Dan Neuteboom, the author of all the material on this website, provides tailored advice on care, renovation and pruning of fruit trees, for gardeners, remotely, or with an on-site visit for locations in Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex. If you have changed your location, and you want to plant an area of trees or a small orchard, we can help you avoid the common pitfalls and optimize your investment. Some reader opinions are visible on our customer comments page.

Just send a message by email (enquiries@realenglishfruit.co.uk) or using our web contact form, and Dan will provide an estimate for the solution. Payment by bank transfer or cheque. Please send a few photos of the site and the fruit trees concerned.

For projects involving new trees to be planted, we work with a few selected top-quality nurseries, and so once the varieties and numbers of trees have been defined, we can put you in contact with the appropriate fruit tree supplier.

Below we list some of the questions that Dan often receives:

Dan Neuteboom fruit tree consulting

Most common fruit tree issues

How to shape fruit trees, espalier, cordon, stepover etc.

… how to shape fruit trees by training, tying and pruning, in patterns comprising espalier, palmette, cordon, stepover, open bush, hedge and half standard trees.

  • The espalier fruit tree is useful for growing fruit on a wall or fence, requiring minimal pruning once established.
  • Palmette training for fruit trees is similar to espalier, but with V-shaped branch systems.
  • Cordon training for fruit trees is a system in which trees are angled at 45° and bear fruit on short side shoots, the fruiting spurs.
  • Stepover trees are low-growing, horizontally-trained trees, low enough to step over. How to grow a stepover tree? You will find some information on this and the other systems on our tree training pages, and Dan is available for detailed advice and variety selection according to your location.
  • The open bush trained fruit tree is a small, free-standing, open-centre fruit tree shape, useful for smaller gardens.
  • Fruit hedges or edible hedges are useful because they look very attractive, create an effective hedge, and can also produce fruit if desired. What fruit trees make good hedges? Just ask Dan, it depends on your local conditions and necessities.
  • Half standard fruit trees are larger, free-standing trees, reaching a height of about 3 metres. Ideal for a larger garden.
espalier fruit tree
Photo by Image by Siggy Nowak on Pixabay

Fruit trees and new buildings

  • how to use fruit trees in new building and garden projects. In fact, while fruit trees are often grown primarily for their fruit, there is an increasing demand for fruit trees used to create borders, or to hide parts of the view that are not wanted, for example towards nearby buildings, or as a hedging material.
  • trees and architecture. How can I soften the impact of my business unit on an industrial estate by training fruit trees along the wall? Just ask Dan. Other frequent questions are which fruit trees can I use for architectural reshaping to suit my new house? And which fruit trees can be used in open spaces in new housing complexes?
  • planting fruit trees in order to stop possible housing developments

Fruit trees, children and schools

  • trees, schools and children. Dan often receives questions such as, which fruit trees are best for kids’ education, and how do you plant them? Which trees are the best for my kids to climb in?
Trees for climbing
Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash

Fruit trees and animals

  • trees and animals. Which fruit trees are suitable for deer and other animals, for feeding them in the open spaces in my forests?
deer apples
Photo by Pixabay

New and existing fruit trees

  • what to do with old fruit trees, and how to renovate them
  • planning a new garden orchard, site assessment, drainage, spring frosts, hail, wind damage, drought
  • planning a new garden orchard, selection of the most suitable varieties
  • how to create a wild flower area in the garden
  • planting fruit trees for environmental benefits
  • planting fruit trees for tax deductibility
  • why and how to perform winter pruning and summer pruning
  • fruit storage and marketing
Mature fruit tree orchard
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash