[dougens]

Hello

I live in South Devon and am looking for some advice on both dwarf fruit trees and standard size.

I have a mid terraced house with a North facing front garden, or strip of small lawn! see attached image.  It doesn't really get much sun.

I have raised beds, a small cold frame greenhouse, potato bags and tomato grow houses in my sunny south facing patio plot out the back of my house but I'm interested in planting some fruit trees on my front lawn and was after some advice please.

My wife gave me as a gift a quince fruit tree (variety not known) a few years ago and it has been in a large pot ever since as I didn't have the bottle to plant a full sized tree in my garden (she did mean to get me a dwarf variety but never mind!)  please see image of tree attached.  It threatens to flower each summer in the pot and then the leaves drop off and it will remain as it is in the image until the next summer (hopefully)

Here are my questions:

Can I plant the quince tree at the bottom of my garden (by the tarmac at the bottom of the slope) and make sure I keep on top of pruning it in order to keep it's size small?

Can I plant next to it (on either side) a dwarf apple tree and a dwarf plum or pear tree?

If yes, please advise some decent varieties that might suit my plot and position?

Do I need to worry about roots and the close proximity of the tarmac path?

When is the optimum time to plant trees?

My neighbour does have an apple tree (large) that is in exactly the same position over the hedge (seen in image 2) and there is a glut each year so bodes well I hope......

Any help and advice gladly accepted.

Thanks for reading

[Goosegirl]

Looking at another thread on here, try R V Rodger of Pickering and ask their advice for the best one for your situation.

[Yorkie]

Looking at another thread on here, try R V Rodger of Pickering and ask their advice for the best one for your situation.

I'd probably suggest a more southern specialist grower for advice initially rather than Rogers, given that dougens is in the S West.

You can plant trees at any time as long as it's not frozen or waterlogged, although now is a good time (hot summer can stress them rather).

Any dwarf trees will have planting instructions - which should include how far apart to space them.  They won't do well if competing for water, light and nutrients. 

I'm no expert on quinces I'm afraid.  Apple tree roots are very close to the surface.