Pollination: Unless a tree is self fertile it will require a pollination partner in order to fruit. All tree fruits are divided into flowering groups, ie varieties that flower at the same time fall into the same group. A variety from group 2 will cross with any other variety from group 2 and also any variety from adjacent groups 1 and 3. This is the same for all the flowering groups. Some trees are triploids, which means that they are no use as a pollinator and require 2 compatible varieties that pollinate each other. Pollination can seem like a complicated subject but it is not as much of a worry as people think, most people are likely to have good pollination in their garden due to the close proximity of other gardens.
Rootstocks: Fruit trees are grown on a range of different rootstocks which control the vigour of the tree and therefore we can tell approximately how tall a tree will be when it reaches maturity.