Juicy Fruit

Do you have an open sunny spot to grow a fruit tree? Late autumn and winter is the best time to plant a stone fruit tree.

Imagine harvesting fragrant juicy peaches and nectarines in summer! With correct pruning, peaches and nectarines can be harvested as early as two years. There are low-chill varieties available now if you live in warm areas. For readers in cool-temperate regions, choose high-chill varieties.

Soil

Well-draining, nutrient rich soil is a must. Add grit to heavy clay to improve drainage.

 

Planting

May or June is the perfect planting time. Dig the planting hole twice as wide and one-and-a-half times deeper than the plant pot. Remove the plant from the pot, tickle the roots and place it carefully in the new planting hole. Back fill with soil enriched with homemade compost. Make a berm (saucer) around the trunk to direct water to the roots. Add a good seaweed solution to the watering can and water in well. Spread a layer of organic mulch (sugarcane) over the root zone but away from the trunk, to suppress weeds and conserve moisture.

 

Care

Peaches and nectarines live fast and die young, often only fruiting for 10 years. To help them with their huge energy requirements, fertilise with blood and bone in autumn and feed again in spring with pelletised manures (Gyganic by Neutrog). In subsequent years, feed in July and December with pelletised animal manure (Gyganic).

 

Protection

Build a cage and cover with fine-gauge mesh to protect your fruit tree from marauding possums, brush turkeys, fruit flies and bats. Make sure it has easy access; a door that close behind you for pruning, feeding, watering, and harvesting fruit.

 

Trouble shooting

Stone fruit are vulnerable to afungal disease called ‘Peach Leaf Curl’. It causes curly, deformed leaves with pink blisters. Leaves eventually turn brown, shrivel, and drop from the tree. Fruits may drop early or turn reddish-purple with warty growths. This disease overwinters in the crevices of the tree bark and around the buds. One or two well-timed applications with a fungicide should control the disease. Spray with Yates Lime Sulfur when trees are dormant, but prior to buds well. Once buds start to swell (bud scales start to loosen and before bud burst), spray with Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide. Good coverage is essential. Fruit Fly control is essentialif your peach or nectarine tree doesn’t have the protection of a fruit cage.

 

Varieties

 

Anzac

Bred in Australia in1915, this juicy, red-maroonskin and white-fleshed peach is delicious. Allow fruit to ripen on the tree before harvesting. This free stone peach crops very heavily from January. Great for preserving or eating fresh. Self-fertile. Available from diggers.com.au

 

Dwarf Anzac

This self-pollinating peach is available as a dwarf variety. All varieties chosen in the dwarf range produce full-size fruit and are sweet and crisp to eat. Stake permanently to support the heavy crop. Mature size 2.5m. Available from www.plantnet.com.au

 

Flora Prince

Low-chill peach variety, needing 150 hours chill. Yellow flesh with firm skin and good blush. Semi-free stone. Available from www.plantnet.com.au

Angel Peach (Donut peach)

A new form of peach with flattened donut shaped fruit with sweet white flesh. It grows approximately 3 x 3 metres. Two varieties of the Angel Peach: a high-chill variety, which fruits in January/February for the cooler areas, and a low-chill variety, which fruits in December for the warmer areas of Australia. Available from www.plantnet.com.au

Tropic Beauty

A semi-freestone yellow-skinned peach with round, large fruit and good coloured skin. Excellent flavour, requires only 150 hours chill. One of the best subtropical peach selections. Grows 2–5m. Available from www.daleysfruit.com.au

 

Mark's Top Tips

Mark Engall, third generation fruit tree grower at Engalls Nursery in Sydney: “I prefer nectarines over peaches. My favourite is Nectarine ‘Goldmine’. Old fashioned white flesh, late season with awesome flavour. My tip would be to grow a dwarf tree so it is easy to net for fruit fly. Don't bother spraying for fruit fly, just net the tree. So much easier!"



To purchase fruit trees, visit www.engalls.com.au