Gardeners are aware of the health benefits of consuming fresh home-grown fruit and vegetables; this is what modern-day gardening is all about and summer brings with it a bounty of favourites. Stone fruit season has just begun with peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums on offer in all shapes, sizes, colours and flavours.
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Fruit trees can be very functional in a garden if chosen carefully. The key is to ensure you select the right variety for your area and have the correct pollinating variety if one is needed. This has often been taken care of when purchasing multi-grafted trees including stone fruits and citrus and come on dwarf root stock, ideal for containers.
Dwarf fruit tree varieties such as 'Pixzee' and 'Nectazee' can be purchased as a two way graft, with both a peach and nectarine growing on the one tree. These varieties are referred to as super dwarf and ideal for container growing. Older varieties of peach such as 'Anzac' and Elberta are tried and true and are now also available on dwarf root stock making them ideal for smaller gardens.
Plums are another delightful summer fruit. Japanese plums are better suited to the temperate coastal regions, and European varieties suited to cooler climates. Most require a pollinator so check with your nursery for suitable varieties.
A new release this season is called 'A-okay plum' a variety that has the highest antioxidant level and potential health benefits of any plum variety available to home gardeners. This prolific cropping tree produces large numbers of dark-skinned plums with blood red flesh and a small seed.
New growth is a beautiful burgundy colour throughout the growing season which adds another element to this attractive tree. Available as a dwarf plant or full-size tree, A-okay plum requires pollination from another plum variety which flowers at the same time. Suggestions are Ruby Blood plum, Narrabeen plum, Mariposa plum or Satsuma plum.
To get the best from your fruit trees provide them with a position where they will receive full sun in a well-drained soil. If space is limited choose dwarf varieties or consider growing stone fruit against a wall as an espalier. Creating an espaliered fruit tree does take some skill but with a little research and patience the effort is well worth it.
There is no doubt that summer stone fruits are real backyard beauties and worthy of growing as a long-term investment in productive gardening.
