Trained Fruit Trees

Trained fruit trees often save on space, look highly attractive and can be more productive than a tree left to grow to its own devices. From columnar cordons to low-growing stepovers, and impressive espaliers to aesthetic fans, training a fruit tree is something we recommend every gardener tries at least once in their life. Plus, our growers have done the hard work establishing the initial shape for your trained tree, meaning half the battle is already won!

Need help picking?
Patio and dwarf fruit trees (44)Cordon fruit trees (9)Fan and espalier fruit trees (4)Stepover fruit trees (3)
  • Brown Turkey Fig Tree Soft Fruit
    From £22
    From £22

    UK Hardy Fig Tree | 'Brown Turkey'

    By far the best fig for the UK

    • Boasts a traditional, sweet figgy taste
    • Fully hardy and well-suited to the UK climate
    • Caramelise and serve with balsamic vinegar
    • Pick in August and September

    7 options available

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  • Patio Apple Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Patio Apple Tree

    All-time greats, grown for pots

    • Expertly grown to keep nice and small
    • Includes heavy-cropping varieties
    • Eat fresh, bake in crumbles and cakes
    • Juicy apples, stunning flowers

    4 options available

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  • Grafted Patio Lemon Tree | 4 Seasons Lemon Mediterranean Fruit Trees
    From £30
    From £30

    Grafted Patio Lemon Tree | 4 Seasons Lemon

    Zingy lemons all year round

    • Evergreen foliage and fragrant flowers
    • Grafted for stronger growth
    • Make the best lemon meringue pie!
    • Fresh, zesty fruits throughout the year

    6 options available

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  • Stepover Apple Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £30
    £40 From £30

    Stepover Apple Tree

    Grow low, pick with ease

    • Expertly trained into a low-growing shape
    • Includes RHS award-winning varieties
    • Puree into a sauce to serve with roast pork
    • Both sweet and tart apples, dreamy flowers

    6 options available

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  • Cordon Apple Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £25
    £35 From £25

    Cordon Apple Tree

    Lots of fruit in a limited space

    • Expertly grown in a columnar shape
    • Includes brilliant dual-purpose varieties
    • Use in chutneys, sauces and salads
    • Crisp, refreshing apples, lovely blossoms

    7 options available

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  • Patio Olive Tree | Olea europaea Fruit Trees
    From £20
    From £20

    Patio Olive Tree | Olea europaea

    Bring the Med to your back door

    • Charming, bushy patio tree
    • Small tree - fits every patio
    • Lanceolate, evergreen, silver-sheened foliage
    • Boasts good drought tolerance

    8 options available

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  • Cordon Pear Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Cordon Pear Tree

    A space-saving way to grow pears

    • Expertly grown in a columnar shape
    • Includes RHS award-winning varieties
    • Bake in crumbles, pies and tarts
    • Succulent pears, delightful blossoms

    4 options available

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  • Growers' Talk

    How to train a fruit tree

  • Calamondin Orange Tree | Citrus calamondin Trained Fruit Trees
    £40
    £45 £40

    Calamondin Orange Tree | Citrus calamondin

    Step aside lemon and lime...

    • A combination of sweet and sour
    • Perfect for patio growing
    • Eat fresh, use in drinks or make a marmalade
    • Harvest from July to November

    1 option available

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  • Makrut Lime Tree | Citrus hystrix Soft Fruit
    From £55
    From £55

    Kaffir Lime Tree | Citrus hystrix

    Zest to impress

    • Intensely fragrant, citrusy taste
    • Self-fertile (no cross-pollination needed)
    • Add the leaves and zest to Thai curries
    • Harvest the fruit and leaves all year round

    1 option available

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  • 'Little Miss Figgy' Patio Fig Tree Soft Fruit
    From £30
    From £30

    'Little Miss Figgy' Patio Fig Tree

    Brilliantly compact fig tree

    • Classic fig taste with a moreish sweetness
    • Often produces two crops per year
    • Rustle up a batch of homemade fig rolls
    • Pick your crop in August and September

    4 options available

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  • Award-Winning Cordon Fruit Tree Collection | Apple, Pear & Plum Fruit Trees
    From £85
    £105 From £85

    Award-Winning Cordon Fruit Tree Collection | Apple, Pear & Plum

    All the plaudits, half the space

    • Columnar fruit trees that save on space
    • Three RHS award-winning varieties
    • Grow in pots and on balconies
    • Create your own miniature orchard

    1 option available

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  • Patio Pear Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £32
    £35 From £32

    Patio Pear Tree

    Lush pears from the doorstep

    • Expertly grown to keep nice and small
    • Includes award-winning varieties
    • Eat fresh, poach or use in baking
    • Melt-in-the-mouth pears, magical blossoms

    4 options available

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  • All of our fruit trees are grown with care in the UK

  • Patio Cherry Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Patio Cherry Tree

    Small in stature, big on impact

    • Expertly grown to keep nice and small
    • Includes disease-resistant varieties
    • Eat from the tree, bake in pies and cobblers
    • Flavourful cherries, fantastic flowers

    5 options available

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  • Cordon Plum Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Cordon Plum Tree

    Plenty of plums, minimal space

    • Expertly grown in a columnar shape
    • Includes reliably-cropping varieties
    • Use to make syrups, jams and chutneys
    • Honeyed plums, evocative flowers

    3 options available

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  • Patio Plum Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Patio Plum Tree

    Your fave varieties, kept small

    • Expertly grown to keep nice and small
    • Includes very hardy varieties
    • Pick and eat fresh or make a sticky plum jam
    • Sweet plums, sensational flowers

    3 options available

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  • Award Winning Patio Fruit Tree Collection | Cherry, Pear & Plum | Growers' Choice Fruit Trees
    From £70
    £105 From £70

    Award Winning Patio Fruit Tree Collection | Cherry, Pear & Plum

    Our growers' best picks for pots

    • Grow your own fruit on a balcony or patio
    • RHS Award of Garden Merit winners
    • Easy care, heavy cropping and flavourful
    • Harvest from July to October

    1 option available

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  • Cordon Cherry Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Cordon Cherry Tree

    Great yields in half the space

    • Expertly grown in a columnar shape
    • Includes both sweet and sour cherries
    • Use in crumbles, cobblers and conserves
    • Flavour-packed fruit, fab flowers

    3 options available

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  • Growers' Talk

    10 Best Fruit Trees for Pots

  • Cordon Apricot Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £45
    From £45

    Cordon Apricot Tree

    Tasty apricots in smaller spaces

    • Expertly grown in a columnar shape
    • Includes highly reliable varieties
    • Dry for a tasty, quick sugar hit
    • Sweet, juicy apricots, fragrant blossoms

    2 options available

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  • Cordon Cherry and Plum Trees | Perfect Partners Fruit Trees
    From £55
    £67 From £55

    Cordon Cherry and Plum Trees | Perfect Partners

    Big flavours from limited spaces

    • Columnar cordons are ideal for small gardens
    • Two incredibly flavourful varieties
    • Productive trees you can grow in pots
    • Loved by pollinators

    1 option available

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  • Patio Apricot Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £35
    From £35

    Patio Apricot Tree

    A little tree goes a long way!

    • Expertly grown to keep nice and small
    • Includes heavy-cropping varieties
    • Eat straight after picking or dry for a snack
    • Refreshing apricots, charming flowers

    2 options available

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  • Cordon Apple and Pear Trees | Perfect Partners Fruit Trees
    £50
    £70 £50

    Cordon Apple and Pear Trees | Perfect Partners

    Limited on room? No worries!

    • Grow as vertical, space-saving cordons
    • An incredible dessert pear and cooking apple
    • Get big yields from small spaces
    • RHS AGM winning varieties

    1 option available

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  • Stepover Pear Tree Trained Fruit Trees
    From £40
    From £40

    Stepover Pear Tree

    Pear back on size, not quality

    • Expertly trained into a low-growing shape
    • Includes one of the best old varieties
    • Poach in red wine, cinnamon and cloves
    • Moreish pears, charming blossoms

    3 options available

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  • Patio Apple and Pear Trees | Perfect Partners Fruit Trees
    From £60
    £70 From £60

    Patio Apple and Pear Trees | Perfect Partners

    Your own patio orchard

    • Iconic varieties you can grow in small spaces
    • Fruits with unparalleled flavour
    • Nice and easy to look after
    • Both RHS Award of Garden Merit winners

    1 option available

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  • Blood Orange Tree | Citrus sinensis Soft Fruit
    £45
    £60 £45

    Blood Orange Tree | Citrus sinensis

    Vampires love 'em!

    • Big, bold sweetness and tartness
    • Oranges with vibrant, ruby-coloured flesh
    • Eat as wedges or use to make sticky marmalade
    • Harvest from December to April

    1 option available

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  • Tiger Orange Tree | Patio 'Arcobal' Orange Trained Fruit Trees
    £45
    £60 £45

    Tiger Orange Tree | Patio 'Arcobal' Orange

    The stripy orange!

    • A beautifully-balanced sweet-tart mix
    • Incredibly unusual striped rind
    • Juice and use in a blood orange G&T
    • Harvest from September to November

    1 option available

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  • Hand of Buddha Citron Tree | Citrus medica digitata Soft Fruit
    £55
    £65 £55

    Hand of Buddha Citron Tree | Citrus medica digitata

    Reach fruiting enlightenment

    • Like lemon zest without the bitterness
    • One of the most unusually-shaped fruits!
    • Use for zesting and making syrupy marmalades
    • Fruits most often harvested from late summer

    1 option available

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  • Patio Citrus Collection Soft Fruit
    From £150
    £165 From £150

    Patio Citrus Tree Collection

    Bring the Med to your doorstep

    • Perfect, patio-sized citrus trees
    • Zesty, colourful fruits to get your mouth watering
    • Fabulously fragrant flowers
    • Waxy evergreen leaves offer interest all year

    1 option available

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Roots' Cotswolds Valley Nursery

Meet Mike

Tree-growing skills honed right across the globe

Having started out in Australia, studied in Northern Ireland and volunteered at an organic farm in Sweden, it’s fair to say Mike’s done his fair share of travel on his horticultural journey, so far! Having happily laid down roots here at Roots, Mike is the don behind our tree-growing operation, imparting each and every one of his globally-honed skills to benefit your garden. Grown in our purpose-built nursery, in the ideal climatic conditions of the fertile Vale of Evesham, we’re proud to supply only the happiest, healthiest and hardiest trees.

Need help picking?

Which type of trained fruit is right for me?

Which type of trained fruit is right for me?

So, you’ve decided you want a trained fruit tree – great! What next? Well, it’s time to choose which one. Espaliers and fans are great choices if you have a spare wall or fence, or a bit more space to erect a freestanding wire trellis. Cordons are a good option for the space-conscious gardener who perhaps wants to try their hand at growing a couple of different fruit types. Stepovers offer a lovely, traditional way to edge your veg beds, while miniature patio fruit trees are good for exactly that – patios and sunny balconies!

We’ve done all the hard work

We’ve done all the hard work

Whichever trained fruit type you opt for, you can rest easy knowing that our growers have taken care of most of the hard work for you. Whether it be grafting your tree on the appropriate rootstock, pruning and shaping it, or growing it out in the field to thicken up its stem, your tree is going to be in the best shape possible (pun intended) when it makes its way to you.

What next?

What next?

Trained fruit trees do need a little more care and attention to keep them looking so fabulous, and many training types require specific pruning techniques to get them growing the way you want them to. Don’t worry, though, it’s all pretty straightforward stuff, and you can check out all there is to know in our espalier, fan, cordon, stepover and patio guides.

Happy plants make happy customers

Trustpilot
Ornamental Colour Collection Pond Plants
five star rating on Trustpilot

Plants arrived in great condition and very promptly. Well established - much better than the ones I got at my local garden centre.

Monica Spence

| 24 May
Star Jasmine | Trachelospermum jasminoides Climbing Plants
five star rating on Trustpilot

Yet again this company delivered good healthy plants, exactly as shown in photos, well packaged and within delivery time quoted. Recommend!

Jacqueline Burgess

| 2 Jun
five star rating on Trustpilot

I continue to be so impressed with Roots. Their customer care, knowledge of their subject: from planting hedges to pruning roses and more, has been a great support.

Judy Lane

| 23 Oct
E 'Black Hamburgh' Indoor Grape Vine Soft Fruit
five star rating on Trustpilot

The plant arrived looking vigorously healthy, which brings a smile to your face, extremely well protected in its packaging.

Martyn Hill

| 5 Jul
E 'Braeburn Hillwell' Apple Tree Fruit Trees
five star rating on Trustpilot

As a non-gardener, I found my whole experience brilliant. Great information & advice available on the website, great range of products & prices are brilliant.

John-Paul

| 22 May
five star rating on Trustpilot

Wonderful plants and great customer service... really surprised to find that the plants are better than those you would get at your local garden centre.

Gavin Wilcock

| 8 Nov

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