, can anyone give me some advice about what to do next please!

[Lardman]

Any idea of the rootstock they're on?  Give them a good soak for now and stand them somewhere sheltered outside.

Do you want to make standard trees from the apples or formally train them like a cordon or espalier.  The cherry can be treated much the same, as a tree or as a fan or even kept in a large pot which will make it easier to net for bird protection.

Trees are easy - if you don't want to be bothered with them much, you an just stick them in the ground and forget about them  and pick the fruit when it arrives.

[AndyRVTR]

Thanks for the info Lardman... as for rootstock, I've got no idea, there's nothing on the labels and from what I've read this morning it appears Lidl don't seem to know either. I'd prefer to keep them in pots as dwarf trees at the top of the garden which is South facing, it gets full sun for most of the day. Some articles say to pot on into 18-20" pots, but should that be done now, or leave them until the winter? It does say maximum height is up to 1.5m if that helps lol

[Lardman]

Sound like the apples are on m27 or similar.

You can pot on any time of year, best to use as big a pot as you can (but watch the weight if you ever move them) and use a mix of of good compost and garden soil, I don't like to keep trees in pots too long but have used a 2-1 soil to compost mix for a few years. You'll need to feed and water regularly during the season, but your apples at least should give you a few kgs - the cherry, treat the same but good look with the birds  .

Water & feed in season, Top dress in winter / spring and follow the 3D's of pruning and there's not a lot to go wrong.

[AndyRVTR]

That's brilliant, thank you for taking the time to explain stuff.. I've emailed Lidl to see if they can find out what rootstock they are!

[Lardman]

Google tells me they have used M9 in previous years which is just up from M27, if it's pot based there's really not going to be an issue unless they've used something like MM106. When potting on make sure the graft is above the soil level some of the supermarket grafted tress I have were done very low.

[Hampshire Hog]

I have a cherry tree I bought a few years ago again I think from Lidl. Only watch out as Lardman says is the birds!!! My tree is now too large to protect so all I do is feed the local pigeons. (Other birds are available) If you want to avoid the fate of my tree you might want to train it as Lardman suggests so you can cover it easily. I do get the pleasure of the blossom though.
Good luck HH

[AndyRVTR]

Any idea of the rootstock they're on?  Give them a good soak for now and stand them somewhere sheltered outside.

I found out the Apple trees are on a 'p22' rootstock, apparently being used more preferably by growers than the 'm27' now!