I am researching apple and pear trees for planting in Vancouver. I have a small backyard in East Vancouver and wish to plant one pear tree and one apple tree - probably with 2 or 3 types of fruit grafted to each tree. (Easing pollination and maximizing variety of fruit) Where can I purchase good fruit trees? Heritage fruit appeals to me. What type of pear and apple trees do you recommend for a south facing and south sloping small backyard in East Vancouver. Thank you Tom Beasley Vancouver BC
Hi Tom, You might also like to consider a visit to the Food Garden here at UBC. We've dozens of different apples and pears growing that would be suitable for a small yard, many of them espaliered. To source heritage varieties, I suggest keeping an eye on next year's events at Seedy Saturday (at least for pears), or dropping by this year's Applefest - heritage trees are available. I've also forwarded your question to Tony Maniezzo, the Horticulturist who tends the Food Garden - he might chime in with a few recommendations, but he is understandably quite busy at this time of year.