How to Grow Fruit in Small Spaces

Few things are as satisfying for gardeners as cultivating something attractive and edible. Most people know they can grow a few herbs or some container vegetables in a small space but few realize that they can produce fruit in the same space. You don't need an orchard to produce apples or a dedicated grove to grow citrus; even a small space can yield enough fruit for a family. A few containers, some soil, and possibly a trellis or wall are all you generally need.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Check the rootstock to make sure it will work for the space. Whether a fruit tree such as an apple, peach or cherry is suitable for a small garden depends not so much on the variety of the fruit but on the rootstock. This has a profound affect on the size of the tree (as well as how soon it starts to fruit). Always check the rootstock before you buy, and if in doubt ask whether it is suitably dwarfing for a small garden.

2. Train fruit trees. Trained trees look attractive and produce a heavy crop from a restricted space. But they require regular and methodical training, sometimes twice a year. If in doubt about how to prune a particular trained fruit, consult an encyclopedia or fruit book.

3. Grow potted fruit. Apples can be grown in pots provided you choose a very dwarfing rootstock. The same applies to peaches. You can experiment with other bush and tree fruits, but bear in mind that this is second best to growing them in the ground.

4. Cultivate flagpole apples trees. You can buy a range of apple trees that rarely produce long sideshoots, but instead grow upright and produce most fruiting spurs along the main vertical stem. These take up little space and won't cast a heavy shadow, so they are ideal for growing in a flower bed. The blossom is pretty in spring, and the ripening fruits are ornamental later in the year.

5. Train the fruit trees into shape effects. The most satisfactory way to grow tree fruits such as apples and pears in a small garden or a confined space is trained as a cordon, fan or espalier against a wall or fence. Even some bush fruits such as gooseberries can be trained as cordons or double cordons against a fence.

6. Use rhubarb for drama. Rhubarb is ornamental enough to be grown in the flower border. You can even grow it in a large pot as a foliage plant for the patio, though this is not the best way to achieve a heavy crop.

7. Put a strawberry jar in a corner. When you don't have much space for fruit, then at least grow strawberries in a decorative jar. A strawberry barrel or a tower container hold a lot of strawberries and, provided you keep the container well watered, it will be laden with fruit.

8. Use walls or fences to grow berries. Blackberries and hybrid berries can be trained against a fence or over an arch, but keep the growth contained and avoid allowing thorny shoots to overhang pathways.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose dwarf fruit species that take up less space.