Unusual fruit 

Apart from apples, pears and berries you can also choose from many other types of fruit. Fruit can grow on a pergola (grapes, kiwi fruit) or you can grow your own figs in a warm, sheltered spot.

Index:

• Grapes
• Kiwi fruit
• Peaches and nectarines
• Apricots
• Almond
• Fig
• Quinces
• Mulberries
• Medlar

Grapes 

Grapes (Vitis vinifera) as we know them only exist as cultivated plants. There are fairly closely related species know in the wild, but the origin of the cultivated grape remains a complete mystery. They have been grown for thousands of years.

Grapes like to grow in deep, loose soil which will ideally have some chalk in it. Train them against a wall or over a pergola or other climbing support. The plants flower in April-May. The outdoor varieties are ready for harvesting in September-October, whilst greenhouse varieties are often ready earlier.

Good outdoor varieties are the delicious blue ‘Glorie van Boskoop’ and the white ‘Vroege van der Laan’. ‘Rembrandt’ is a variety which is widely available, but new varieties are rapidly being added.

Good varieties for cultivation under glass include ‘Black Alicante’ (blue), ‘Frankenthaler’ (blue) and ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ (white). These varieties have also been cultivated for many years. There are also varieties with different coloured fruit, such as the pink ‘Chasselas Rose’.
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Kiwi fruit 

The Chinese gooseberry or kiwi fruit (Actinidia deliciosa, formerly called A. chinensis) likes a sunny spot and must be tied and trained. Most varieties are ‘dioecious’, which means that you need both a male and female plant in order to gain fruit from the female specimen. These are very vigorously growing plants which flower magnificently in May.

The self-pollinating varieties give smaller fruit. The fruit can be harvested in October-November and then need to ripen until December. They contain an enormous amount of vitamin C. Get good advice about male and female varieties.
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Peaches and nectarines 

These wonderful fruits can be grown as trees or bushes. Cultivate them in a sunny, sheltered spot because they really belong in a climate that is a little warmer than ours. There are varieties which are specified here as being for greenhouse cultivation (such ‘Champion’, ‘Peregrine’) which may also give sufficient fruit outdoors in the future.

Varieties which already give reasonable results outdoors include ‘Kwekersgoud’ and ‘Charles Ingouf’. Nectarines are peaches with a smooth skin on the fruit. They flower slightly later (April-May) than peaches (March-April) and therefore sometimes produce better fruit. Nectarines are fairly sensitive to frost.
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Apricots 

The scientific name of apricots is Prunus armeniaca. Like cherries and plums, the trees produce stoned fruit. The plants require a humus-rich, well-draining soil which ideally should not be acid. The early flowering (March-April) means that the flowers may suffer from frost. Apricots work well as an espalier against a south-facing wall. Always plant them in a sunny, sheltered spot.

Good varieties are ‘Bredase’, ‘Hungarian’, ‘Moorpark’ and ‘Tros Oranje’.
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Almond 

The almond (Prunus dulcis) is not grown for the flesh of the fruit, but for the 'stone’ which it contains. This can be removed in the autumn when the fruit splits. The stone needs to be cracked like a nut in order to get to the sweet seed -the almond - that it contains. The seeds are then dried. Almond trees flower magnificently with big pink flowers in March-April.

They are sensitive to frost, so the tree should be planted in a sheltered warm spot. Self-pollination does produce fruit, but the yield is better if you place a (closely related) peach nearby as a pollinator.
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Fig 

Ficus carica really belongs in slightly warmer regions than ours (in Southern Europe it is virtually a weed sometimes), but there are increasing numbers of varieties which also do well here in a warm sheltered spot. Young plants in particular need to be protected from frost.

The bushes can reach a height of several metres, particularly if they are trained against a warm south-facing wall. The flowers appear in May in a green receptacle which grows into the ultimately often violet-brown or purple fig. This happens without pollination in our region. Harvesting can take place in September-October.

Good varieties are ‘Brown Turkey’ and the green ‘Marseillaise’.
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Quinces 

The fruit of this tree (Cydonia oblonga) - which is often grown as an espalier - are large, apple- or pear-shaped and fairly hard. Their lemon scent is delicious. They cannot be eaten raw, but are tasty in jams etc. Pick them in October. Flowering takes place in May-June. This strong variety requires simple pruning every year.

Good varieties are Cydonia oblonga ‘Champion’, ‘Vranja’ and ‘Bereckzi’.
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Mulberries 

Until recently there were really only two varieties of mulberry available: the white (Morus alba) and the black (Morus nigra). The first with pinkish white fruit (the variety on which silkworms are grown) and the other with dark purple fruit. A whole range of intermediate varieties have now been added to this through crossbreeding with other species of the Morus genus, such as Morus rubra from North America.

The naming of the various varieties is not entirely fixed, so you should seek advice. Mulberries like a light, chalky soil. Cover the base of the trunk on young trees in winter, since they can be sensitive to frost. Mulberries are self-pollinating, so one tree is sufficient in order to get fruit. Harvesting is in July. You do need to be quick, since birds also love this fruit.
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Medlar 

Mespilus germanica is a plant which can be found in both cultivated and wild form here and which will grow in any normal garden soil. The tree blooms beautifully with large white flowers in May-June. You can pick the brown fruit with their distinctive flavour from mid-November. On their own rootstock medlars can reach a height of six metres; grafted onto a hawthorn they remain smaller bushes.
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