"Dear Accidental Smallholder, I am totally inspired by your blog but I live in a house with a courtyard garden. I'd love to have my own fruit and a friend said you can have apple trees in pots. Is there a species you'd recommend for this and how long would they cope in a pot before having to be planted?" Victoria Holland

H&C blogger Rosemary Champion of the Accidental Smallholder replies: "Hi Victoria. I'm not a fruit expert by any manner of means, but the size of a tree depends on the rootstock, and there are very dwarfing rootstocks available, that produce trees suitable for pot growing. Obviously the yields are not as high as standard trees. Some of these mini-trees have two or three varieties grafted on to the rootstock, which helps with pollination.

There are alternatives to pot growing that you might want to explore, depending on your particular garden. Fruit trees can be trained to grow as fans, espaliers or cordons on walls, which might be a good option for your courtyard garden. Growing as "stepover", which is a form of cordon training where the tree is trained to form a low hedge, is also worth considering. Any of the specialist fruit tree suppliers will be happy to advise.

Hope this helps!

Rosemary."