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The 3 Top Performing Fruit Trees to Grow in the UK | Apple, Pear & Plum
The top three trees our growers swear by
Grown by John
South Downs National Park
The highlights
- Bumper crops from the best performing apple, pear and plum trees in the UK
- Harvest fruit from August to November
- Neat and compact trees for any size of garden
- Chosen by our growers for flavour, ease of growing and fantastic crops
Description
- A fruit tree is a big investment in time, effort & precious garden space. Here are the top 3 varieties that our vastly experienced fruit tree growers whole-heartedly recommend if you want to maximise your return on investment and enjoy tasty dividends & bumper yields. John & Josh grow over 250,000 fruit trees a year, so they are well qualified to offer this financial fruit advice.
- 'Williams' pear tree is a little known option and often overlooked in favour of its cousin, Conference. I am the first to admit, it is hard to beat an M&S "perfectly ripe" Conference pear. However, they are usually grown in Belgian glasshouses or the south of France. They often take too long to ripen in the UK & by the time they do, they may have started to rot. Williams ripens much earlier making it more reliable even in the worst British summers. It still delivers on taste and texture and you're guaranteed to get a lot more pears for your plot.
- 'Victoria' plum was John's top recommendation. Without hesitation. He vouches for it being "by far the best plum, if not fruit tree.... Ever". "It's just so easy to grow and bears an enormous load of fruit, every year.". The plums themselves are always plump, sweet and perfect for making jams with. You very rarely get pest problems and you have a decent length harvest period to look forward to.
- 'Elstar' apple is John's pick of the apples - "It’s definitely one of the most juicy and personally, my favourite in terms of flavour. You are almost certain to get a heavy crop each and every year - plus it stores until April, which is amazing". Apples in general are a good choice as they rarely have pest or disease problems, are suitable for almost all soils and produce fruit from a young age. They flower late, which means they avoid surprise frosts which can destroy the buds before they set to fruit in other species.
- All three are RHS Award of Garden Merit winners, fully hardy and suitable for any size of garden
- Please see individual tree pages for sizes, harvest times and more
- Our trees are professionally pruned before dispatching.
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Growing with Roots
Good to know
Our plants are grown in the UK
Specialist UK growers we know and trust grow your plants the traditional way, with organic fertiliser and biological pest control. They pick only the healthiest plants for you, professionally pruning them so that they’ll grow strong and well shaped.
Our plants are delivered overnight
Your plants are sent to you fresh from the field in our plastic free box that’s specially designed to hold them tight, then securely delivered by specialist plant couriers - straight from the grower to your garden within 24 hours.
We’re here to help at every step
We want your plants to have a long and healthy life. Expect easy-to-follow grow guides and videos devised by our team of experts.
Perfect plants, guaranteed
We’re confident that you’ll be delighted with your new plants. Need help? Alice and her team are here to guarantee you’re perfectly happy.
South Downs National Park
Meet John
110 years' expertise free with every tree
John’s family have been growing trees in the South Downs National Park for over a century, and it shows. Dug up and sent straight to your garden at between 18-36 months old, their quality rootstocks, expert pruning and natural pest control mean that these traditionally field-grown trees are the hardiest you can get.
Learn from our experts
The Best Pear Trees (As Chosen by Our Growers)
Digging deep to answer your questions
How do I know I'm getting quality plants?
All of our plants are grown in specialist nurseries with the highest standards of plant care and sustainability. We guarantee you'll love them as much as we do! Don't just take our word for it - we've got thousands of great reviews on Trustpilot.
When will I get my plants?
The delivery timescale for each plant is on the web page (near the 'add to basket's button). You'll receive a dispatch email with an exact delivery date once your plants are on their way, so you can get the garden ready.
How will my plants be packed and delivered?
We send all of our orders through a courier network designed to handle plants. Specialist equipment ensures that no plants will be damaged during the packing process and every order is carefully finished and checked by plant-loving humans. Your plants will arrive in the most sustainable packaging possible with minimal to no plastic used.
Where do you deliver?
We deliver to anywhere in Mainland UK for our standard delivery cost. We are able to deliver most plants to Highlands and non UK mainland however this will be at an additional cost. This will be calculated at the checkout. Please note, deliveries to these locations will take longer. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver to Northern Ireland at present.
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One of our trusted growers will get back to you via email within 24 hours
What customers say about us
We do our best to provide you the best experience ever
Excellent delivery and service
Well, the delivery was spot on, the tree looks healthy enough for a sleeping plant, although at the moment most of the branches are on one side of the trunk which in itself is bent banana-style. quite wonky. One can only hope that it grows into a fruitful plant with some character?
30 January
Nice sized tree in good condition
Time will tell on the quality of the product (bare-root apple trees), but the stems that arrived seemed in great condition and very well packaged so no damage in transit. Looking forward to Spring!
Ange
Appears v healthy
Very happy with purchase
Ms Arlene Bocking
Lovely tree
So happy with my purchase of my Braeburn Hillwell apple tree from Roots Plants. It arrived promptly, well packaged and in a good, healthy condition. I soaked it for an hour before planting and it's doing well. Looking forward to our home grown apples, in time.
Ms Arlene Bocking
It has picked up now and is growing well
It arrived in a heat wave and looked a little bit sorry for itself when planted out but it has picked up now and is growing well.
David Osborne
Good service all round
Arrived on time as the seller said it would and the courier gave me a time slot to track my parcel. It came well packaged and was of good quality for this time of year. It looks a good and healthy tree and will be planted up in a few weeks after the ground has been prepared. I’m pleased with my purchase.
Helen