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The Orchard

The Orchard is a living library of fruit cultivars, with particularly good collections of pear, apple, plum and damson

Looking its best in...

  • Spring Delicate cherry, apple and pear blossom, spring bulbs
  • Summer Shady walks, ripening fruit
  • Autumn An abundance of fruit ready for harvest

A fruitful history

The Society has always had an outstanding fruit collection, starting with one at the RHS garden in Chiswick in the 19th century. Today the Wisley Orchard holds a large and diverse range of species.

Eaters, cookers and more

The Orchard is home to a large and diverse range of pear, plum and apple cultivars and is the most accessible collection of its type in the UK.

Many of the beautifully trained apple trees were planted in the 1950s and are grouped into eating and cooking apples, arranged according to their season of ripening. You can also see fruit trees on semi-dwarf rootstocks in forms suitable for a domestic garden, plus collections of cider apples and disease-resistant apple cultivars – these are managed organically and interplanted with cornfield annuals to attract beneficial insects.

The two parallel fences at the eastern approach to the Orchard support restricted tree forms suitable for wall training, such as fans and espaliers. Training fruit trees on a wall or fence saves space and makes it easier to protect crops such as cherries and peaches against damage from insects, birds and frosts.
 

A year in the Orchard

A visit to the Orchard in spring is a real treat. Ornamental cherry trees start the displays with blossoms of white and varying shades of pink, set off by underplantings of bulbs.

Later, apple and pear blossom moves across the Orchard like a wave as the different trees take their turn to flower. On a warm, sunny day in late April the delicate fragrance and humming buzz of pollinating bees is a highlight of the year.

Come September, the harvest is well under way – enjoy a stroll through the trees and breathe in the sweet fragrance of ripe apples and pears.
 

Special collections

In the Collections Area you can see small scale production and display of strawberries, rhubarb, cultivar figs and other soft fruits. Wisley holds National Plant Collections of red and white currants and gooseberries. 

Enjoy the view

Formerly known as the Fruit Mount, the 4m (13ft) high Viewing Mount gives superb views over the Fruit Field; Glasshouse Borders, Glasshouse and lake; and to the Wey Valley beyond.

The spiralling path is planted with apples that are ordered by date of origin, with the oldest at the top. It was originally created as a Millennium project and rebuilt in 2007 using soil excavated from the Glasshouse lake. 
 

Vineyard

Our small working vineyard was planted in 2004 to give a taste of viticulture in the UK climate. Vines of the white wine grapes ‘Phönix’ and ‘Orion’ are trained following the double Guyot system; wine from them is sold in the Wisley shop.

For an apple tree to fruit well, it needs to be pollinated. In order for pollination to be successful, each tree needs to be neighboured by other trees that flower at the same time. The pollinating tree doesn’t have to be in your garden & you may have a neighbour with a tree that could do the job!

Some cultivars are also self-fertile, so if you have limited space & cannot plant a neighbouring pollinator, this is something you could consider. 

RHS Garden Wisley Horticulturist

For an apple tree to fruit well, it needs to be pollinated. In order for pollination to be successful, each tree needs to be neighboured by other trees that flower at the same time. The pollinating tree doesn’t have to be in your garden & you may have a neighbour with a tree that could do the job!

Some cultivars are also self-fertile, so if you have limited space & cannot plant a neighbouring pollinator, this is something you could consider. 

RHS Garden Wisley Horticulturist

Plants in this section

  •
Cydonia oblonga 'Meech's Prolific' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Cydonia</em> <em>oblonga</em> 'Meech's Prolific' (F)
Malus domestica 'King of the Pippins' (D)
  • 4–8 metres
  • 2.5–4 metres
<em>Malus</em> <em>domestica</em> 'King of the Pippins' (D)
Vaccinium corymbosum 'Spartan' (F)
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1–1.5 metres
<em>Vaccinium</em> <em>corymbosum</em> 'Spartan' (F)
Vitis 'Phönix' (O/W)
  • 8–12 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Vitis</em> 'Phönix' (O/W)
Ribes uva-crispa 'Invicta' (C/D)
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1–1.5 metres
<em>Ribes</em> <em>uva-crispa</em> 'Invicta' (C/D)
Corylus avellana 'Cosford' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Corylus</em> <em>avellana</em> 'Cosford' (F)
Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Ficus</em> <em>carica</em> 'Brown Turkey' (F)
Malus domestica 'Arthur Turner' (C)
  • 4–8 metres
  • 2.5–4 metres
<em>Malus</em> <em>domestica</em> 'Arthur Turner' (C)
Fragaria × ananassa 'Hapil' (F)
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Fragaria</em> × <em>ananassa</em> 'Hapil' (F)
Pyrus communis 'Beurré Hardy' (D)
  • 4–8 metres
  • 2.5–4 metres
<em>Pyrus</em> <em>communis</em> 'Beurré Hardy' (D)
Rheum × hybridum 'Reed's Early Superb'
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
<em>Rheum</em> × <em>hybridum</em> 'Reed's Early Superb'
Cydonia oblonga 'Meech's Prolific' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Cydonia</em> <em>oblonga</em> 'Meech's Prolific' (F)
Malus domestica 'King of the Pippins' (D)
  • 4–8 metres
  • 2.5–4 metres
<em>Malus</em> <em>domestica</em> 'King of the Pippins' (D)
Vaccinium corymbosum 'Spartan' (F)
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1–1.5 metres
<em>Vaccinium</em> <em>corymbosum</em> 'Spartan' (F)
Vitis 'Phönix' (O/W)
  • 8–12 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Vitis</em> 'Phönix' (O/W)
Ribes uva-crispa 'Invicta' (C/D)
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1–1.5 metres
<em>Ribes</em> <em>uva-crispa</em> 'Invicta' (C/D)
Corylus avellana 'Cosford' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Corylus</em> <em>avellana</em> 'Cosford' (F)
Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Ficus</em> <em>carica</em> 'Brown Turkey' (F)
Malus domestica 'Arthur Turner' (C)
  • 4–8 metres
  • 2.5–4 metres
<em>Malus</em> <em>domestica</em> 'Arthur Turner' (C)
Fragaria × ananassa 'Hapil' (F)
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Fragaria</em> × <em>ananassa</em> 'Hapil' (F)
Pyrus communis 'Beurré Hardy' (D)
  • 4–8 metres
  • 2.5–4 metres
<em>Pyrus</em> <em>communis</em> 'Beurré Hardy' (D)
Rheum × hybridum 'Reed's Early Superb'
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1.5–2.5 metres
<em>Rheum</em> × <em>hybridum</em> 'Reed's Early Superb'
Cydonia oblonga 'Meech's Prolific' (F)
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 4–8 metres
<em>Cydonia</em> <em>oblonga</em> 'Meech's Prolific' (F)

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