Care of Fruit Trees (forum)

D starts with ...
Does anybody have any tips and tricks for starting out with fruit trees. Bearing in mind that I like to use organic methods in my garden.

We have so far got the following varieties:-

Three-Way Pear
Three-Way Peach
Pinkabelle Apple
Imerpial Mandarin
Lots a Lemons
Plum
Washington Navel Orange

Waiting to get a Granny Smith Apple & Apricot when they come in. Maybe some other fruits as well.

We also have an established Reed Avocado on our property.

We are blessed with good rainfall and a temperate climate including nice cold winters and mild summers.

Thanks!



Time: 17th March 2008 4:26pm

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About the Author D
Tamborine Mountain
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Anonymous says...
Dont try and go organic with fruit fly it doesnt work.

Time: 17th March 2008 5:16pm

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Correy says...
Tamborine Mountains for fruit trees sounds like a great place. I like how you can give the more temperate fruit trees a go.

Citrus Fruit Trees
If you are like me you have been getting leaf minor on your new shoots this past summer.

I have been most successful with Organic Eco Oil. I was using white oil but it didn't work. I have been told that Eco Oil contains a finer oil making it harder for the leaf miner.

Daleys has a Dwarf Granny Smith that would be ideal with your Pinkabelle Apple Tree apparently it has a longer flowering time optimizing it for cross pollination. Also it stays smaller being a Dwarf Fruit Tree

At Daleys Orchard we have been having success using organic products to control fruit fly for the:

Peach Tree
Pear Trees
Plum Tree

We have been using organic Wild May Fruit Control Systems

Although if you have a super infestation they are not going to work but if you are diligent and keep on top of it then this organic option is viable.

Here is some great discussion on the topic:

Fruit Fly Control
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Time: 19th March 2008 8:18am

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About the Author Correy
Woolloongabba, QLD
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D says...
Thanks Correy. I have been using Eco Oil which seems to keep my trees relatively bug free when I use it regularly, although they are still only young. I have also found that when I mix up a bottle of this it goes much further than any other sprays.

My peach tree had it's first small crop last year. There were originally about 2doz fruit on it but we have some sneeky little possums at night time who love to eat everything. So we didn't end up with much but they were certainly delicious. Next season I will have to look at covering the tree or at least the fruit.

I also have a dwarf tahitian lime which I forgot to add to my list.

We were really hoping to have a granny smith apple but didn't think the dwarf would provide us with enough fruit. How much of a crop would you get when the dwarf tree is fully grown compared to a normal sized one?


Time: 19th March 2008 9:17am

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Correy says...
If you have the room and you enjoy the taste of granny smith apples by all means go for something that is not a dwarf fruit tree as you should get a much bigger harvest. Depending on lots of factors

Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree : 2-3m
Granny Smith Apple Tree : 3-4m

It must be great having lots of room :)

I have had a tahitian lime tree for about 2 years and no fruit yet. My other citrus such as the washington navel orange tree is a bit quicker and fruiting and it is the same age.

Our old mandarine tree is giving such a huge crop we are supporting the branches with rope. Last year because of the water restrictions we only got a few and they didn't taste as good as previous years. This year we gave it a savage pruning and looked after it with our water tanks and of course gave it a good feeding with fertiliser. If you blow up the picture you can see the rope.

Mind you the aphids and ants and every other pest has been eating all the new shoots because of our wet summer. They seem to have reduced now which is good.
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Time: 19th March 2008 10:18am

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About the Author Correy
Woolloongabba, QLD
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D says...
The red soil up here helps as well!

I was under the impression that the dwarf granny smith would only grow to about 1.5m. If not, maybe a dwarf would be ok and I could always get another one later if we thought it was not enough?

How close do the pink lady and granny smith need to be to pollinate?

I have another post about a plum tree which I am trying to find information on ("8-1 pollinator")....any chance you may know what type it is?

Time: 19th March 2008 12:41pm

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Correy says...
Hi D.

With you red acidic soil you just have to get some blueberry plants

In the case that you pruned your dwarf granny smith it would probably stay around 1.5m. But if you have the room why not go the whole hog.

In regards to pollination of your apple tree just as long as they are on the same block you should be right they don't need to be that close.

Time: 20th March 2008 9:32am

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jason says...
I have a lime tree growing pretty good in the position that it is in,but for two yrs I havnt been able to get fruit off it. I have noticed ants in the flowers and on the small fruits as they are growing, at one stage there were about 200 limes now there are none..... can anybody help me..........

Time: 4th March 2009 7:42pm

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About the Author jason7
melbourne
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John I. says...
Hi Jason, Ants are often an indication of scale, which can be treated with White Oil.

Time: 4th March 2009 7:47pm

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Melton
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jason says...
The tree doesnt have any scale, but the little black ants seem to love hiding in amongst the flower as they are starting to grow fruit ant eat the fruit before they get a chance to grow. thanks for your reply.

Time: 5th March 2009 7:37am

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About the Author jason7
melbourne
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jason says...
hi john, I have ended up putting sticky tape around the trunk and the stake the ants dont like it and I also spread ant dust around the tree, It seems to have got rid of them and new flowers are apearing now hopefully fruit....

Time: 3rd April 2009 11:08am

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About the Author jason7
melbourne
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jason says...
Hello I have a double grafted cherry tree that is 2 yrs old, my stupid dog chewed on one of the grafts and left me with about 3 cm of branch, it doesnt grow, the other graft is fine , will this affect the tree's fruiting prospects? will i have to replace the tree?

Time: 6th June 2009 10:58am

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About the Author jason7
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Trish says...
We have dwarf citrus now growing prolifically in year 4. Lime and lemon have fruit and flowers, the others, 1 grapefruit, sweet orange, mandarin and seville orange, have nothing but green shoots. Should we prune the top long stalks and if so - should it be right back to the main stem or just tip pruning.

Time: 20th May 2010 11:34am

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chris says...
Trish,
I would NOT prune back hard young citrus...you will just set it back more. Tip pruning--yes--to shape the tree. Sounds like some of your trees may be deficient or have a mineral imbalance....try a good dose of potash to encourage flowering and fruiting. Also citrus tend to need a good trace element feed once a year, if they are not already getting it in the fertliser you are using. Micro nutrients are critical for citrus than other fruit trees.

Time: 20th May 2010 4:20pm

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sydney
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Trish says...
Thank you Chris for your response. We are on sandy soil so maybe the nutrients need to be doubled up especially in view of the heavy rains we have encountered. I will definitely try the potash.

Time: 22nd June 2010 3:08pm

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Harrington
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