Cos’ the only lemons life should give you are the ones on your lemon tree [+in your G&T].
A couple of months ago, we spoke to the wonderful Michael of Turf 2 Trees about veggie gardens – here’s his awesome advice BTW – and were keen to focus even more on getting as close as we can or creating our own food source, so planting fruit trees seems the next thing to do, now we’ve got our veggie patches sorted.
We love the idea of heading outside to pick some apples to go into a home cooked pie or crumble, snapping a mandy off a tree for a snack, or shaking some lemons off a tree for a Friday evening G&T.
Sounds good, right?
And the Highlands climate is ideal for most fruit tree varieties.
Here’s Michael’s tips on what fruit trees to plant, how to help them thrive and which pests to keep an eye out for.
1 :: What fruit trees grow well in the Southern Highlands?
Most will grow with the exception of anything too subtropical and tropical [sorry, no mangos guys!].
Thanks to the change in climate in recent years, fruit tree varieties that tolerate more temperate climates are also an option locally now.
Most fruit trees rely on what we call ‘winter chill hours’ to be viable to produce fruit every year. For example, some apple varieties need up to 1200 hours below 7 degrees celsius to fruit well. If the plant doesn’t receive the correct amount of chill hours, it will fruit poorly.
Now with our climate changing, that’s something to keep in the back of your mind when planting.
2 :: Can you share some of your insider tips with us?
Healthy soil is always so important so use plenty of compost, mulch out to the root zone and make sure it’s free draining soil.
Give your fruit trees plenty of space too. Even the dwarf varieties will need at least 3m x 3m to perform well.
However if you are short on space, try the art of espalier. It’s one of my favourite forms of pruning and is a horticultural technique where trees or shrubs are trained to grow flat against a support structure, such as a wall or trellis, to maximise space and sunlight.
Or if you’re planning on growing citrus fruit they also go great in pots.
3 :: What can you do to maintain and help your fruit trees grow?
First you should double check to see if your fruit trees require a pollinator to produce fruit. Often apples, pears, plums and cherries need some form of pollination.
When it comes to planting, the best spot for all producing plants is the sunniest spot in the garden so keep that in mind.
Once they’re planted, keep them moist. One deep watering a week should be fine with a well mulched tree.
Regular fertilising through the growing season is important, as is proper pruning. There is an art to this so don’t just start hacking away.
And always sterilise your pruning tools between trees, we don’t want to move around the fungus. I usually use a spray bottle of methylated spirits.
Keep an eye on your fruit trees regularly for pests and disease. They’ll need a bit of TLC.
4 :: Speaking of pests, what bugs, pests and nasties should you look out for?
There are a lot of these around and it’s very dependent on the fruit you are growing. The ones to look out for in the Southern Highlands are cherry slug, leaf curl, scab and the bloody birds!!
I generally find apples, pears, citrus and figs the easiest to grow.
A lot of the stone fruit [peaches, apricots etc] are susceptible to a lot of fungus in our region due to our wet climate.
I must admit it is rare to have fruit trees that will produce edible fruit without some sort of spraying regime. Again, there are a lot of natural based ones on the market now. However, frequency is key here.
5 :: Tools of the trade! What’s your best expert tip?
Pruning is key.
I have gone into lots of orchards, years old and had them fruiting within two seasons due to proper pruning.
Give them lots of space, and keep them low so you can get the nets on easily.
And if you want to learn more I have actually done a few garden talks at various garden clubs around the region on orchard pruning. Joining your local garden club is a great way to get and share lots of tips and info.
Thanks Michael – fab advice, as always.
With spring just around the corner, we’re keen to head to a local nursery, load up on fruit trees and get planting!
Those lemons for our G&T’s aren’t going to grow themselves, right?
Turf 2 Trees is a Landscape and Estate Management business specialising in acreage, formal gardens and show gardens with over ten years of horticulture and turf management experience. A local business who has mastered the art of their craft in the unique Highlands climate, the team at Turf 2 Trees Horticulture focus on efficient and high-quality property maintenance.
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