Garden Talk

Grow Your Own Apples

Garden Talk with Janine Winlaw | Instagram @janinewinlaw

There’s nothing more satisfying, tasty and healthy than picking your own home grown apples. And with pretty pink tinged blossom in spring and autumn fruit, an apple tree adds an attractive and romantic feel to a garden. Here’s what you need to know. Apple trees can act as a focal point in a lawn or can provide structure in borders. Apples are grafted onto rootstocks producing different sized trees so there’s an apple tree to fit every size of garden. The most vigorous rootstocks, M111 and M106, make large standard or semi standard trees to sit under, M26 are semi dwarfing (around 3m) and dwarfing rootstocks M9 and M27 make smaller trees and can be trained and pruned into espaliers, fans or even grown in containers. Apples can also be trained into cordons, single stems with short side shoots – I’ve seen a row of these making an attractive and productive hedge. And step overs, condons grown horizontally around 45cm high, are perfect for lining a path or edging a bed. There are thousands of different apple varieties to choose from flowering and cropping at different times. There are six pollinating groups and its best to plant at least two apples from the same or adjacent groups so that they can pollinate each other. If there is an apple tree in a neighbouring garden, that may help too.

Early Varieties

• Discovery. A popular disease resistant red dessert apple • Sunrise. One of the best early apples, red with a long season. • Worcester Pearmain. An early sweet red apple that crops in September and October.

Mid Season Varieties

• Jupiter. Similar to Cox’s Orange Pippin but larger and redder in colour than Cox. • Lord Lambourne. A traditional English apple with crisp, juicy and sweet apples. Delicious!

Late Varieties

• Blenheim Orange. A heritage variety. A lovely classic English variety with a distinctive flavour. • Topaz. A crisp, sharp dessert apple with red flushed skin. • Braeburn. A popular sweet, crisp apple. • Elstar One of the best modern apples with an excellent fruity flavour and good keeping quality. • Spartan. A popular heavy cropping dark red dessert apple.

You can buy trees bare root between November and early March, or in containers for planting the rest of the year. Plant your tree in a warm position with free draining soil that gets around 6 hours of sun. Keep their bases weed free and mulch in the early years. Naomi Slade believes even small gardens can have an orchard. Check out her book: An Orchard Odyssey for more ideas.

Kesar & Co SOLICITORS

Do you have problems with knotweed or poorly fitted cavity walls?

Cavity Wall Claims

In 2015, a survey of 250,000 residential properties with cavity wall insulation found mould, condensation, damp, poor heat retention or damage to the walls in a very large proportion of these homes. Further examination established that many, often those built by the local authorities and their contractors, had the cavity walls incorrectly fitted which caused significant problems and, in many cases, made properties unfit for human habitation.

The issues with cavity wall insulation can often take a few years to fully come to light, but legal action should be considered within the limitation period of six years. In the first instance, you should write to the company setting out the details of your complaint and the steps required in order to resolve the issue. You will, in most cases, need to appoint a surveyor to assist in identifying the extent of the problem and write a report.

Assuming that the installing firm is still trading, you should approach them and request that the cavity wall and insulation be re-installed in accordance with the appropriate building standards. You could also seek compensation for the associated issues such as damage to furniture, redecoration and treatment for health problems. Whilst this may be difficult with construction companies, it should be easier to find a mutually acceptable solution with local authorities.

Reputable energy suppliers should have registered a guarantee for the cavity wall insulation with the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA). However, there are often limits on payouts under the guarantee, which your bill for rectification works may far exceed.

Japanese Knotweed Claims

Another problem affecting many properties, particularly those located in the vicinity of rail tracks and affected by Japanese knotweed. This is a fast growing and invasive plant. It can grow anywhere, has distinctive red stems and flat leaves. It can reach heights of up to four meters and its roots can stretch three meters deep and extend around seven meters in all directions.

Japanese Knotweed damage can be severe. It is very difficult and expensive to remove once it is on your land. Even if the smallest piece of root is left in the soil the weed can re grow very quickly and occupy large areas making them unavailable for any other purpose. Its root system is very strong, so strong that they can break through concrete and may cause serious damage to buildings and drainage system if not kept under control. The properties most at risk are those close to railway tracks; rivers; construction sites etc. In some areas companies such as Network Rail have actively planted Japanese Knotweed to sure up embankments and other areas of land.

Presence of the Japanese knotweed on your land is likely to amount to encroachment and give rise to a nuisance claims equally where the defendant is a public body, company or private individual. The effect is the same: the presence of Japanese knotweed amounts to an interference with quiet enjoyment and is actionable in nuisance without physical damage.

As with cavity wall claims, if your property is affected by the Japanese knotweed spreading from the neighbouring land, you should take photographic evidence and consider obtaining expert advice. This will help you negotiate the remedial action and damages with the owner of the land from which this nuisance plant has spread onto your property.

In the absence of a response or remedy to your problem, you should obtain independent legal advice. Kesar & Co Solicitors 27 London Road, Bromley, BR1 1DG 020 8181 3100 contact@kesarco.co.uk www.kesarco.co.uk