Fruit Tree Grow Guide

Fruit trees are fun to grow and can give many years reward of fresh and juicy fruit. Often they will last a long time with the benefit of typically being low maintenance.

Site Selection
Choose an open, sunny position for your fruit tree. It is a good idea to find out how big the tree is going to grow to ensure it will have enough room.

Tree selection
Depending on what you like to eat and what you want for your garden there are a wide range of common and heirloom varieties to choose from. You can also buy bagged or bare rooted trees – each have their own benefits. Before investing in a fruit tree do a bit of research into how long it is predicted to last, how resilient to pests & diseases it is, and what growing conditions it prefers (as this will affect how much maintenance it needs). You can also buy small dwarf varieties of many different fruits including apple, citrus, olive, guava and plum if you live on a small property.

Planting
Before planting refer to the individual planting instructions of each plant and follow the recommendations for planting space.

Dig a suitably sized hole (approximately twice the depth and width of the rootball of the tree) and half fill the hole with Tui Garden Mix. This contains a range of fertilisers that reduce transplant shock and encourage robust root growth.  Gently place tree into the hole and fill with remainder of Tui Garden Mix.  Always water well after planting.
 

If your soil contains a lot of clay apply Gypsum as no fruit trees like heavy soils. Adding saturaid to soil will further improve drainage.
 

Some fruit trees need staking – this information will also be included in the planting instructions.

Maintenance
Be sure to remove weeds and long grass from the base of the tree so they are not competing for nutrients. Spread Tui Garden Mix around the base of trees like a mulch to aid in moisture retention and reduce soil erosion.

Pruning
Be sure to remove all diseased, damaged or dead wood.
Remove any branches that are crossing or rubbing.
Cut away any branches that are growing back into the centre of the tree.
Thin over crowded area of your tree’s canopy and shape according to its variety

Disease Management
Diseases are spread by wind or moisture and thrive in humid weather. Keeping them well pruned will help prevent disease. Also removing some fruit from the tree when it is forming will help produce better quality and larger fruit.

Fertilising
Tui Fruit Food is an excellent choice for fruit trees as it promotes strong, healthy root growth and encourages fruit and flower production.