tropical tree growing advice for a melbournian..

jmub starts with ...
Hi all,

I just recently purchased a house in the hills of belgrave and wanted to grow some fruit plants. I've done a bit of research and am aware of what fruit tree's grow well here and what don't. But you could still classify me as a fruit growing noob! :) So I've got some questions for anyone with any knowledge of growing tropical tree's around these parts.

Just recently on a impulse buy I picked up an Indian guava and Kensington pride mango tree. The guava's about a foot in height and the mango is about foot and a half. Just needed some advice on whether I should plant them in the ground or in a large pot. General planting location advice, fertilizing etc and whether I have any hope of seeing either of these plants grow and fruit in my area. Not that it matters, I'd be just as happy having alive and well mango and guava tree's that don't fruit. Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm also looking to plant white sapote and cherimoya. Can anyone recommend a variety of these tree's that would grow well in melbourne? and where I could possibly pick them up from locally?

Finally, has anyone had any luck growing coconut tree's in melbourne?

jmub says...
Yes, I've looked through that forum thread, and I still couldn't find specific answers. Some questions have been answered so thanks for the link.

The varieties of White sapote and Cherimoya that grow best in melbourne is what I'm mainly after and where I can find them locally would be of great help as well.

juanita says...
Hi Jmub,

For cherimoya i would suggest "fino de jete" is one of the best..

Phil@Tyalgum says...
I used to buy a few of the fruit trees you mention from several places in Melbourne, but not on your side of town worse luck. Poytnton's of Essendon often have a large selection of semitropical fruit trees, they are on the Maribyrnong River, have bought quite advanced trees over the years from them. They used to sell a lot of casimiroa cvs. CERES in Lee St, East Brunswick is a community centre that has a nursery outlet, have bought cherimoya, greeen sapote, pepino whilst there, good selection if you're lucky. Finally, there is a retail outlet which stocks a lot of Daley's fruit trees, it's kind of opposite Dan Murphys near Bell St, Coburg, run by an older Greek couple. Can't give you a precise address but if you can find the bottle shop you should be able to hunt around across the road. I ended up moving up from Woodend to Northern NSW to get closer to the source!

jmub says...
Phil & Jujube, thank you for your help. I have managed to locate 1 White sapote tree and it's been happily put away for me to pick up soon.
I read somewhere that in order to get the white sapote to fruit you need another one near by.. is this true? Or can the white sapote self pollinate?

No luck with the Cherimoya, no place outside of diggers has them (and they only have small plants, I can't find established ones).

Jujube, do you know the name or location of the nursery in Police road, mulgrave. I can't seem to find it online.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
I bought some cherimoyas from a nursery near Daylesford, I imagine it is still in operation. Give Adrian a ring and see what he has in stock - it's worth the drive out there to see his glasshouse setup, American pawpaws, white sapote and others you won't find anywhere else. 5348 7532. He has a cherimoya called "Spain" which is very hard to find in this country.

jmub says...
An update, I called up the nursery where I booked my one white sapote tree and I was advised it was a Reinecke variety. Is that a tropical variety or will that grow fine in melbourne? And is it self pollinating.

Also, I found out the loquat I picked up is a thames pride.

Will the above two varieties of sapote and loquat grow well here?

jmub says...
Thanks jujube. I've found some info on the web that says it takes a few years to fruit in victoria, and when it does it is not a heavy cropper but the fruit are very nice. So I'll keep the one I got (daleys says its self pollinating. perry's says its not... who to believe?), but I'm trying really hard to find a Pike white sapote.

Daleys and Perry's don't seem to have any pikes, which is a real shame. Trying to find some place that has pikes seems impossible at the moment.


Also, what do you think thames pride loquat variety? have you heard anything about them?

jmub says...
Phil,
I called CERES, they do not have any white sapotes or cherimoya. Poyntons is where I got my Thames Pride Loquat, pineapple guava's and the 1 Reinecke White sapote. They said they rarely stock white sapote and cherimoya, but they have my name and number so when stock comes in they will call me. Same deal with CERE's. Thanks for the advice, phil! I'm still much better off than when I started.

Now if I can get a hold of a Pike white sapote and fino de jete cherimoya, I'm set!

Anna says...

I am Thinking about growing a Pineapple Guava/Feijoa in pot. I have seen the plants sold with yellow fresh picture. I wonder if it is a true yellow flesh or just the background colour just happens to be yellow.

I would like to hear from anyone who have grown them in Melbourne. How long does it take to fruit from a plant about 30 cm tall?. Is it a tropical variety?

Many thanks in advance

culebra says...
That'd be awesome if you could get it to grow in Melbourne! ;)


They would be a great alternate to those common palms in St Kilda, mordy etc. (Phoenix canariensis?)
lol i'm dreaming.

''but I am intrigued to find out if they grow indoors, in a warm position with good sunlight/daylight.''
Sounds like the go! worth a shot eh.

Anna says...
Hi Evo,

Many thanks for your information. I will buy one plant next week. I like the perfume.

epiphany says...
Anna: like Evo said, feijoas have a sort of pale creamy coloured flesh but it turns brown when exposed to air (like an apple). It's not a true yellow colour.

They grow well in Melbourne & will grow in a pot but not as well as one in the ground. They hedge well & can be kept quite compact.

When you're ready to harvest them, wait til the fruit fall on the ground (we used to shake our trees very gently...lol)...then you know they're ripe. Don't eat the skin - just the flesh. It's too thick. You can also eat the flower petals...they have a sort of lemony sugar taste.

When you buy one, try to get a named variety rather than a seedling - the fruit is vastly superior & you know it's going to fruit in a reasonable time...many seedlings either take a long time or don't seem to flower much at all. Also check if the variety is self fertile or if you'll need a pollinator. If you have other feijoas in the area, you might be able to get away with one...if not, it's best to buy two different varieties. Unless it's a self fertile variety. Good luck! They're really lovely fruit :)