[DopeyAlex]

Hey all,

I have recently got a fairly large greenhouse (about 10x6ft i think), and I was wondering the following:

Which of these fruits would you put in the greenhouse ALL YEAR ROUND?

and which fruits would you just put in during the winter? and WHEN?

The fruits:
Apricot tree
Pear tree
Apple tree
Plum tree
Cherry tree
Lemon tree
Orange tree
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blackcurrants
Blueberries
Blackberries
-also chillis and peppers (i kno its not fruit tho )

All of these are in pots.



This is what I was thinking, but im not sure:

ALL YEAR ROUND IN GREENHOUSE
Lemon tree
Orange tree
chillis and peppers

ONLY WINTER IN GREENHOUSE
Strawberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Cherry tree
Apricot tree


OUTSIDE ALL YEAR
Blackcurrants
Pear tree
Apple tree
Plum tree

How does that sound???


Thanks for being patient with me

Alex

[gowing238]

Unless you had all your trees in pots it would be hard work digging them up and replanting them everytime the seasons change!! Id of thought they would all do ok planted outside all year round!

[The Norfolk Turkey]

Depends a bit on where you are and what the conditions are like. Our blackberries and strawberries are outside all year round, as a friends raspberies and blueberries (although covering styrawberies early in the year can encourage an earlier crop - they need insects to pollinate them).

In a mild area, peppers and chillis can be planted out in the summer, but ours stay in the greenhouse here oop north!

The cherry and apricot might get a bit big for carting in and out and might be better off being covered with fleece - but Im not sure about that one.
Im thinking about getting a lime for the greenhouse for next year, but need to do some homework on what type (dreaming of lime cheesecake and fresh lime in a cold bottle of beer.....!!)

[mumofstig]

Hey all,

I have recently got a fairly large greenhouse (about 10x6ft i think), and I was wondering the following:
This is what I was thinking, but im not sure:

ALL YEAR ROUND IN GREENHOUSE
Lemon tree....perfectly happy outside in the summer
Orange tree...ditto
chillis and peppers I agree

ONLY WINTER IN GREENHOUSE
Strawberries..........only if you want them earlier than normal
Raspberries}
Blueberries}
Blackberries}.....None of these need greenhouse protection at all
Cherry tree}
Apricot tree...I agree, but you may need to hand pollinate in early spring if you do keep it inside till the weather warms up

OUTSIDE ALL YEAR
Blackcurrants  }
Pear tree         } I agree
Apple tree      }
Plum tree        }

How does that sound???


Thanks for being patient with me

Alex

That's what I think anyway

[DD.]

I agree with mum. ( I have to).

Unless you had all your trees in pots it would be hard work digging them up and replanting them everytime the seasons change!!

If you read the OP fully, it says they are in pots.

[gowing238]

doh!!!

[Yorkie]

dopeyalex, please could you edit your profile to show your general location?

If you are in Spain, the answer could be very different to if you are in the Shetlands!

Thanks.  Just click on your name and then edit form profile.

[DopeyAlex]

Thanks for the replies guys. Im in Surrey/Sussex. We do get quite a few frosts.

The trees are self pollinating breeds, so would i still need to hand pollinate them???

Cheers, Alex

[Kristen]

"ALL YEAR ROUND IN GREENHOUSE
chillis and peppers

I grow my Peppers and Chillies as annuals - sowing again from seed each Spring.  I think they will need some heat in the greenhouse overwinter, and the only ones I have tried to keep alive on a windowsill in an unheated spare bedroom have been a nuisance and haven't survived (although in fairness they didn't get any TLC!!)

So I would say, pedantically, that Peppers and Chillies only need to be in the greenhouse for the Summer

I have an eating grape in my greenhouse ... and am contemplating putting some Kiwi fruit in there too - although either of those might be a tight squeeze for a 10'x6' and probably would not like being in pots (Grape is normally planted outside and trained in through a hole low down the side)

[DopeyAlex]

Thanks Kristen.

I know this prob sounds stupid, but i got to ask lol...Do I need to hand pollinate trees that are self pollinating breeds???

[SUTTY1]

You will need to hand pollinate if theres now insects etc out and about to do the job for you

[Kristen]

I know this prob sounds stupid, but i got to ask lol...Do I need to hand pollinate trees that are self pollinating breeds???

I was going to make that point earlier, but I didn't want to LOOK stupid so I kept quiet

Some fruit tress need a different variety to pollinate them. I think Apples fall into a number of groups and Type-A can pollinate Type-B-to-C, but not type-D and so on.

There are some types of plants that don't need insects to pollinate them - Sweet Corn is wind-pollinated, for example. (But in a greenhouse with no wind you need to gently shake the plants to dislodge the pollen - so "manual pollination")

There are probably some things that need no pollination (can't think of one off hand - well, potato tubers would be one, but that's cheating a bit!).

So my, possibly stupid!, answer is that your fruit trees can be pollinated by the plant itself, or another identical variety nearby, but my expectation is that, being a fruit tree, they WILL need ACTUAL pollination - and in the absence of insects that will be you and your paintbrush

[DopeyAlex]

Ok thanks guys. I havn't actually seen flowers on my fruit trees, but a lot of vegitation. They are from rootstocks and only get to about 2m high. I got them this year.

So to hand pollinate, would I simply shake the trees??? and when do you do this??? or should i be asking these question in another topic lol

Cheers, Alex

[gillie]

The apricot (and peaches and nectarines if you had them) should be kept inside over the winter to protect them from rain which will encourage peach leaf curl.  They are perfectly hardy.

Gillie

[Kristen]

So to hand pollinate, would I simply shake the trees??? and when do you do this??? or should i be asking these question in another topic lol

Ah, sorry, misled you there.  Wind pollinated plants, such as sweet corn, you shake and that dislodges the pollen which floats down - and catches any breeze. The female "silks" on sweet corn are adapted to "catch" the pollen.

It is more normal for fruit trees to be pollinated by (say) Bees. The Bees pick up pollen on their body/legs as they push into the flowers to get nectar ... and then that rubs off on the next flower they visit. So you need to emulate that, normally with a small artists (rather than decorator's!) paint brush. Twiddle gently in each flower in turn to pick up, and drop off, the pollen. (Some things, like Cucumber, Melon, Courgette, Squash have separate Male and Female flowers, so for something like that you are Collecting from the male flowers and Depositing on the female flowers - the flowers look/are different).