Gardening Direct have extended their selection of fruit varieties for 2010
(Gardenzine news item: December 2009)
Recognising the increased demand for home-grown fruit, the company has worked with leading British growers to offer a first class selection of Fruit Trees , chosen for compact but vigorous growth.
The Garden Orchard Collection contains three of the best-tasting, productive and most reliable varieties of fruit tree for the British climate, namely Victoria Plum, Cherry Stella and Cox’s Orange Pippin. Each is self-fertile, disease resistant and produces beautiful blossom in the spring. In addition, they have been selected for restricted growth, having semi-dwarfing rootstock. The trees are delivered bare root and boxed for protection in transit. The collection costs £39.95, a major saving on trees purchased individually at a garden centre or nursery.
Other highlights of the Fruit range include a Strawberry Hanging Basket Kit – a complete kit containing an Easi-plant hanging basket, 10 Strawberry Elan plants, Raingel Crystals and Fertiliser pellets allowing customers to easily grow tasty strawberries in any suitable location.
Also of note is the Raspberry Collection. Rather than customers buying raspberry canes Gardening Direct is offering virus free (produced from Meristem culture) Raspberry Plug Plants. Due to the unique way that they are produced they grow more vigorously and fruit earlier. They proved very popular in Autumn 2009 so have been introduced for Spring 2010.
Gardening Direct’s Autumn Fruiting Raspberries, such as Autumn Bliss, make life much easier for gardeners (especially the novice) as they fruit on this year’s wood (rather than earlier fruiting varieties which fruit on last year’s wood).
So each autumn gardeners can simply prune the whole plant down to about a foot while earlier fruiting varieties require gardeners to leave this year’s wood and only prune out last year’s wood, which can be a chore!
Finally, other fruit varieties of note include the early-maturing, sweet tasting Melon Sweetheart (supplied as plug plants) and the prolific Rhubarb Timperley Early (supplied as bare root plants).
Prices for all the fruit varieties are highly competitive, starting at only £6.99 for plug plants and £9.95 for an Invicta Gooseberry bush. For more information please see www.gardeningdirect.co.uk.
Also of note is the Raspberry Collection. Rather than customers buying raspberry canes Gardening Direct is offering virus free (produced from Meristem culture) Raspberry Plug Plants. Due to the unique way that they are produced they grow more vigorously and fruit earlier. They proved very popular in Autumn 2009 so have been introduced for Spring 2010.
