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If you’re interested in sub-tropical fruit trees, you might remember that a while ago we visited sub-tropical experts Daleys Nursery.
We were lucky enough to be taken on a tour of their incredible gardens by Paul Daley, a member of the founding family. One of our main goals was to taste as many different fruits as possible, and Paul did not disappoint, generously sharing his time, knowledge, and plenty of delicious, fresh-off-the-tree samples!
We also had a bit of a secret mission: to convince someone from the Daley family to present a Masterclass for our community. We were thrilled when Paul and Andre Madeira—a long-time employee and part of the family—agreed to co-host a Masterclass on How to Grow Subtropical Fruit for us!
Subtropical fruit flavours
Most of the subtropical fruits seem exotic to us. They’re unfamiliar because they’re not easy to grow in our cool temperate climate.
However, it’s not impossible! They just need the right microclimate and some special care. This is one of the topics Paul and Andre delve into in the Masterclass.
We hadn’t even heard of a Peanut Butter tree (Bunchosia glandulifera) before our visit. We were incredibly lucky they were in season while we were there. As you can see from Hugh’s face, they’re delicious (and yes – amazingly – they taste like peanut butter!)
Tamarillo is something that we can grow relatively easily in temperate zones, and in fact, we grow it here on the farm.
However, we had no idea there are different types! We’ve only grown red tamarillos before, so Katie jumped at the chance to try a grafted tamarillo, which is milder and sweeter than the red (seedling) type. They’re also very juicy!
Growing subtropical fruit trees outside their comfort zone
One of the features of the nursery we were most intrigued by was the Biodome. This is a project that Paul and Andre established a few years ago.
The concept draws on an understanding of original food forest cultures to establish a very special type of growing environment.
As Paul and Andre explain in the Masterclass, “modern” systems like permaculture, syntropic agriculture, and successional agroforestry all have their roots in indigenous food forest cultures.
A biodome is just one way you can aim to recreate forest conditions in a modern setting. It cleverly uses a few different elements to make it work on a small scale, such as using dwarf trees like this cute little Irwin mango tree.
Another concept that’s integral to a biodome is the idea of layering the plants. You can think of it as 7 discrete layers:
- Canopy
- Sub-canopy
- Shrubs
- Herbaceous layer
- Rhizome and root layer
- Soil cover
- Creepers
One of the things we love most about the Masterclass is that Paul and Andre include plant suggestions for each layer!
Techniques for managing the height of subtropical trees
A lot of people are put off subtropicals because of the height that some of the trees can reach.
Considering many subtropical fruit trees have their origins in rainforests, it’s really not surprising they are genetically designed to be very tall. It’s the only way to compete for sunshine and nutrient within a very dense forest.
However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be grown at a much smaller height. That’s one of the reasons dwarf trees are so often used in urban settings. Not all subtropicals are available as dwarf trees, but many are.
We were also fascinated to see a range of techniques in use at Daleys like pruning and cincturing to try to keep trees to a more manageable height.
It’s certainly not common to grow subtropicals outside of their natural climate. But visiting Daleys and doing the Masterclass has definitely opened our minds to new opportunities.
Finding and creating microclimates in your garden (or your house) is just the beginning of this exciting journey!
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Question for all of you I have a peanut butter fruit tree that often gets yellow leaves despite regular fertilizing and the addition of iron, bone meal, blood meal.
Secondly I have a 5 year old cherimoya tree that has yet to beat fruit 6- 7 feet tall.
I live in southern California.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
A few yellow leaves may be just part of the cycle of the tree’s natural growth cycle, but a lot of leaves could indicate a problem, especially if you have cooler winters. The Peanut Butter Fruit tree doesn’t like to have wet feet though, so you should make sure that there is adequate drainage after watering or rain – the water should drain away quite quickly, and long term work increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil by adding some woody mulch – it aids in both water retention and drainage.
A Cherimoya takes at least 4 years to reach maturity, it may just be a little slower and bear fruit next year, has it started flowering? It’s also common for Cherimoya to be considered to be self fertile but in fact they all do better with a pollination partner so if you have flowers but no fruit it may be a good idea to add another tree from the cherimoya family to aid pollination.
Jill – Grow Great Fruit team