Saturday 5th August, 2023
Hi
Sometime size matters
With smaller sections or when you just don't have room and you want a home orchard then you need to consider what the options are. Firstly before we get into the smaller growing plants think about the space that you may have. Fences for example are the perfect place to espalier fruit trees of which I consider apples and pears the easiest as they fruit on spurs and you potentially control their size. It's worth saying here too that apples on different rootstock will also help control the size. Generally the smaller the number the more dwarf, ie MM26 and MM27 being more dwarf than MM106 which is considered semi dwarf and good for the home gardener.
Pears on quince stock also have some dwarfing characteristics going on and with good pruning can also make for some great espalier or fence line subjects
Plums and the like could be espaliered but are quite vigorous and fruit on previous seasons wood and so would need keeping in check for size and maybe some good pruning. I don't know of any true small growing plums. If you were limited to space but could squeeze one plum in then consider the self fertile
Luisa and
Hawera cultivars.
If you are hankering for a peach and/or a nectarine there is quite the range of these small standards ones that are as cute as. They have the form of being like a small standard just like a standard rose really. Pretty in blossom and then carry crops of sweet nectarines and peaches and more than you would think especially as they gain a few years and of courser get bigger. Have a gander at these
Nectarine Flavourzee,
Garden Delight and
Nectar Babe. Just to have a look at some peaches, there are
Bonanza,
Garden Lady,
Honey Babe,
Pixzee and
Rose chiffon.
I think it's the best range of citrus on dwarf stock that we have had for years
Are citrus your thing? They are mine with glossy green leaves, white fragrant flowers followed by very attractive but edible fruit, what more could you want? You can espalier most citrus, just like apples and the rest, but be mindful of the wood at pruning time. Otherwise you can get citrus on flying dragon rootstock which will reduce the cultivar height by about a third.
Oranges, grapefruit and true lemons can all achieve 3 to 4 metres on normal or trifoliata rootstock but on flying dragon become all round a smaller tree in your garden.. we have quite a range of oranges at the moment which we haven't had for a while being
Fukumoto,
Harwood Late,
Navelina,
Newhall and
Washington Navel.. There is also
Yen ben lemon on dwarf stock with
Meyers to come but it's also worth knowing that Meyer is naturally smaller growing anyways maxing at around 1.5 to 2 metres. Your citrus orchard would not be complete without a lime and there are a couple being
Tahitian and
Bearrs.
Apricot
Garden Annie is a smaller growing apricot than the normal sized one that we usually have though could be maintained at around 2 metres. Then there is the
Almond Garden Prince, if you want to grow your own nuts on a plant that doesn't grow too huge like the trees that Almonds are normally cropped on. Finally for the smaller section orchard there is the
Feijoa Bambina which is smaller than all the the other cultivars.
Ornamentals like Camellias can be small too
Ang wanted me to mention these Camellias as the perception is that most Camellias will grow large and this selection is unusual in that they are very petite being mostly under one metre. Check out
Little Gem, (which is looking pretty cool in the nursery right now and in flower)
Quintessence,
Moonlight Magic,
Sweet Emily Kate and
Avalanche. Of course there are plenty of other small growing shrubs in different genera or groups of plants it's just a matter of knowing that they are true small growing cultivars.
Have you sharpened your secateurs loppers and found your pruning saw yet.
I was looking at my home orchard the other day, thinking that it's time that I got into it and get them all pruned .. thinking that it's good to remind everyone that it's now August and we had the heaviest frost yet this morning. Of course by now you will have done a lime sulphur spray and after a two week space done a couple of conqueror oil and Copper oxychloride sprays. If not the Lime sulphur, well at least the Copper and oil. Once you have pruned it's not a bad idea to follow up again with the Copper and oil. Remember Copper and oil will deal to overwintering fungal spores and eggs.
This weekend is looking perfect for pruning the orchard as it's frosty with beautiful sunny days as you really need dry weather to prune to avoid transmitting the fungal infection silver leaf. Silver leaf causes silvering of the leaves of the rose family including pip and stone fruit and it's transmitted through damage and/or pruning cuts and wounds in wet or damp weather.
The basics of all pruning is to remove diseased and damaged growth, enhance an open vase shaped form.. It's worth noting that apple and pears flower on fruiting spurs. Fruiting spurs or tips are specialized small stems that carry the flowers and fruit and are usually quite obvious to look at.
Apple and pears also produce quite an amount of vegetative growth during the growing season which on the whole can be removed though it's worth leaving around 10cm or so, so that new fruiting spurs can form. On older trees it may be worth encouraging new structure and fruiting spurs as older ones become less productive.
The stone fruit in your orchard flower and fruit on previous seasons growth or wood and so you need to prune accordingly. The best advice I think that I can give is each year when you prune and your orchard begins to blossom then watch carefully to see what flowers and what doesn't and apply your observations to next years pruning season.
Rose pruning this fine weekend ???
I think that it's still early to prune your roses especially here in the Waikato but if you really wanted to you could.. Fine weekends have been few and far between of late and so I would prune as I can't stand them looking messy. Once pruned they will start to leaf up quickly which may mean that you will need to start spraying them with Super shield especially if the weather keeps raining. Rose pruning could be left as late as just prior to bud burst, that stage when the buds have become swollen and fat and about to do their thing.
Again, hopefully you have at least already sprayed your roses with copper and oil prior to pruning and a follow up spray immediately after pruning would also be beneficial.
Rose pruning is also about the removal of damaged and diseased growth, Creating a nice and open "vase'' shape form that allows air movement through. Remove all flowered wood/stems back to good healthy buds that are going to flower well. Structurally replace branches that have flowered for quite a few years and are now tired with something young and fresh.
Just arrived in alert
Asparagus crowns... get these planted from now on.. I am excited for this year as my own asparagus crowns are now two years on and I'm sure that we are going to harvest our own fresh asparagus this year. I did plant quite a few and so they should provide more than enough for the two of us.
OMG hopefully another gorgeous weekend, I can just hear all the lawn mowers going full throttle and the silent movement of everyone's secateurs and pruning saws working at top speed.. The ground has even started to dry out enough to think about getting weeding done and new plants into the ground..
The team have also been working at top speed to get all our fruit and ornamentals trees into bags ready for you and currently the nursery is brim full.. maybe not all where they are supposed to be but hey 12000 trees takes some time to organize.
I am looking forward to working in the garden centre this weekend as it's beautiful to be in and especially on a stunning day with a great vibe of all the customers taking it all in as well.
Whatever your plans for the weekend, have a fabulous time and all the very best from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
