Common Questions

How far apart do I plant my trees?

For espaliered apples we'd suggest 2m apart, or at a minimum 1.5m. Look at our article on espaliering, and note how the branches grow to meet it's neighbour.

How far apart do I make my rows?

This depends on what you wish to drive between them. If it's a tractor or ute (eg for mowing, harvesting, pruning or mulching) then leave between 4-5m. Otherwise if it's only walking, leave at least 2m.

Do I orient my rows North/South or East/West?

Grapes are more particular about orientation to sun compared to dwarfing fruit trees. They do well either way, but more important is the vehicle access and drainage if on a slope. Planting across the contour of a slope may pool water if in high rainfall area and vehicles drive less well across the slope unless it is terraced.

How high will my trees grow?

This depends on which root stocks they are grown on and which variety you are talking about, as they all have different vigor. Apple trees on dwarfing stock can be espaliered to be kept to 2m tall, as can the cherries, quinces and pears. If grown free standing, apples on dwaft M26 stock will grow 2.5-3m. Semi-dwarfing apples will grow 3-4m. Pears and quinces free standing will grow 2.5-3.5m high. Nectarine, plums and apricot are grown on non-dwarfing stock and depending on conditions and pruning, can grow 3-5m, although they can be kept a bit shorter by using a trellis system. See our article on plums and apricots. More information on our grafting and rootstocks page.

Can I grow apple trees in pots?

Our experience with growing fruit trees has always been best when planted in the open ground. They will however survive in a pot, preferably a large one, with an automatic watering system to safe-guard drying out. Don't use this method to grow a tree on for 3-4 years then transplant it out: this could be a bigger job than just starting afresh with a new tree. Read more about Potted Fruit in our article.

In what part of Australia can I grow fruit trees?

Fruit trees generally need some winter chill, so the more tropical and humid you are, the less likely that these more temeperate varieties will do well. Apples will grow inland as far north as Stanthorpe / Tenterfield and the Granite belt in QLD. Right on the coast, Nowra in NSW is probably the northern limit, but further north 5-50km inland might be that bit cooler to allow fruit trees to grow. See our section on low-chill varietes on this page. The best guide is what is growing around you - if neighbours have had luck growing fruit trees, there's no reason why you wont too.

Do you have any varieties that grow in a warmer climate?

Our varieties with low chill requirement this year are:
Bonza, Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Lady Williams, Pink Lady, Red Gala, Rome Beauty, Sundowner. In terms of pears, Corella is fairly low chill.

Can you send the trees to WA?

Because of quarantine restrictions, sending to WA is more complicated and expensive, so we generally don't. A WA quarantine officer has summarised for us:

• Usually if importing from the east an importer would bring in 10-20 trees or more of any one variety.
• They no longer require apple scab screening, so duration is much shorter - around 6 months if nothing odd grows on them!
• They put 16 trees per square metre of bench space and charge $4.90 per sq metre per day. So if an importer brought in 10 trees it would cost around $550 for six months or $55 per tree.
• There may be further charge eg. fumigation (up to $100) and inspection.
• People need to make an application to import well in advance, as the glasshouse fills up with commercial trees each year from the big nurseries

See www.agric.wa.gov.au/quarantine.

Which apples should I choose?

We get asked by many people which varieties to choose? Well, take apples as an example. With the three or four thousand apple varieties in existence, we at home have an orchard of some 300 varieties that we think are excellent and worth growing. From these, we have distilled some 70 varieties for sale that we think they are so special that they deserve to be in other people’s gardens as well. Amongst them are a range of colours, tastes, sizes. From the common to the eclectic, early to late ripening, and those that are good for cooking, eating, drying, juicing, or cider. We have written a description of each one, it’s ripening time and a photo is available on our website. So the choice is yours! You’ll find the variety you miss from your childhood, or that your friend raves about. Perhaps you want to grow something unusual or try something different. Some people prefer to start with only a few trees and then plant more in a couple of years get some more once they have gotten the hang of it. Whatever you grow, there is nothing that comes close to the pleasure of growing your own food.

Can we visit your nursery?

We do not have a nursery that is open to the public, as most of our business is done by mail order. You can come and visit us in Woodbridge, but please contact us first for an appointment to look around our garden.

Can we pick up our trees from the nursery?

The postage rates for our parcels are very reasonable. It would probably cost you more in petrol to pick your trees up from us unless you live in the lower channel area. Otherwise we are happy for you to pick up the parcel in winter, but we are generally flat out packing trees during the limited daylight hours.