[3759allen]

last year i brought 7 fruit tree's on impulse, i got all different varieties as i wanted a variety, all be it in small amounts.

i haven't got a lot of room, so can't fit any more in with out sacrificing other crops or lawn.

i have peach, apricot, apple, pear, plum (one of each) and 2 cherry trees (different varieties). i was assuming i will need to hand pollinate as i have so many varieties in singular numbers. what i'm a little confused about is weather i can use pollen from one tree to pollinate the same tree? i'm hoping you can otherwise i've messed up.

any advice appreciated. thanks.

[teamspotty]

I'd imagine that the ones that you've bought will all be self pollinators, leave the work to the bees and other pollinating insects!

All stone fruits will be (so I believe), apple and pear are slightly different, but the likelyhood is that they will be.

[Headgardener22]

There's also the question of what other trees there are in the vicinity. Pollinating insects travel a long way.

[Norfolkgrey]

It is more a case of wether they are self pollinating or not and suitable partners (rather than hand or insect). Even if they are self pollinating they will produce heavier crops when cross pollinated (different variety, second tree of same variety won't help) also some varieties require two pollinaters. I have an issue where I live as there is a lack of pear trees, so I have a lovely mature tree- masses of blooms each year smoothered in honey bees but only a fair crop. Some sites that are worth looking at are http://orangepippintrees.co.uk/  and http://www.bernwodefruittrees.co.uk/about.htm. Be careful it can be addictive once you get into it   

[3759allen]

thanks for the replys.

sounds slightly reassuring, to be honest i didn't research a lot before buying them, now i'm thinking about them i feared i made a monumental mistake.

i will look in to if the varieties i have are self pollinating tomorrow.

norfolk grey- am i right in thinking when you say cross pollinating with a different variety, i need different varieties of the same species (eg 2 different variety of cherries, not one cherry and one plum)? silly question but nowhere seems to clarify the matter.

next door has lots of cooking apple tree's, not sure what variety but hopefully that should help with the pollination of my apple tree.

[Norfolkgrey]

I don't believe in silly questions  in regards to pollination it as you said 2 varieties of apple, 2 cherry, 2 pear etc. Just me being nosey but what varieties have you got?

You haven't made a mistake. Most of us have done it. Its the bargain hunter and the optimistic side coming out   

I have a new orchard full of aldi and other discount place trees and yes I only started to get into the rootstock, pollination and other things last year 

[3759allen]

i have sunburst and stella cherries, victoria plum, moonpark apricot, redhaven peach, braeburn apple and confrence pear.

[Kristen]

some varieties require two pollinaters

Is that right?  Or is this the triploid issue? (where the triploid variety cannot pollinate anything else, including itself, so you need something else to pollinate the triploid and THEN you need something else to pollinate that - unless the second one is self pollinating, but even if it is I agree with your point that varieties described as self-pollinating benefits from being pollinated by a different variety.)

One other point to consider is that whilst you need two varieties for cross pollination, they also need to flower at the same time so just "any two Apple varieties" might not satisfy that (varieties are classified in pollination-groups, which is basically just when they flower, and a group either side of yours will do as flowering overlaps).

For Apples a Crab Apple in the vicinity will do. They are particularly good pollinators as they flower over a relatively long period, and are often planted in commercial orchards to assist pollination.

[Norfolkgrey]

Is that right?  Or is this the triploid issue? (where the triploid variety cannot pollinate anything else, including itself, so you need something else to pollinate the triploid and THEN you need something else to pollinate that - unless the second one is self pollinating, but even if it is I agree with your point that varieties described as self-pollinating benefits from being pollinated by a different variety.)

Morning Kristen. Yes I didn't word it very well but it is the triploid issue I was thinking 

Having a quick gurgle all the varieties listed are self fertile and the apple is spur bearing so you should be good 

[moose]

some varieties require two pollinaters

Is that right?  Or is this the triploid issue? (where the triploid variety cannot pollinate anything else, including itself, so you need something else to pollinate the triploid and THEN you need something else to pollinate that - unless the second one is self pollinating, but even if it is I agree with your point that varieties described as self-pollinating benefits from being pollinated by a different variety.)

One other point to consider is that whilst you need two varieties for cross pollination, they also need to flower at the same time so just "any two Apple varieties" might not satisfy that (varieties are classified in pollination-groups, which is basically just when they flower, and a group either side of yours will do as flowering overlaps).

For Apples a Crab Apple in the vicinity will do. They are particularly good pollinators as they flower over a relatively long period, and are often planted in commercial orchards to assist pollination.

+1

[caroline800]

as an offshoot 

if you are limited for space perhaps you could try a bud graft if someone will let you have (maybe exchange?) a bit of their tree

this guy http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2437247/250-varieties-apple-tree--thanks-bit-hard-grafting-years.html has put 250 different varieties of apple on one tree using bud grafting https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=400

or this one with 40 different fruit (peaches, plums, cherries etc)http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2705583/The-tree-bears-40-DIFFERENT-fruit-Magical-looking-plant-produces-varieties-peaches-plums-apricots-cherries.html

looking on youtube it seems fairly simple, but never tried it myself 

[3759allen]

to be honest i'm struggling to get my head around all this fruit growing malarkey as it is. think i'd like to get a bit more knowledge and experience before i complicate things further.

and to be honest if i could get enough from what i've got, say a small bucket of fruit of each tree, i'd be happy.

as these are self pollinating what does this actually mean (sorry again for the idiot question)? will they benefit from hand pollination (pollen from one blossom to another blossom on the same tree)?

[Norfolkgrey]

as these are self pollinating what does this actually mean (sorry again for the idiot question)? will they benefit from hand pollination (pollen from one blossom to another blossom on the same tree)?

Self pollinating means they have the ability to produce their own pollen to set fruit. So you should get some fruit once established .

[teamspotty]

as these are self pollinating what does this actually mean (sorry again for the idiot question)? will they benefit from hand pollination (pollen from one blossom to another blossom on the same tree)?

You could, that will make sure that it pollinates, but if you've got pollinating insects they will do the job for you. As other people have said, if you have other cross pollinators around, you end up with a decent crop, so it is better to allow nature to do everything for you - no need to run around with a brush or spend the time climbing up trees!

On our plot we have an apple tree, a pear (which does have issues mainly due to location), 2 damson and 1 victoria plum, we get fruit every year (sometimes in absolute abundance) and we do nothing.

[Kristen]

as these are self pollinating what does this actually mean (sorry again for the idiot question)? will they benefit from hand pollination (pollen from one blossom to another blossom on the same tree)?

Some years the weather is cold enough that the bees are not active by the time that the trees are in flower, in such a year it might benefit from hand-pollination. But nature has figured out a way that works and it seems to me that:

Spring arrives - temperatures rise
Fruit trees blossom
Bees start work

so, usually, everything goes fine just by itself

But, you might find it worthwhile hand pollinating in any year where it seems to you that the Bees are making a late start.

If you want a simpler approach that perhaps just do nothing until you encounter a year when you have poor yields, and then consider an approach to solve it. It might have been a cold spring, or it might be because you don't have a suitable pollinator (for example: self-pollinating varieties can tend to produce fruit every other year without a pollinator).  An awful lot "just depends" ...

So perhaps just water and feed the trees and sit back and see how they get on?

Personally I would not let young fruit trees bear fruit as I would prefer that they concentrate on getting strong and developing well, rather than using up energy producing fruit. But I would let each one carry one or two fruit so that I could check that they are the varieties I thought they were, and taste nice etc. Otherwise you might wait several years only to then find that they are the wrong variety, or you don't like the taste.