Fruit cages might seem like an extravagant addition to your kitchen garden, but they’re a great solution for protecting your hard-earned crops from birds and other pests. If you love to grow fruit bushes and vegetables, it’s worth thinking about installing one in your garden or allotment.
We’ve picked out a selection of styles, from low-level strawberry cages to walk-in designs for larger bushes and trees.
What is a fruit cage for?
Fruit cages are designed to keep birds and other garden pests away from your crops. Depending on where you grow your fruit and veg, you might want to protect it from wood pigeons, insects, small pests and even large animals like deer. Or you might just want to deter inquisitive pets who enjoy digging up your vegetable patch.
According to the RHS, the best fruit cages have removable top sections so pollinators can still access your plants when they flower.
What should I put in my fruit cage?
Fruit cages are useful for protecting the crops most likely to be eaten or disturbed by garden pests. Most people use them to grow small trees, berry bushes and cane fruits like raspberries and blackberries, but you can also house commonly targeted veg, like brassicas.
What size should a fruit cage be?
Fruit cages come in a range of styles and sizes to suit a variety of different crops. Before you select your design, think about the type of fruit and veg you’ll be growing inside. Here are some factors to consider:
- Large walk-in fruit cages tend to be more versatile, giving you the option to grow everything from low-level veg to dwarf trees
- When deciding on the size of your fruit cage, don’t forget to allow enough room to access your plants, on top of the space needed to accommodate them
- You may be limited by the amount of level land you have in your garden or allotment
The best fruit cages for your garden in 2023
Haxnicks Steel Round Fruit Cage Frame
Best small fruit cage
Buy from Keen Gardener (£41.24), Agriframes (£49.99)
If you’re looking for a small fruit cage or you’re just starting out on your veg-growing journey, this model could be perfect for you. It’s 150cm tall and 100cm across, which means it’ll fit in most gardens and vegetable patches.
Choose this design for the likes of blackcurrants, gooseberries, blueberries and raspberries.
Despite being a lightweight fruit cage, it’s made with strong powder-coated steel, so it should stand up to the elements. It’s also easy to assemble, thanks to the round poles.
1'6" x 4' fruit cage
Best low-level fruit cage
Buy from Two Wests (£69.00)
If low-height fruit and veg is your speciality, you can’t go wrong with this ground-level cage. Choose this one for crops like brassicas and strawberry plants. It comes with a useful hinged lid, which makes it easy to access everything from above.
You can select your preferred type of netting to cover the frame, depending on whether you want to focus on deterring birds or butterflies.
There’s also the option to change the frame colour: choose between the standard plain aluminium finish and the deluxe green powder coating. Either way, you’ll get strong metal tubing and robust nylon connecting joints.
Walk-in fruit cage
Best walk-in fruit cage
Smaller than a bespoke fruit cage but bigger than low-height or pop-up models, this design is a practical choice for large vegetable plots. As it’s supplied with a door, you can easily walk in and out to tend your crops, and there’s plenty of head height for standing up inside.
This weather-resistant fruit cage comes with aluminium tubing, reinforced push-fit joints and 20mm bird netting, as well as ground pegs to keep everything safe and secure.
Choose between three sizes: 2x2x2m; 4x2x2m; and 4x4x2m.
Haxnicks Steel Long Fruit Cage
Most stylish fruit cage
Buy from Keen Gardener (£66.00), Agriframes (£79.99)
This stylish fruit cage is the elongated version of the smaller round frame above; it has three square metres of ground space inside, and reaches 1.5m in height. Thanks to its long shape, it’s perfect for housing a neat row of fruit bushes.
The kit comes with durable steel poles, which you can connect using push-fit plastic joints. For securing it to the ground, you’ll get a range of U-shaped pegs made from galvanised steel. Also included is a 15mm mesh cover for keeping out pests.
Pea frame
Best fruit cage for pea plants
Buy the pea frame kit from Mano Mano (£26.98)
Buy the similar strawberry cage from Mano Mano (£40.98)
Growing peas or other climbing plants? This is the frame to buy. When fully assembled in the garden, it’s roughly 1m tall and 1.25m long.
Designed to last for many years, this frame is made with plastic-coated steel tubes and the 20mm netting is UV-protected.
The pack also includes six ground pegs and jute twine to keep the frame in place. Happily, installation is simple, as you don’t need any tools to put it all together.
Crop cage kit
Best medium-sized fruit cage
A low-level fruit cage with a height of 62.5cm, this relatively spacious model is perfect for medium-sized crops like brassicas, gooseberries and blueberries. It’s 2.5m long and 1.25m wide, so there’s plenty of room to grow neat rows of plants.
As for the construction, you’ll get a powder-coated aluminium frame with connecting balls made from rubber. Ground pegs and 20mm bird-proof netting completes the kit.
Domed Aluminium Walk-In Cage
Great choice of size and netting types
Buy from Gardening Naturally (£50.15), Amazon (£112.99)
You get plenty of choice when it comes to buying this stylish fruit cage. Length options range from 1.2m up to 6m, and you can opt for bird netting or soft butterfly netting, which are both available in either black or green. Both are made with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is UV stabilised to protect against damage from the sun.
Alternatively, buy the structure on its own and add your own covering.
As for the frame, it’s made from aluminium, and allows for 6’1” of head height inside, once pushed into the ground.
Roman arch fruit cage
Best large arch cage
Buy from Harrod Horticultural (£985.00)
Measuring 2.95m at its highest point, this walk-in fruit cage has a good amount of head height. You can choose from four different length options between 3m and 12m, so it should be simple to tailor it to your outdoor space.
As an added bonus, there's the option to fit a door to each end of the fruit cage, making it easy to get in and out. Plus, the black powder-coated steel is guaranteed for 10 years.
Popadome frame
Best pop-up fruit cage
Buy from Harrod Horticultural (£38.95)
For a temporary solution, try this fruit cage. Featuring a pop-up design, it’s quick and easy to assemble and the fibreglass poles make it a lightweight option.
You’ll be able to relocate it in the future without much hassle; just take up the ground pegs and lift it to your chosen spot. If you want to pack it up, you can store it in the convenient carry case.
This fruit cage is fairly tall, so there should be room for you to stand up inside after unzipping the entryway. Plus, it’s UV-treated to protect against sun damage and has an integrated copper strip to discourage slugs and snails.
Muntons fruit and vegetable cages
Best decorative fruit cage
Buy the fruit cage from Muntons (£1,045.00)
Buy the vegetable cage from Muntons (£845.00)
Try this fruit cage if you're after a design with a decorative touch. It includes metal bobbles on the end of each pole.
You can choose the small vegetable cage (H1.2m x W1.3m) or the large fruit cage (H1.8m x W2m), or get in touch with Muntons for a made-to-measure frame.
Bespoke timber fruit cage
Best bespoke option for large plots
Buy from Roger Gladwell
Timber fruit cages can look beautiful in the right space, and this one really makes a statement. The photo showcases a frame with a huge footprint, but you can design yours to your personal requirements if you live in Norfolk, Suffolk or Essex.
The brand also restores old greenhouses and fruit cages too, so you have the option to upgrade an existing structure if you don't want to part with your old frame.
Sweet Chestnut Fruit Cage
Best rustic design
Buy from Charlotte Love Garden Design
If you have a country or cottage garden, you might want to consider a more rustic design like this one from Charlotte Love. It's made with beautiful and sustainable sweet chestnut wood and crafted to a bespoke design, so you can make sure it fits perfectly in your outdoor space.
Peak Roof Steel Fruit Cage
Best statement design
Buy from Harrod Horticultural (£1,095.00)
For maximum style and sophistication, you can't go wrong with this fruit cage and its decorative peak roof. The unusual design is practical as well as beautiful, as the steel frame should offer resistance against snow during the colder months.
Crafted to stand the test of time, the cage is made with square tubing for durability and comes with a 10-year guarantee.
Roman Fruit Cage
Best premium fruit cage
Buy from Agriframes (£1,206.00)
With a total height of 3m, a footprint of 3m x 4m and the option to extend it by a further metre, this stylish fruit cage can offer plenty of room for large shrubs and bushes. Choose this model if you want a large frame without investing in a bespoke design.
This fruit cage comes with a thick frame made of galvanised tubular steel and finished with a weather-resistant polymer coating. Also included in the package is a strong polypropylene mesh, as well as a self-closing door - a convenient addition to keep your crops safe when you forget to shut it behind you.
Gothic Roof Fruit Cage
Interesting design details
Buy from Agriframes (£478.00)
An interesting design like this would make a tasteful addition to most gardens, offering a nice alternative to a flat-roof fruit cage. As it nods to gothic architecture, this frame would work particularly well in mature gardens.
As for the structure, the cage is made from sturdy galvanised steel and comes with matching hooks for secure fixing.
But one of the biggest benefits of choosing this frame is the huge variety of sizes on offer, allowing you to tailor it to your space. Options range from 2.5 square metres all the way up to 10 square metres.
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