Our nursery sells a wide range of high chill stonefruit. Orders start in early March and deliveries begin in early July. I’d doubt you’ll have much success with the high chill varieties though, as many need upwards of 800 chilling hours in winter but Brisbane has 100-300 hours of chill (Burpengary would be on the lower end of the scale). Odds are, high chill trees will fail to enter dormancy properly during autumn, and flowering will be sproadic or non-existent during spring. Low chill varieties tend to flower and ripen very early, which means that never get a decent chance to develop lots of flavour. But they really are your best bet in a subtropical cllimate.

Hope that helps,

Justin

So far, so good, with our little experiment here in Brisbane with the apples!
Oh, the the Strawberries are also on their way!

Thanks for all your help,
Ben

Another question – I have three plants growing in one end of an 8′x2′x12″ deep raised bed. I probably planted them too close together to begin with, as they are each getting quite large and their leaves (we call them elephant ears) overlap. Can these plants stay in the raised bed for years, or will they eventually need to go in the ground (we have gophers)? If they can stay in the raised bed, do you recommend spacing them out a bit, so the leaves don’t overlap so much?

Thanks again, this is a valuable resource and I appreciate your interest.
Denise

In terms of Highfields Ever Red, it is a good strain of the variety Ever Red that’s been selected and grown by a local market gardener. We sell the plants as dormant crown divisions in winter, but unfortunately quarantine regulations prevent us from shipping live plants overseas. I’m not sure where you might be able to find good red varieties in your area, but one option might be to look for rhubarb at local farmer’s markets, then ask the farmer if he/she might be willing to sprare a crown or two from their farm. Some will be glad to share.

Best wishes in your search.

Justin

Also, I am looking for some of the red variety and am finding it extremely difficult to locate. Your description of Highfields Ever Red sounds perfect! Do you ship to California? Looks like you are sold out for the year…can I get on your waiting list for next season?

Thanks, Denise

Happy with the Jiro Dwarf Persimmon and and the Apple Dwarfs. Are dwarfs available for Cherry and Fig. Alternatively, can these be grown espalier against a north facing 1.5m high brick fence?

Thanks.

Doug

There is evidence of a “Sweet Rind” lemon in extistence in the late 1800′s, but I don’t know of any nursery that currently sells this variety, unfortunately. The good news is that lemon trees generally come true to type when grown from seed, so odds are that while the plant in your garden won’t be an exact clone of your mother in law’s tree, it should closely resemble it. The downside to seed grown citrus is that they have a prolonged juvenile period. Fruting might not commence until the tree is 10 or more years old, and it’s likely that the tree will get reasonably large and thorny while it’s developing. But if you’re prepared to wait until it sets fruit, you may well end up with a very nice lemon.

To get a genetic clone of the original tree, you would need to obtain some branches from the current property owner and then have someone bud graft it for you (or have a go yourself). A grafted lemon should start fruiting in it’s third year.

Hope that helps,

Justin

We don’t sell any citrus trees sorry, only bare roooted deciduous trees. Your best bet would be to try one of your local nurseries, as they should have citrus available on a cold tolerant rootstock.

Cheers,

Justin

Tristan Causer