Drumfearn Trees

ALL FRUIT TREES SOLD OUT!

OUR 25/26 STOCKLIST WILL BE RELEASED LATE JULY WITH DELIVERY AND COLLECTION AVAILABLE FROM EARLY OCTOBER - EARLY APRIL

Please contact Phil at philknott@hotmail.com and 07789966159 for your order. Instagram and Facebook too, search Drumfearn Trees and note the logo. You are welcome to visit the croft to view trees by prior appointment.

Please note that some varieties have very limited availability and are available on a first come first served basis. The number and range of varieties will increase year on year. Many of these varieties have not been grown anywhere in Scotland before, let alone on the north and west coast and therefore it can be hard to assess correct pollination and picking times. Several gardeners and crofters are on the list for trialling new varieties that have been selected for suitability for our region, please contact Phil if you are keen to help these field trials. Very limited numbers of trial varieties are available each year.

Grafting requests

Phil can graft to order for specific varieties. This is a lengthy process, so for delivery autumn/winter 2026, orders need to be in by late December 2025. Specific requests are £30 each, and for cloning old or favourite trees, we will need healthy wood to clone from. Phil will collect or instruct you how to collect appropriate material for cloning.

Delivery

Trees come in 4.5l pots and are relatively bulky and awkward. Local collection and delivery is free. We will not post or use couriers for our trees.

Larger orders from other corners of Scotland will be personally arranged and delivered by Phil for a fee, or may be free if he is going that direction!

Size and age of trees

At Drumfearn Trees we believe the best way to establish fruit trees in challenging environments is to establish young trees that have been grown outside in the same climate, and without the use of artificial inputs. Depending on the variety, rootstock and graft point, the trees vary from 50cm to 1.3m. They are all one year whips that are suitable for training in anyway, providing the right rootstock and varieties are selected. They come unpruned and ready to plant. We do not sell larger two or three year old trees.

Chemical Usage

We do not use any artificial chemicals at Drumfearn Trees. No pesticides or fungicides are used, and the only fertiliser we use is a homemade blend of compost teas, utilising nutrient rich inputs such as Nettle, Comfrey and locally collected seaweed.

Rootstocks

At Drumfearn trees we use seven rootstocks for our grafts. The rootstocks possess certain characteristics that are desirable, including disease resistance, tolerance to different soil conditions and most importantly, ultimate size and speed of fruiting. The variety of fruit grafted on also makes a difference to the ultimate size too, a Bramley apple for example is very vigorous, while a Cox is much smaller.

Modern commercial fruit is usually grown on dwarf rootstock that is short-lived and quick to fruit. These rootstock are often heavily dependent on inputs such as sprays and fertilisers and require a good soil. They are not recommended for outside growing on the West of Scotland. At Drumfearn Trees we produce trees that are hardy and can withstand our tougher conditions.

The vast majority of our Pear, Quince and Medlar are on Quince A, which produces a sturdy tree that would stand around 3-4m at 10 years old, depending on site conditions. It is broadly similar in size to MM106 and MM116 in apples and allows trees to be spaced at the same distances of around 3-4m between the trees, or 1.5 – 2m if in rows or cordons.

The only Pears not on Quince A are the older, heritage varieties of pears, including any perry pears. They are on Pyrus communis (Wild Pear) rootstock. These varieties tend not to be compatible with Quince A rootstock. These invariably produce long-lived and much larger trees that will be slower to fruit.

Plums are all on St Julien A - similar in ultimate size to MM106 and MM116 and Quince A.

The bulk of our apple trees are on MM106 and MM116. These are very similar rootstocks, and after 10 years both produce a tree that stands around 3-4m tall, MM116 is slightly smaller than MM106 but the variety of apple also dictates final size and overall vigour. We have a handful of M111 trees that will be ;larger, more suitable for bigger spaces. These will tend to grow to 4-6m tall and will be slower to fruit, but ultimately produce more fruit for longer.

Should I stake my tree?

After many years of field trials, we advise staking for just the first few years only, until the tree has a sturdy upright trunk. A totally supported tree does not produce as many anchor roots and becomes totally dependent on the stake, which is difficult to replace when it rots away and can lead to tree failure.

A stake should not be used to brace a tree against extreme winds – if this is the case then likely the site is too exposed. Shelter is vital for fruit trees, with native hedging and shelterbelts the best options.

We can supply a 1.2m stake, appropriate tie and a biodegradable vole guard for £5. This is best driven in at 45 degrees in to the ground and tied on to the tree at around 70cm above the ground.

Should I use tree guards?

Livestock, deer, rabbits and voles and in some cases poultry and young fruit trees do not mix well and good planning is key here!

Rabbits and Hares often girdle the bark in winter which can prove fatal. If you know you have rabbits, it is important to guard against any bark damage upto 40cm or so (more if snow regularly accumulates on your land). Spiral guards are often rather brittle and leave plastic in the environment, so mesh or chicken wire guards are the most appropriate. Depending on the speed of growth, it may be needed for 5 years or more.

Voles love the bark of fruit trees and also love the fertilised areas around fruit trees. Keeping a generous ring of mulch around a fruit tree helps deter the voles from coming too close, as does keeping grass short. Strimmers kill more fruit trees than voles though so be sure to manually cut or pull around trees if deciding against mulch. We recommend a vole guard for every fruit tree – it only takes one vole a few minutes or so to fatally wound a young tree. A vole guard is a 15-20cm tube that wraps around the bottom of the trunk. We supply biodegradable ones that can be left on – once the tree is a few years old it is not needed any more.

Poultry can be problematic, with geese often liking to peel bark of young trees. Careful observation is needed – do look at how they react to existing trees in the fields first. Poultry are more problematic when it comes to mulching of the trees, hens especially love to scratch mulch away which is not great for the young tree roots. If chicken wire is used to protect the trees, then be sure to hand weed around them and inside the guard. Competitive grasses may do as much harm as poultry! Once the trees are older, poultry can be good for pest control and fertilisation of the ground, providing there aren’t too many!

Livestock and fruit trees can work well – but there are many challenges getting the trees up and away first. If your wish is to graze livestock under fruit trees then we advise you use an M25 or M111 vigorous rootstock for apples. We need advanced orders of these by December at the latest. Robust, long-lived individual tree protection is needed until the trees are up and away. We recommend Cactus Guards for this. Ensure that the fruit trees are not the only trees in the field too, otherwise they will be used as scratching posts and the only source of shelter and shade, which causes soil compaction around the tree root zones.

Deer and young fruit trees do not work well at all. If you know you have deer on your land, then the fruit trees will need protecting to 5ft (Roe) and 6ft+ for Red Deer. Occasional browsing is okay but in most cases the deer will repeatedly come back, which kills, weakens or at best mis-shapes the tree. Plan for it, and consider building a deer proof enclosure for fruit trees or investing in Cactus Guards or something similar. Repeated browsing and snapping significantly weakens the tree and opens it up for disease.

Plums

Small numbers coming autumn 2025, varieties include Czar and Denbigh

Quince

Very small numbers coming autumn 2025!

Medlar

Very small numbers each year of Nottingham variety, plus a handful of others. Best to reserve well in advance as numbers are limited!

Pears

‘Pears for your heirs’ is a saying that shows that pears are often a slow species to bear fruit. They need little attention and minimal pruning, so are often forgotten about until the heavy cropping starts. They grow well outside here, providing they have adequate shelter. Very few folk grow pears but we have numerous varieties that all do fine. All our pears are on Quince A rootstock, except for the rarer varieties that need Wild Pear rootstock, these make larger trees.

Apples

A wide range will be published here late summer