Plant a Mini Orchard

Pride of Place - It's a great time of year to grow citrus & fruit trees

Feijoas, blueberries, apples or citrus? There are so many options when it comes to choosing fruit trees and shrubs to fit into smaller spaces! If you’ve got the vision, we’ve got the know-how.

Follow our simple guide to planting and caring for fruit in your backyard to enjoy the ultimate mini orchard.

3 Steps to growing a Mini Orchard

Prepare

Choose your fruit trees

Select varieties of fruit trees that you like to eat, and that are suited to where you live – check your local garden centre for top recommendations in your region. We’ve selected a hardy, easy care range of trees and shrubs to plant, that are easy to keep on the smaller side:

Feijoas (a couple of different varieties to enhance pollination - discover feijoa varieties here)
Dwarf citrus (e.g. mandarin, lemon, lime)
Blueberries (select a combination of varieties of the same type to ensure good cross pollination - discover blueberry varieties here)
Dwarf apple trees

Once you have selected your plants, it’s time to prepare the soil – the better the soil, the better your fruit plants will grow.

Once you have selected your plants, it’s time to get the soil prepared – the better the soil, the better your fruit plants will grow. If you’re starting with an existing garden bed dig in organic matter like Tui Sheep Pellets and Tui Compost to your soil.

Then you can add a layer of Tui Citrus & Fruit Mix, a high quality mix containing the right blend of nutrients to provide your citrus and fruit trees with the best possible start and sustained growth throughout the season.

Plant

The best times to plant are early in the morning or late in the day, so the plants aren’t exposed to the hot sun straight away.

Soak plants in a bucket of Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic before planting to help prevent
transplant shock and encourage healthy growth.
Dig a hole approximately twice the depth and width of the root ball of your plant
Place your tree in the hole ensuring the tree is no deeper than it was in the container or bag.
Apply Tui Enrich Fruit, Citrus, Tree & Shrub fertiliser around the dripline of your tree.
Water well after planting.

Nourish

Feed your fruit and they will reward you with a bumper crop. Plants use nutrients from the soil as they grow, so replenishing the nutrients ensures your fruit plants will grow to their full potential.

Feed your fruit trees every six months during the key growth periods of spring, summer and autumn with Tui Enrich Fruit, Citrus, Tree & Shrub fertiliser .

Don’t forget to water your fruit trees – especially over the warm summer months as fruit forms. Water deeply and regularly. Well watered, well nourished fruit will have a better chance of keeping insect pests and diseases at bay.

Pruning

Prune if you need to for either a desired shape, to remove any diseased stems, or to improve air circulation. Leaves are the life of the tree, so don’t cut unnecessarily, particularly before the tree has matured

Remove any fruit that forms in the first season after planting. This is to allow the tree to establish a strong root system and framework of branches, rather than putting a lot of energy into fruit development.

Check out our Feijoa Growing Guide and Blueberry Growing Guide for more fruit growing tips.

Shopping List

Fruit trees of your choice:
- Feijoas
- Dwarf citrus
- Blueberries
- Dwarf apples
Tui Citrus & Fruit Mix
Tui Organic Sheep Pellets
Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic
Tui Enrich Fruit, Citrus, Tree & Shrub fertiliser

When should I plant

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Harvest in 2-3 years

Feijoa Growing Guide

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