Fruit tree video channel
Trees are wonderful companions. Trees have their own story to tell. All we need to do is to listen to them through observation by means of regular visits. It is a fallacy that trees look after themselves. In particular, the quality of the first five years of a fruit tree’s life is instrumental to its capability to produce fruit on a regular basis.
The purpose of these videos is to follow the development of fruit trees throughout the seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn. As for all living matter in nature, trees have to battle against a whole range of adversities as days go by. Once we get to know these adversities, it will become clear, particularly in the early years, when a modest amount of support from us will improve the fruit tree’s quality of life. This in turn will enable the tree to provide you with its delicious, natural and health-promoting fruit, grown in your own garden.
We are currently working on the production of these videos, and they are listed here in chronological order. Each link below takes you to a page where you can watch the video and read an accompanying text.
How to plant a fruit tree
A video that demonstrates how to plant a fruit tree. It shows a potted tree, but the same principles can be used for planting bare-root trees. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
How to identify an apple variety
If you planted the trees yourself, you know the variety. But if they were already there when you arrived after moving house, how do you know what varieties the apple trees are? Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
The history of the apple tree
Dan Neuteboom takes a look at the distant origins of apple trees, and the “fruit forest” near Almaty, Kazakhstan, where apple trees have been growing wild for thousands of years. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
February: Pruning fruit trees – general principles
The basic concepts involved in pruning – the importance of light in determining tree shape. Click on the thumbnail to watch
February: The open-centre tree
In this video Dan describes the open bowl-shaped tree, an alternative to the pyramid structure. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
March: Pruning pear trees – the difference between fruit and wood bud
It is important to delay pruning until you can see which buds are fruit bud. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
March: Whip and tongue grafting tools and technique
In this video, William Seabrook demonstrates the tools and steps involved in whip and tongue grafting. Click on the thumbnail to watch.
March: Whip and tongue grafting and the rind grafting technique
Close-up views of these two grafting techniques. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
March: How to shape a fruit tree without pruning
In a fruit tree’s early years, the pyramid shape can be initiated without pruning. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
March: Tying down apple tree branches
Dan Neuteboom demonstrates how to tie down apple tree branches, a method of forming the tree’s structure. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
Late March: Pruning fruit trees: a mature apple tree
In this video Dan Neuteboom demonstrates how to prune an old apple tree – a 50-year old Bramley. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
Late March: A pear tree in bad condition
In this video Dan takes a look at a 7-year old pear tree that is showing evident signs of distress. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Pruning plum trees – and how not to prune plum trees
In this video Dan Neuteboom shows us two mature plum trees, one of which has been pruned with a chain saw. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: How to prune an apple tree – video tutorial on a 10-year-old tree
In this video, Dan Neuteboom demonstrates the basics of pruning, improving light entry with as few cuts as possible. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Grafting pollinator to improve cropping – pear tree
Pollination can be improved by grafting on a second variety at the centre of the tree. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
April: How to grow greengage tree – open-centre tree
Dan shows us a 17-year old greengage that he has transformed by removing the central leader. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
April: Bark, tree health, and fruit tree canker treatment
Using bark colour to assess health. How to cut out tree canker. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
April: Newly planted apple tree care video
Mulch helps keep the soil moist and provides nutrients. A tree guard is essential. Beware of mice. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Grafting mistletoe onto an apple tree
Mistletoe loves to grow on apple trees. It does no harm to the tree and encourages biodiversity. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Blossom on fan shaped pear trees
Good fruit set on three fan-shaped pear trees. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Peach leaf curl control video tutorial
Peach leaf curl can be prevented by keeping buds and wood dry in winter and spring. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Cherry tree pollination – how to improve it easily
How to improve cross-pollination, fruit set and cropping on a cherry tree, using a milk bottle. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Tydemans Late Orange, a biennial bearing variety
Tydemans Late Orange tends to crop only every other year – biennial bearing – but the fruit is worth waiting for. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
April: Soil analysis for fruit trees
A soil analysis report is crucial for determining the suitability of a new garden in terms of fruit tree soil requirements. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Planting new fruit trees – variety choice video
A fruit tree varieties chart providing information on time of cropping, pollination, and disease resistance. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Apricot tree frost damage protection video
How to protect an apricot tree in the UK from the potential damage caused by night frosts. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: How to plant a hedgerow
An example of a newly-planted hedge with details on preparation and care. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: Pruning fruit trees video – stages of bud development
It is best to delay pruning until you can see the difference between wood bud and fruit bud. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
April: An insect hotel and fruit tree pollination
Insect hotels can help with pollination on early-flowering fruit trees such as cherries, plums, greengages, apricots and peaches. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Plum sawfly treatment video
For plum sawfly control, you can use a pheromone trap. Here are the details on controlling this pest. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: How to control aphids on fruit trees
You can always see when you have an aphid attack because the leaves curl up. There is a simple organic method to get rid of aphids on fruit trees. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: How to control aphids on apple trees – video
if you see ants going up your fruit tree, you know that you have aphids. How can you get rid of the aphids on your apple tree? Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Black aphids on cherry – video tutorial
Black aphids can be a serious problem on cherry. Here is an organic solution to black aphid infection. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Video, how to control wasps in the garden
Wasps can be a real problem, particularly with plums and cherries. Here is a simple trap. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Video on how to thin apples by hand
For early varieties, late May is a good time for thinning fruit on apple trees. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: How to support fruit tree branches
When a young tree sets a lot of fruit, it may be necessary to provide support and prevent breakage. Here’s how to do it. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
May: How to grow morello cherries
The morello cherry is the only fruit tree that does very well on the north side of a building. Here are some tips on ensuring that it crops well. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Scenes from a garden orchard, video
Dan Neuteboom at Suffolk Fruit & Trees points out some situations in a garden orchard, in early May. Fan, espalier, pyramid shape, spring frost, how to protect peaches, nectarines and apricots from frost damage. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
May: How to grow figs in the UK
Figs do much better if they are in some sort of container, because they have very strong root systems. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: How to thin plums – video tutorial
In late May-early June, if the set of fruit on plum trees is strong, it is a good idea to start thinning out the plums. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Mildew on fruit trees
In spring and early summer, mildew can develop on fruit trees very quickly, particularly in certain weather conditions. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
May: Ladybirds, great friends for fruit growers
A ladybird is the biggest friend the fruit grower can have. They inhabit fruit trees and eat the aphids. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
May: Grafting apple trees, results and maintenance
How to solve problems in grafts that have not taken properly. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
July: Thinning pears video
Thinning pears improves fruit size. A demonstration on the variety Joséphine de Malines. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
July: Thinning apples video
Thinning apples should be performed even on trees that have a natural self-thinning tendency. A demonstration on Winter Wonder/Suntan. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
July: Doyenne du Comice – an early-cropping pear
In the right conditions, a Comice pear tree on the right rootstock will crop at an early stage of its life, Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
July: Summer Sun, a compact, self-fertile cherry
A compact cherry, suitable for growing along a wall, best when planted with a pollinator. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
July: Thinning Pinova apples – a video tutorial
Pinova is a wonderful, late apple variety that crops fairly regularly, but it tends to overcrop, so thinning is very important. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
July: Thinning the Golden Gage greengage – video tutorial
Golden Gage is a generous tree, but if there are too many plums on the tree, thinning is necessary, because otherwise, next year you won’t get a good crop. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
July: Pheromone trap for the sawfly – video
The pheromone trap attracts the male sawfly, preventing too many grubs from ruining plums and greengages. Remember to replace the lure. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
July: A Comice bush tree
Dan shows us a Comice pear cultivated as a bush tree, a pattern that can produce a lot of good-quality fruit as long as it has a pollinator that flowers at the same time. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
July: Thinning apricots – video tutorial
Apricots have set very well this year (2019), and so the fruits are too close together. Dan shows us the correct distance between fruits, and how to remove excess apricots. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
July: How to save a tree that has been ring-barked by muntjac deer
Rabbits, hares and muntjac deer can cause terrible damage to a fruit tree. Dan Neuteboom shows us a Winter Nelis pear tree that was damaged in this way, and describes how he treated it in order to bring it back to health. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
July: Chainsaw surgery – treating bacterial canker on a damson tree
Bacterial canker is a disease that can kill a tree. Dan Neuteboom explains how he treated an infected damson tree by cutting away the infected parts of the trunk with a chain saw, and painting the wounds with creocoat (a creosote substitute). Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Some fruit tree problems
Dan Neuteboom explains about aphis, drought, rabbit damage. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Summer pruning video
The principles of summer pruning, improving fruit colour and flavour. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: A wild flower meadow
Dan and Henrietta Neuteboom describe the benefits of a wild flower meadow, not just an aid for garden fruit trees, but also a source of constant fascination and stunning beauty. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: How to train a stepover tree
Dan Neuteboom describes the construction of a stepover tree, with examples of two varieties, Norfolk Beefing and Egremont Russet. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video:
August: Fruit tree problems
Some common fruit tree problems: aphis, too many weeds around the tree, insufficient water, and rabbit damage. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: The delayed open centre tree
The delayed open centre tree shape, as applied to a Bramley tree to reduce wood growth and increase cropping. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: How to make liquid fertilizer from comfrey
Dan Neuteboom describes how to make an organic liquid fertilizer using comfrey. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Development of a fruit tree – video
Dan Neuteboom illustrates the development of an apple tree, from its first year, right through to 30 years. Dan provides some tips on what to watch out for – aphis, greenfly, deteriorating leaf colour. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: Thinning apples video tutorial
Dan Neuteboom provides advice and demonstraton on how to thin apples. Thinning apple fruitlets improves size and quality. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: Chip budding video
William Seabrook demonstrates the chip budding technique. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: Maintenance of a graft performed in April
William Seabrook demonstrates what should be done on a graft made in April, removing the tape and finishing off. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Grafting, success and the occasional failure
Grafts are not always successful. William Seabrook examines two grafts performed in April, one showing excellent growth, while the other evidently went wrong. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Summer pruning on Suffolk Pink
Summer pruning is important to develop colour on ripening apples. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Pruning a cherry trained along a wall
When pruning cherries, the most important thing is to seal the cuts immediately using a wound-healing compound. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: Summer pruning on pears – video
When doing summer pruning on pears, think ahead to next year’s crop. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: The development of grafted fruit trees
Nurseryman William Seabrook explains the differences in growth that can occur in grafted trees. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
August: What to look for when buying apple trees
Dan Neuteboom talks about what to look out for when buying fruit trees. A healthy tree is essential, but you can also look for characteristics that indicate a rapid start of fruiting. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
August: Suffolk Pink apples and their colour
A fruit growing detective story. In Suffolk Pink, colour is produced not just by the effect of sunlight, but requires another factor as well. Which is it? Click on the thumbnail below to find the answer.
August: How to keep a greengage to a manageable size
A greengage can be kept down to about 5 feet height with regular pruning. This makes harvest and pest control easier. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
Pruning pear trees in August and September – video
How to keep pear trees in a shape that stimulates good cropping and keeps the fruit low down on the tree for easy picking. Click on the thumbnail below to watch
October: Grease bands video
Dan Neuteboom demonstrates the application of a grease band to a fruit tree, a non-chemical method of protecting the tree from pests such as the winter moth. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
October: Picking apples, how to determine when fruit is ready to pick
The tree itself provides indications of whether or not the fruit is ready to pick. Click on the thumbnail below to watch the video.
October: How to pick apples – picking over
In this video, Dan shows us how to “pick over”, in other words, picking just the apples that are ripe. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
October: How to make dried apple rings
Dan demonstrates how to make dried apple rings at home using a technique that he remembers from his wartime experiences but that in fact has been performed in many locations for centuries. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
October: Picking Comice, a late pear variety
This year the Comice pears are of a good size, and they come off easily by simply lifting the pear. Regular pruning has kept the tree to a manageable size, permitting nets to be placed over it, protecting the fruit from the birds. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
December: Winter pruning video
Dan Neuteboom demonstrates the principles of pruning apple trees. How to prune apple trees to improve cropping and fruit quality. Click on the thumbnail below to watch.
This page is the most practical way of viewing the complete library of videos. Our YouTube channel is here… and you can follow us on twitter or facebook if you want to be informed when new video clips become available. We also include news about our latest videos on our free monthly newsletter.
Contact us at Suffolk Fruit and Trees: enquiries@realenglishfruit.co.uk