Of course, you can't plant a normal-sized apple tree in a small garden - it would suffer from a lack of space after a few years. Nevertheless, as the owner of a mini garden, you don't have to go without fresh, self-harvested fruit: There are weak-growing varieties of almost all common types and varieties of fruit that can be planted in a small space and produce a rich harvest.
Which fruit trees are suitable for small gardens?
Slow-growing fruit trees that have been created by grafting onto suitable rootstocks or special varieties are suitable for a small garden. Popular small-growing varieties include apple 'Braeburn', pear 'Williams Christ' and columnar or espalier fruit trees as a growth habit.
Growth forms suitable for small gardens
Small fruit trees can be obtained, for example, by grafting a common variety onto a weakly growing rootstock. Suitable rootstocks were mainly bred in the English town of East Malling and are still distinguished from one another today by numbers preceded by an “EM” or “M”. For smaller gardens, the rootstocks M9 as well as M26 and M27 are often used - the latter is particularly slow-growing. Furthermore, special dwarf fruit trees were bred, which over the years develop a very thick trunk, but only a small height and a small crown. This form is mainly found in peaches. Also very suitable growth forms for small gardens are:
- fruit tree trained as a bush
- Spindle bush
- Column or rod tree
- Espalier fruit tree
The best fruit species and varieties for small gardens
Even if they are planted on a weakly growing rootstock, not all types of fruit are suitable for planting in a small garden. Below you will find a list of popular apple and pear varieties that, when appropriately refined and trained, do not take up too much space. By the way, berry bushes, grapes and the Indian banana, which is still little known in this country, are also very suitable for small gardens.
Apple
Many apple varieties in particular are considered to be extremely vigorous. The following tried and tested and popular apple varieties can be cultivated with smaller stature for small gardens, and many are also suitable for container cultivation:
- ‘Alkmene’: sweet and sour
- 'Clear apple': can be harvested in July, cannot be stored
- 'Braeburn': one of the best varieties for the small garden
- ‘Finkenwerder Autumn Prince’: naturally short in stature
- ‘James Grieve’: good pollen donor for other varieties too
Pear
Pears can also be trained wonderfully as espalier trees. The following proven varieties can also be kept as small trees in the home garden:
- ‘Abate Fetel’: needs a sunny, warm place
- ‘Santa Maria’: also very suitable for pot planting
- ‘Uta’: new, noticeably short variety
- 'Williams Christ': popular variety, very suitable for espalier form
Tip
Many trees can also be kept small through appropriate pruning. However, if the growth of the tree is too strong, cutting is no longer of any use: the tree defends itself by forming water shoots.
