Am growing a Tamarillo for the first time. and it is huge and covered in flower buds. We have had a bit of wind the last 2 days, and I am thinking it needs some protection (the spot it is planted in is reasonably sheltered, but in severe winds it may get a bit of a blast). Do I need to but a special wind break for the garden centre? Or can I use clear plastic and stake it around the tree? What do you use on yours? TIA
floralsun,
Mar 19, 10:53am
Use the clear plastic. keep it a little away from the trees so the heat of the sun through it doesn't burn the leaves. Enjoy the fruit - aren't they delish!
treebing,
Mar 19, 8:24pm
Watch for frost too. they hate frost! We are in the Waikato and I have given up trying to grow one here due to frost.
venna2,
Mar 19, 8:28pm
I'm in Wellington and after moving my young tamarillo tree for the third time, finally to a fairly sheltered position, and putting frost cloth around it when I remembered last winter, it now has nine or ten tamarillos growing on it!
cleggyboy,
Mar 19, 10:12pm
Anyone wanting a tamarillo tree, the best is from cuttings (they grow easy) rather than seeds. A tree from a cutting will stay squat, where a seeding shoots up to the sky and easily wind damaged. Also you get a true to the parent tree using cuttings.
fpress,
Mar 20, 4:30am
Thanks for the answer peoples. I am very excited about this tree. It is over 6 feet tall and covered in flower buds, I don't want anything to go wrong. We are by the sea, and usually don't get frosts. But we do get a bit of a Nor Westerly. Yes, the fruit is delish. and blimmin expensive to buy! Hence I am keen to grow my own.
kaylin,
Mar 20, 8:14am
Interesting thread. I have 2 leggy trees, about 5 feet high. I have them in pots so I can shift them to sheltered areas (although they are big pots so I really need to get a skateboard underneath to shift them. My trees were grown from seed, about 6 months ago. They have grown so fast, fed on worm wee. How old until they flower? I've just plucked out the middle of both of them and they are re sprouting from there, and I have to be vigilant for caterpillars as those green ones seem to love the leaves.
lemming2,
Mar 21, 5:28am
And you do need to watch for wind: they're quite soft wood, and the branches just snap right off, especially if they're weighted with fruit. I had to give up for that reason, as my place is exposed to wind a lot from all directions:-(
fpress,
Mar 21, 8:30am
I only planted mine last November. So am surprised it has fruit on it.
les6,
Feb 27, 5:18pm
you should be more concerned about the pysillid(sp)?they will take your tree out in the summer if it survives the winter.May not kill it outright but will severely dibilitate it that no fruit will develop.
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