We’re trying something a bit ambitious here on Tiree—growing apple and pear trees in the challenging winds of the Western Isles! 🍏🍐
We’ve got pears and apples on the mainland back home and convinced it’s possible in Tiree. The plants have survived a winter and springtime already, without much damage to the young branches. In fact, the leaves look green and healthy and they seem to be thriving, getting taller in good, conditioned soil. It’s not the easiest place for fruit trees with salty air and strong gales, but we’re giving it a go, tucked in a sheltered spot in full sunshine and hoping for a few hardy blossoms in the seasons ahead.
We’ve put 6 foot stakes to provide some support and used gutter clamps to screw fixing supports to the wall, offering additional protection in readiness for winter gales. Now, this may all be a ‘fruitless’ task as the first severe storm could wipe each tree completely out. These trees are probably needing a polytunnel and yes before you ask….absolutely EVERYBODY is telling us this isn’t going to work! Fingers crossed for a little Tiree-grown fruit in the future!
👇 Have you ever tried growing fruit trees somewhere windy?
#Tiree #IslandLife #GardenExperiment #AppleTree #PearTree #ScottishIslands
