October gardening: small trees, planting trees, apples, apple breeding, growing updates, green manures & blueberries for productive autumn gardens.

In episode 21 of Step-by-Step Gardening, filmed at Blue Diamond’s Bridgemere Show Gardens & Frank P Matthews Tree Nursery, I cover small trees, autumn planting, apples, growing updates, green manures & blueberries.

Step-by-Step Guide: Small Trees

Small gardens still have room for the right tree. I share five compact choices for wildlife, shelter, dappled shade, autumn colour & year-round privacy.

Trees featured: Malus ‘Gorgeous’, ‘Golden Hornet’, Crataegus (hawthorn), Sorbus (mountain ash/rowan), Cotoneaster ‘Hybridus Pendulus’, Acer palmatum (Japanese maple).

Step-by-Step Guide: Planting a Tree

Autumn is ideal for planting trees. I demonstrate how to prepare the hole, set the depth, water thoroughly, stake securely, & mulch.

Tree featured: Sorbus ‘Eastern Promise’.

Plant of the Month: Apples

Apples offer blossom, fruit, autumn colour & wildlife value for gardens of many sizes. I compare eating, cooking & dual-purpose apples, plus pollination, rootstocks, harvest times & trained forms.

Varieties featured: Malus, Malus domestica, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Bramley’s Seedling’, ‘Red Windsor’, ‘Scrumptious®’, ‘James Grieve’ & ‘Legacy™’.

Apple Breeding Masterclass

At Frank P Matthews Tree Farm, I go behind the scenes to see how apples are propagated, crossed & selected, & why developing a new variety can take years.

Varieties featured: Malus, ‘Eden™’ & ‘Surprize™’.

Growing Updates

I check flowering dahlias, cosmos & ripening pumpkins, then trim pumpkin runners to focus growth. I also clear a garden bed, retaining legume roots for next year’s crops.

Job of the Month: Green Manures

I sow green manures into an empty bed to compare how they improve soil structure, add organic matter, fix nitrogen & suppress weeds before next year.

Step-by-Step Guide: Planting Blueberries

I plant blueberries in containers using ericaceous compost, pairing two varieties for better cross-pollination & covering the watering, feeding & positioning needed for healthy crops.

00:00 October Gardening Introduction
00:38 Trees for Small Gardens – Crab Apple
02:12 Tree for Exposed Areas – Hawthorn (Crataegus)
02:59 Tree for Dappled Shade – Mountain Ash (Sorbus)
03:55 Evergreen Privacy Tree – Cotoneaster Hybridus Pendulus
04:33 Tree for Shady Sheltered Spots – Japanese Maple
05:31 How to Plant a Tree
06:05 How to Dig a Tree Planting Hole & Basin
07:19 Mycorrhizal Fungi, Roots & Tree Guard
08:18 How to Stake a Tree at 45°, Tie & Mulch
09:31 Why Choose an Apple Tree?
10:50 Plant of the Month – Apples
11:03 Apple Varieties Explained
12:05 New Apple Variety – Legacy
13:05 Apple Tree Buying Tips
13:29 Apple Rootstocks – Small, Medium or Large
14:57 Apple Tree Types – Fan, Step Over, Espalier
14:40 Behind the Scenes of Frank P Matthews
16:00 How Are Apple Trees Cloned?
16:13 Growing Apple Trees from Seed
16:39 Apple Mother Trees Explained
17:15 Which Apples Don’t Go Brown? Eden
16:59 How to Create a New Apple Variety?
18:51 Which Apple Has Pink Flesh? Surprize
20:31 How was Apple Legacy Bred for 2026?
20:52 What Is an Apple Tree Sport?
21:51 October Growing: Dahlias, Cosmos & Pumpkins
22:29 Why Dig in Broad Bean & Sweet Pea Roots?
25:42 Why Use Green Manures?
26:53 Sowing Fothergills Green Manures Rhy
27:44 Sowing Fothergills Autumn Winter Mix
29:03 Planting Blueberries
29:44 Why Plant Blueberries Together?
30:19 How to Plant a Blueberry in a Container?
32:14 Credits

Location: Bridgemere Show Gardens, a destination for plant lovers.
Learn more: https://www.bridgemereshowgardens.co.uk/
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David Domoney Chartered Horticulturist C Hort. FCI Hort. F Wcg. F Cmc. FLS. Fellow of the Warwickshire College Group. Fellow of the London Colleges of Horticulture. Recipient of The Prince Edward Award for Excellence in Horticulture.

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