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With all the recent rain and the cold weather,
we are now in the perfect season to plant deciduous fruit and nut trees, vines, roses,
berry crops and deciduous flowering shrubs, all of which are most economically purchased
as open-rooted or bare rooted plants. Of course you
can buy all of the above all-year-round in pots, but since they loose their leaves in
winter, they can be easily moved in winter when they are dormant. That’s why the
evergreen citrus varieties should not be included in your winter fruit trees to
plant now. They really are best left for a month or two, when the soil is warmer, even
though nurseries promote them right now, while every gardener are in their fruit tree
frenzy.
With all the interest in the new varieties, don’t
overlook the old and reliable fruit trees for this area. The ‘Goldmine’
Nectarine, ‘Moorpark’ Apricot, ‘Elberta’ Peach and of course the
‘Kalamata Olive.
With all the interest in fruit & nut trees, don’t
forget the ornamentals. ‘Cheals’ weeping and flowering cherries, ‘Crimson
Cascade’ flowering Peach, flowering Prunus, Flowering Lilac,
Koelreuteria, Silver
Birch, Claret Ash and the Golden Elm, where Adelaide grows the world’s best because
we don’t have ‘Dutch Elm Disease’ (eat your heart out Melbourne!)
You might be tempted to plant plums, pears and almonds too,
because they grow very well here, but if you are new to this area you will need some
expert advice, because they all need to have two trees planted to provide a compatible
pollinator, or else you won’t get any fruit set. Although you may get lucky with a
neighbour near by, who has the necessary pollinator.
While locals grew up in the 50’s eating
‘Jonathan’ apples, they are too disease prone as trees to be popular with
Integrated Pest Management (IMP) orchardists these days. That’s why ‘Gala’
which is the home garden equivalent of ‘Royal Gala’ that orchardists grow,
‘Pink Lady’ and ‘Red Fuji’ have taken over commercially. They also
make good home garden varieties, when grown as small trees. If you want a low maintenance
(disease free) apple try ‘Bonsa’. |
