General notes

Where in the country?

Choose varieties that are hardy in your area. However, hardy refers to the plant surviving a cold winter, not the blossom, but of course the flower buds and blossom have to survive undamaged to produce a crop. So look for varieties that flower after the risk of frosts has passed in your area, or be ready to protect your plants either with fleece, netting, or by spraying water if you can be sure it will freeze (this may sound daft, but it protects the blossom and is used commercially).

USA climate zones are often quoted by authors and suppliers when referring to hardiness, and these can be applied to the UK too:

Zone 9: the mild coastal areas of the island of Ireland, and the coastal areas of western Scotland, Wales and the English south-west

Zone 8: colder than 9 - the majority of the UK

Zone 6: the coldest in the UK - the high land of the Cairngorms, Scotland.

Use these zones as a very general guide when choosing what to grow, and if your area is borderline for the plant you want to grow, be sure to position it in a sheltered sunny site, preferably against a wall that will act as a storage heater.

You also have to take into account local conditions, height above sea level, local wind strengths and direction, frost pockets, waterlogging and soil type. Be guided by what is already growing successfully in your area, and ask neighbours for their experiences of plants that do not do well. Before buying expensive plants, consult the supplier too.

Site and soil

A sunny site is necessary for ripening most fruit and nut crops. It's not just for colour but flavour, although some fruits (some dessert apples, some dessert pears, quince, medlar) continue to mature in store and in fact are best not eaten fresh off the tree.

To grow well, fruit and nut plants need soil that retains moisture but not in a site prone to waterlogging.

Pollination

Another essential is encouraging insect pollinators, so grow your plants in a place sheltered from high winds which would deter the bees and other insects. However, be careful that it's not such a sheltered place that it is a frost pocket. You often need more than one nut or fruit tree to be sure of pollination - even if you choose a self-fertile type - seek the advice of the supplier. And for flowers that appear too early for the insects, or for plants grown in greenhouses,you will have to hand-pollinate the flowers by shaking the plants or using a small brush or cotton bud.

You may need more than one plant to ensure cross-pollination and a crop, so this is one more thing to check with your supplier.

Some nut trees (hazel, sweet chestnut, walnut) are wind-pollinated, so are less of a problem, but just because they are wind-pollinated, that doesn't mean they will grow well in a windy spot.

Restrict growth

For easy management (hand-pollinating, pruning, draping with fleece and harvesting), choose trees grafted on dwarfing rootstocks (for smaller plants and earlier maturity) and prune to create a bush or vase/wine glass shape, or train as cordons, step-overs (which are just horizontal cordons), fans or espaliers to keep them compact.

A bush has a very short 'leg' ie main trunk or stem.

A vase or wine glass shape has an open centre.

A stepover is really two horizontal cordons.

You can train main stems at an angle against wire supports.

These drawings are in The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening, edited by George Nicholson of Kew Gardens. Much of this Victorian encyclopaedia is just as relevant today. We have Alec's great-grandfather's set (he was a nurseryman) but you can see all the pages online as they've been scanned by the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

An espalier is trained along horizontal wires.

A fan is also trained on canes supported by horizontal wires.

Protect the crop

Back to the present, be sure of keeping the crop for yourself, so use a fruit cage if you can to keep out birds, check for pest and disease symptoms, and store your harvest in a cool dry vermin-proof place.

Nuts and fruit - specific information

Suppliers (eg Crocus, Thompson and Morgan , Unwins) have growing guides and information on ultimate (if unpruned) sizes of specific plants that they sell.