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Damien.Qwerty starts with ... I recently discovered that my area was once home to a unique habitat (Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub) that is now listed 'critically endangered.' I'd like to drop in a banksia or two to support the native birds and insects, but I have limited space and just added a Minnie Royal Cherry. Does anyone have any suggestions, warnings, successes or failures they could share about trying to keep both natives and fruit trees happy in the same plot? Don't mind sacrificing a bit of yield if I can find a way to keep them both happy and healthy. Thanks in advance. | About the Author Damien.Qwerty Bondi 16th July 2019 12:57pm #UserID: 20584 Posts: 2 View All Damien.Qwerty's Edible Fruit Trees |
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jakfruit etiquette says... The cherry is deciduous, so you can use the Banksia to shade or protect it in summer, just think about the sun direction in your yard, you probably dont want the cherry in full shade all the time as it may encourage disease. The Banksia is a local native plant, assuming it grew on your soil type at your location. Apart from climate change and ecosystem change, it should grow in your soil. The Cherry will need the inputs for a cultivated plant. The Banksia may not like the extra fertilizer and water, so be careful about fert and water applications. | About the Author jakfruit etiquette vic 20th July 2019 8:48am #UserID: 5133 Posts: 915 View All jakfruit etiquette's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 20th July 2019 11:04am | |||||||
Damien.Qwerty says... Thanks. Yeah, I agree. The Banksia should be right at home - it'll survive on little more than an occasional admiring glance. For the cherry it's marginal - moist but free-draining sandy loam; sheltered location, but only a couple of miles from the sea; and overall a warmer climate than it would normally prefer (see pics). The first hurdle seems to be - how do you feed the cherry enough to keep it happy without killing the banksia? I've asked around and can't find much agreement - other than "That's a really bad idea, don't do it." :) A couple of nurserymen suggested sticking to native fertilisers. Then a local arborist warned they might contain sulpur (intended to acidify the soil - good for banksia, bad for cherry). Online, some sites say cow manure is OK. Others say no, but recommend a special mix using blood & bone (eg. http://www.sesl.com.au/uploads/articles/Feeding_Native_Plants.pdf). Seems like there's very little agreement or clear information to be had so far. I guess the other tricky part is that I haven't been able to find any reliable test to measure phosphorus content in the soil. So it seems like it might be just a matter of guesswork to determine how much of which fertiliser is enough, too little, or too much. Hmmm, any insights?
| About the Author Damien.Qwerty Bondi 21st July 2019 11:24am #UserID: 20584 Posts: 2 View All Damien.Qwerty's Edible Fruit Trees |
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