Apple Pollination Groups & Dates

October is a Good Time to Plan Orchards

October is main bulb planting time.

Why am I making you think about pollinating fruit trees? Pollination happens in blooming Spring over six months away, which is literally a whole year.

But the bareroot tree planting season is almost ‘pon us merry fellows, starting when weather permits in November.
The kind of people who like to plan (planners, we call them around here) are planning their hearts out over the trees and hedging they want to get in the ground this Winter.

And if you are planting fruit trees this winter, of which apple trees are by far the most popular in Britain, then it’s time to spare pollination a thought.

In most cases, fruit trees that are listed as self-fertile will still give the best crops when cross-pollinated with another variety.

Yes, it’s true, those marketers are all marketing at you with their ‘it’s so self-fertile, I can hardly believe it’ talk.

With few exceptions, pollination will noticeably improve the yield for any fruit tree, and usually the quality of the fruit too.

Soft fruit bushes are often happily self fertile, and benefit from a wider range of pollinating insects closer to the ground that can make up for a low bee population and wind exposure; remember that self-fertile flowers typically still need insects to move the pollen around to fertilise themselves.

But Free Fruit Pollination Partners Are Everywhere!

In most areas of the UK, there are already fruit trees dotted around the place, whether in orchards, hedges, growing wild, or as ornamental specimens.
This is especially true of apples, because flowering crab apple trees are such a common choice for roadsides, parks, and gardens.

You know your local area.

If you are in a wide open, windswept plain with no fruit trees around, then you need to make a sheltered growing space with well-thought-out pollination partners. Include multiple overlapping varieties so if one fails in a given year due to frost or pests, others will cover for it.

But if you are growing apples next to a street lined with crab apple trees, or across the road from another garden with a home orchard, or plenty of other fruit trees within a mile of you, then do not even think about pollination. Choose any variety you like, only according to your soil type & sun aspect.

• Our handy pollination checker tool for all the major fruit trees sold nationwide is ideal for finding a quick match for any variety.
• You can see the information behind the tool displayed in nice-looking pollination tables for easy browsing, great if you don’t know what you want yet.