How to grow macadamias in a garden
Step 1
Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Enrich the soil with
Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is clay based, add gypsum and some composted organic matter and fork in well.
Step 2
Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the tree from the container, gently tease the roots out if required.
Step 3
Position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down. Form a raised or doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes.
Step 4
Mulch around the base with organic mulch like bark chips, sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk. Once you start harvesting, you may like to reuse the nut husks as mulch, helping give back to the tree.
Step 5
Water regularly and deeply during the growing, flowering and fruiting season – usually from spring to autumn. While they’re drought tolerant and self reliant once established, trees produce more nuts when they are well-watered.
Step 6
Feed your tree at least twice a year, in autumn and spring with
Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. For an added nutrient boost, feed fortnightly during the flowering and fruiting season with
Yates Fruit & Flower Booster Liquid Potash. These trees are part of the proteaceae family, so don’t over feed with foods high in phosphorus.
Step 7
Collect fallen nuts from February on. The green husk will split open to reveal the nut that can then be cracked and eaten raw, roasted or crushed.
