Growing tropical in temperate (forum)

GrampiansGrower starts with ...
Gday all,

I've always enjoyed growing my own veggies and fruit trees etc but have always been confined to a small town garden. Recently my wife and I bought a house on a couple acres near the Grampians in Victoria. We move in in a couple of weeks and in June are expecting our first baby so it's a very exciting time!

Aside from the big veggie patch, pinot vines and orchard I have planned i really want to try some tropical fruits if possible.

My question is what's worth trying to grow and how should I go about it? My current idea is to build a big greenhouse and see if i can grow mango, avocado, banana and some other tropicals. Something like avo and mango I was thinking in a pot until old enough to handle frost then moving to a sunny spot outside.

Are any of these ideas even sane for my area? If so can anyone suggest some varieties to try or ways to go about it?

Thank you,

Time: 20th February 2018 9:08am

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Original Post was last edited: 20th February 2018 9:08am
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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Gramps

Growing so called tropical fruit trees in Melbourne is not hard especially for someone like you who've always enjoyed tilling the soil. Avocado is a good start its as easy as growing lemons and in Melbourne you don't need a pollinator for your avo to bear fruit but a second avo will be beneficial. Bananas can also grow in the open in Melb if you shelter them from frost and wind. Another tropical looking fruit which is easy to grow is feijoa if you happen to like guava cv's, the pink hawaiian and strawberry guavas can also grow and fruit in Melb. Cherimoya and white sapote are also good choices because of their cold tolerance and sumptuous fruits.

Other fruit trees that are worth considering are jujube (chinese date) north american paw paw, jaboticaba, dragon fruit and acerola.

Your idea is commendable. Grow them first in your proposed green house for a couple of years and when big and strong enough you can set them free in the garden. Though some of my suggestions like jujube, north american pawpaw and feijoa can go straight to their final position as they can tolerate Melb winter quite easily.

Besides Daley's, there's also a great tropical/sub tropical fruit tree nursery in Victoria - Tropical Fruit Tree Nursery Pty. Ltd. Address: 37-39 Police Road Mulgrave, Vic 3170. Owner: Ken Nguyen - ph: 0412 301 571. They have a facebook page as well.

Happy Gardening :-)

Time: 20th February 2018 8:25pm

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Original Post was last edited: 21st February 2018 6:51am

About the Author Fruitylicious1
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Markmelb says...
Fruity - did you find message - gramps lives in the Grampians near Hamilton - very cold winters & i mean alot of chill hrs - Olives grow great and cherries if you can get through roasting hot summers - i suggest a trip to Lamleys nursery near Creswick on how to design windbreaks - first thing to do as sub tropicals need wind protection especially Avos & everything else really as well. What fruit trees they grow so could gramps.

Time: 21st February 2018 2:00pm

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About the Author Markmelb
MOUNT WAVERLEY,3149,VIC
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