[courgette]

Hi I've today purchased 2 maiden apple trees on rootstock M9. I was hoping to train them as cordons (diaganolly against the fence) but the area I was hoping to put them is beside my raised beds, actually planted into the lawn.

I knew I would have to clear some grass, but since read that planting apple trees in the lawn need 4ft of clearance from grass/weeds etc. Is this still the case with dwarf trees/cordons? Think it'l look a bit daft if they do need that much lawn removed...

The other option I have is to use some of my raised bed and to place against the fence there, which would obviously be free of grass & weeds but then I am loosing valuable space for the veg & when i am digging up veg I dont really want to run the risk of disturbing tree roots...

Any advice would be fab please!!

[Stripey_cat]

Mostly it's because the grass will compete with the young trees for food and water, and the grass will tend to win!  If you can keep them irrigated and fertilised, you can underplant as you wish (although you want to leave enough gap round the trunks that they keep dry and clean, or you can get rots and such in the bark).  If you want to have a narrower strip bare under them, how about planting them through membrane, and laying gravel or another mulch.  Of course, you still want to leave the trunk clear.

[courgette]

oh I hadnt thought of mulch, good idea. Thinking now too of putting some sort of wire lawn boarder around them too when I do plant in so that it creates a section rather than just 2 trees in some dirt at the edge of the lawn!  Plus hopefully my sons football is less likely to roll into it then too....either that or they'l create his own little goal posts!!! 

[cAnAry53]

How about planting strawberries under them to make the space useful