For anyone interested in finding out more about traditional orchard management and maintenance, a range of information and guidance notes on scientific and technical issues, including practical advice have been produced by Natural England.

These provide guidance on site and tree selection, planting and establishing fruit trees, general pruning, formative pruning, maintenance pruning, and the restoration of neglected orchards, tree health and wildlife. Traditional orchards include apple, pear, cherry, plum and damson orchards, and cobnut plats.

In addition Suffolk Traditional Orchards Group has produced advice notes on further aspects of traditional orchard management along with some Suffolk specific information.

Natural England advice

Natural England have produced a series of Technical Information Notes (TINs) covering traditional orchard management, on topics ranging from wildlife conservation to restoring neglected orchards. The notes are aimed at anyone who owns, manages or is simply interested in traditional orchards.

012 Traditional orchards: a summary: provides a summary of the key information contained in the series of technical information notes and a list of orchard related organisations and bibliography.

013 Traditional Orchards: site and tree selection – provides guidance on how to select sites for new orchards and the types of tree to plant within new and existing orchards.

014 Traditional orchards: planting and establishing fruit trees – provides guidance on when and how to plant fruit trees and on their management in the first few years after planting.

015 Traditional orchards: an introduction to pruning – provides guidance on the reasons for, and the basic principles behind, the pruning of fruit trees.

016 Traditional orchards: formative pruning of young trees – provides guidance on why young trees require formative pruning and on how to prune them.

017 Traditional orchards: maintenance pruning – provides guidance on the reasons for the routine pruning of fruit trees and advice on the methods used.

018 Traditional orchards: restoring and managing mature and neglected orchards – provides guidance on how to assess a neglected orchard that is in poor condition and decide what pruning and other management work may be needed to bring it back into good condition.

019 Traditional orchards: fruit tree health – provides guidance on identifying, and managing for, the main pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies that may affect a traditional orchard.

020 Traditional orchards: orchards and wildlife – provides guidance on the conservation and sensitive management of orchards to preserve and benefit the wildlife contained within them.

021 Traditional orchards: glossary – provides a glossary of some of the many technical terms used in fruit production.

Suffolk Traditional Orchards Group Advice

Further information and advice is available from the guides produced by Suffolk Traditional Orchards Group, covering different aspects of orchard fruit and its management including some Suffolk specific information.

The advice can be downloaded as PDFs for free. 

The following additional titles are in production at the time of publication:

  • STOGAN 4: Protecting new & old orchard (& parkland) trees *
  • STOGAN 7: “Wild” fruit and nut species and varieties in Suffolk
  • STOGAN 8: Rootstocks and propagation methods for traditional orchard trees
  • STOGAN 10: Traditional Suffolk orchard tree epiphytes
  • STOGAN 11: Traditional Suffolk orchard fauna
  • STOGAN 12:  A survey of traditional orchards in Suffolk
  • STOGAN 13: Labelling trees, and documenting fruit trees*
  • STOGAN 14: Suffolk’s seaside apples and pear*
  • STOGAN 15: The origin of plums*

Those marked with an * are already in a draft version and are available to encourage responses from readers.  Please contact gen@orchardseast.org.uk

Mini-Monographs

Several STOG Mini-Monographs, describing local Suffolk fruit and nut varieties, are planned.  The apple varieties widely grown in Suffolk are already described, or soon will be, on FruitID with pears, plums and cobnuts planned. STOG Mini-Monographs are intended to fill gaps left by current literature and online data.

Some of these are already in a draft version and some can be made available in that version to encourage responses from readers.  Please contact gen@orchardseast.org.uk.

  • MM1: Pear, Suffolk Thorn, a lost cultivar*
  • MM2:  Christmas Lane Cottage plums * 
  • MM3:  Cherry Plums
  • MM4: Apple, Langton Green
  • MM5: Culinary and/or Warden pears.
  • MM6: Plum, Coe’s Golden Drop
  • MM7: South Suffolk’s cherries*
  • MM8: Catsheads, Codlins and Suffolk Styles Pippin
  • MM9: Mulberries
  • MM10: Walnuts
  • MM11: Justin Brooke’s orchards*
  • MM12 : Anatomy of a plum stone*