Do Oranges, Lemons and Olives ever Fruit in the UK?

Orange trees growing in South Africa

Frequently one reads adverts for fruiting trees, such as oranges, lemons and olives, that one would normally regard as rather tender, yet are advertised as suitable for ordinary garden cultivation, resistance to cold
high winds, frost resistant to -5° C. etc.

Has any reader experience, directly or indirectly, of people in the U.K. successfully fruiting these in their gardens, apart from in the very warmest places on the coast?

Howard Stringer.

For news of some exotics fruiting in England see our main website:

Olives in Suffolk; Exotics and Early Fruits in the South East; Pomegrantes fruiting in England

and also on this Blog see Olive Trees fruiting in England

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Apple Tree Protection against Wild Life – suggestions please?

What can I use to protect my apple trees from wild life, e.g., deer, porcupine, mice or voles, rabbits and even beaver? Fences work until the snow gets too high then the animals can get over top of the fencing. Could I use a mix of pine tar and canola oil on the upper branches or will that harm the trees? Is there a fungicide that I should use. These trees are at our lake cabin in Manitoba, Canada. We are not always at the cabin in the winter to keep the animals away.

Bill Morningstar

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Apple Tree Maintenance – advice please?

I live in New England, USA, New Hampshire actually and my question is – what if anything do I spray my Mac Intosh apple trees with in the fall? I was told there are horticultural sprays that are all organic. Is this true? I was also told to spray them in the fall to protect against insects that will live in the tree through the winter, I would really appreciate some good advice. The fruit tree thing is new to me.

Lenny Belanger

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Japanese Quinces – are they edible?

Japanese Quince

A friend gave me some very nice looking Japanese quinces. Are they edible? I want to make them into jelly (with apples), but as I often give my jelly away, I don’t want to poison my friends.

Thai Goulton

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A Bramley Ode for Apple Day

Just in time for Apple Day, a recording of the ‘Bramley Apple Song’ made to celebrate 200 years of the Bramley apple is now available to buy from its originator, John Starkey.

The words of the song were written by John with music by Simon Freeman and it is sung by the tenor singer of Southwell Minster choir and choristers. The disc also contains other songs with an apple theme: ‘Linden Lea’, ‘Oliver Cromwell’, ‘I will give My Love an Apple’ and ‘Apple Tree Wassail’.

To buy a copy, price £4.99 including p&p, contact: starkey@farming.co.uk

Fruit Forum

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‘The Great Autumn Show’

First prize in award for nine plates of apples and pears won by Adrian Baggaley

Another glorious fruit show at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Halls in London this week saw our man from the north, Adrian Baggaley, again scoop up the ‘First Prizes’ and special awards, along with Doug Palmer and Bill Harrison, for their exhibits of apples and pears.  It must be one of the wonders of London that you can come in off the streets of Westminster and step into another world more evocative of a small country show than SW1 just around the corner from the throngs of Victoria Station and the Embankment.

The ‘Great Autumn Show’, as it used to be called, is the opportunity for keen amateur fruit and vegetable growers to gain some of the highest accolades in the show calendar and give Londoners a rare treat. But what perversity this year caused the RHS to split up the fruit and vegetables and distributed them between the two Halls so that the stunning scene of  massed fruit and vegetables was lost; such a  pity!

Fruit Forum

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Fruit Requests

Fruit Forum has received the following requests for supplies of crab apple juice and an apple crusher and will be happy to pass on information.

I am interested in purchasing crab apple juice for jelly making.

Yvonne Abercrombie

A neighbour and I have just started making cider from our various apple trees. We have used a Pulpmaster which works well, but not for volume, and I was wondering if anyone may know of a secondhand fruit crusher for sale?

Mark Taylor

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