This is the time to plant fruit trees. Gillian Vine suggests growing plums and other stonefruits, as they do especially well in the South.
Otago's first European settlers brought numerous plants with them, and less than a dozen years after the John Wickliffe and Philip Laing sailed into Port Chalmers a thriving nursery industry was evident.
Most of the pioneering nurserymen were Scottish, but Charles Sonntag was a German who came to Dunedin in 1861 and opened a business in Kaikorai.
In 1870 he advertised for sale 2000 plums, 1000 peaches, 1000 apricots and 400 cherries, and his 1881 catalogue listed a staggering 134 varieties of plums and 500 different apples.
Of the stonefruit brought in during the 19th century, plums grew readily throughout the region, while the Central Otago climate proved especially suitable for apricots and cherries.
Nathan Milne, of Allenton Nurseries, in Ashburton, explains that to bear fruit, a lot of fruit trees need what is termed winter chilling.
Winter chill is when the temperature is below -7degC.
Cherries need about 1000 hours of winter chill and nectarines 700, Mr Milne says.
This reflects stonefruit's origins millennia ago in central Asia, where winters are cold and dry, and summers are bakingly hot.
Wild peaches are still found in China.
Stonefruits are all forms of Prunus, and as well as plums, peaches and apricots, include the almond, a close relative of the peach.
Nectarines are peaches without the fuzz, which is why peach trees will occasionally bear some nectarines and vice versa.
Plumcots are hybrids of plums and apricots; peachcots are a peach-apricot cross; and peacherines are hybrids of peaches and nectarines.
Many peaches, nectarines and apricots are self-fertile, so only one tree is needed to bear fruit.
Some, such as Sundrop apricots, are partially self-fertile.
They will fruit alone but bear better crops if a compatible variety is grown nearby.
If you plan to buy a single fruit tree, check if it needs a pollinator. Plums are almost guaranteed to cause confusion.
They can be self-fertile (Billington, Damson), partially self-fertile (Burbank, Omega) or best with a pollinator (English Greengage). Some double-grafted plums are available. Like plums, to which they are closely related, many cherries need pollinators.
Bing, Rainier and Dawson varieties are often sold double-grafted with Lapins or Stella on one leg as pollinator.
Not only do multi-grafted trees overcome the pollination issue, but they also enable two or three varieties to be grown where space is limited.
The only drawback is that one variety can become noticeably weaker over time. To get better balance, bite the bullet and cut off all the fruit from the weak leg.
Do this as soon as the fruit has formed to encourage that variety to put its energy into growing a stronger stem instead of fruit production.
Whatever you choose, do the groundwork, making a wide, deep hole for your tree.
Put about 150g of gypsum in the bottom, along with a handful of blood and bone, then a layer of rich soil so the tree's roots do not touch the fertiliser.
Put in a strong stake if the site is windy, then the tree, spreading the roots out and down. If the tree came in a bag of mix, put this around it, then fill the gaps with good soil. Water well, press down the soil firmly, but do not stamp too hard or the soil will compact and not drain properly.
To encourage the roots to spread and seek moisture, do not water again for three months unless conditions are very dry.
Tips
> Short of space? Grow a dwarf fruit tree in a pot. Apricots, cherries, peaches and nectarines are all available in forms that grow from 1m to 2.5m - ideal for pot culture.
> Because of the close relationship between stonefruits, Allenton Nurseries grafts its apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches on Golden Queen peaches, growing 10,000 peach stones a year to create stock for grafting. If you want to try grafting, collect pencil-thin pieces (scions) of the desired variety in winter, wrap in damp paper and store these pieces in the fridge until ready to use in spring.
Freebies
In conjunction with Allenton Nurseries, of Ashburton, we have a greengage tree to give away. Developed in France, it is said to get its name from Sir William Gage, who imported the plum to England in 1724, because the French label, Reine Claude, had been lost in transit. Ripening late in the season, greengages are considered the ultimate dessert plum.
To be in the draw, write your name, address and daytime phone number on the back of an envelope and send to Greengage Tree, ODT Features, Response Bag 500010, Dunedin, or email playlist@odt.co.nz with Greengage in the subject line. Entries close on Wednesday.
