The difference between a backyard that produces armfuls of fruit and one that produces excuses is rarely the gardener. It is the layout. Fruit trees are long term tenants: put a citrus in the wrong corner and it will sulk for a decade, put it in the right one and it will outproduce your fridge space. Ten minutes with a sun map saves ten years of mediocre harvests, and our guide to planning your garden covers how to record what you find.
This guide walks the planning in order: where the sun actually falls, where the citrus anchors go, how to steal fence space with espalier, where the big canopy trees belong in warm zones, and how berries, vines and herbs fill the gaps.
Map your sun before you dig
Fruiting plants are solar panels with better output. Almost everything in this guide wants six or more hours of direct sun, and in the southern hemisphere that sun comes from the north. Walk the yard at 9 am, midday and 3 pm and sketch where the light lands, remembering that winter shadows are more than twice as long as summer ones. The north facing zone is your prime fruiting real estate. East is gentle and kind. West is hot and harsh but workable for tough species. South of the house belongs to ferns, storage and the compost, not to fruit, and our guide to fruit trees for every season covers what to plant when the sunny side is finally allocated.
One layout rule outranks the rest: tall trees go on the southern side of the productive area, so their shade falls away from everything else rather than across it. While you are sketching, leave real access in the plan: a metre wide path to every tree you will one day stand under with a picking bag, and a tap or hose point within easy reach of the whole zone. Harvests go to whichever plants are easy to reach, and so does the watering.
The citrus anchor
Citrus is the backbone of the Australian edible garden: evergreen, handsome enough for a front yard, and productive for decades. Give each tree full sun, free draining soil and 3 to 4 metres of clear space, away from lawn that will steal its shallow feeder roots. Our guide to growing citrus trees in your Aussie backyard covers feeding and pest control across the whole citrus family.
For instant results, Washington Navel Orange from $140.95 is the classic winter orange, and Imperial Mandarin from $192.95 is the one the kids will strip before you get to it. On a budget or in a pot, Meyer Lemon from $22.95 is the most forgiving citrus in the country and fruits happily in a 500 mm container. Feeding and pruning are covered in the lemon tree care guide and orange tree care guide.
Espalier: fruit on a fence
A sunny north facing fence is an orchard waiting to happen. Espalier, training a tree flat against wires, turns 4 metres of fence into a productive tree that occupies barely 40 cm of ground. Run horizontal wires at 40 to 50 cm spacings, plant 30 to 40 cm out from the fence, and tie new growth along the wires as it comes. Citrus takes to it well, Meyer lemon especially, and the masonry or Colorbond behind radiates warmth that ripens fruit earlier. It is also the only way most small blocks will ever fit four fruit trees along one boundary, and our guide to espaliered trees covers the frames, the first cuts and the ongoing training.
The big canopy: mango and avocado for warm zones
In frost free gardens from Sydney north, two trees turn a backyard into a food forest. Bowen Mango from $96.95, the famous Kensington Pride type, wants full sun and 6 to 8 metres of eventual room; plant it at the southern or back edge of the yard where its future shade does no harm. The mango tree care guide covers the critical first three summers.
Hass Avocado from $104.95 is the most reliable backyard avocado, with one non negotiable: drainage. Plant it on a mound 30 to 40 cm high and never in a spot where water pools, because root rot in wet feet is the way most backyard avocados die. The avocado care guide explains mound planting step by step.
Berries and vines
Blueberry Sunshine Blue from $22.95 is the easiest berry in the country, provided you respect one rule: acidic soil, ideally pH 4.5 to 5.5. In most gardens the simple answer is a pot of azalea and camellia mix on the sunny edge of the patio, where the birds are easier to argue with. Two bushes fruit better than one; see the blueberry care guide.
Every sunny fence deserves a passionfruit. Passionfruit Panama Gold from $15.95 will cover 3 metres of wire in its first full season and fruit heavily from year two. Vines are short term tenants, productive for five to seven years, so plan to replace rather than mourn.
Herb borders that earn their keep
Edge the whole productive zone with herbs that double as landscaping. Tuscan Blue Rosemary from $15.95 makes a handsome 80 cm edible hedge at 50 cm spacings, flowers blue for the bees, and thrives on the neglect that kills fussier plants. It is the rare border that garnishes the Sunday roast.
Quick facts
| Citrus | Full sun, 3 to 4 m spacing, feed in spring and late summer |
| Mango | Full sun, 6 to 8 m room, frost free zones |
| Avocado | Full sun, mound planted, perfect drainage |
| Blueberries | Sun to light shade, pots of acidic mix |
| Passionfruit | Full sun fence, 3 m of wire per vine |
| Rosemary | Full sun border, plants 50 cm apart |
Planting calendar by Australian climate zone
Most gardening calendars are written for the northern hemisphere and are worse than useless here. Australia also spans several genuinely different climate zones, so a Darwin planting schedule and a Hobart one have almost nothing in common.
| Zone | Cities | Main growing season |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical | Darwin, Cairns, Townsville | Dry season, Apr-Sep. The wet is too much for most vegetables |
| Subtropical | Brisbane, Gold Coast, northern NSW | Year-round, with a summer break for cool-season crops |
| Temperate | Sydney, Perth, Adelaide | Spring and autumn are the productive windows |
| Cool | Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart | Spring to autumn; frost limits winter cropping |
The subtropical inversion
Gardeners arriving in the subtropics from further south almost always plant on the wrong schedule at first. In Brisbane and northern New South Wales the productive window for tomatoes, lettuce and brassicas runs through autumn, winter and early spring. Summer there is too hot and too humid - crops bolt, split, or lose out to fungal disease before they crop.
Winter in Brisbane is the best vegetable growing season of the year. Plan around that rather than around a calendar written for Melbourne or for England.
Position and orientation
In the southern hemisphere the sun tracks through the northern sky, so a north-facing bed gets the most light. Vegetables and fruit want six hours minimum. In the hottest parts of Australia, however, light afternoon shade in midsummer is a benefit rather than a compromise - a bed that gets morning sun and afternoon shade in Perth or Adelaide will outproduce one in full all-day sun.
Water and mulch
Water restrictions apply periodically in most Australian cities, so design for efficiency from the start. Drip irrigation under mulch loses far less than sprinklers, and 75 mm of mulch on beds halves evaporation. Group plants by water need rather than scattering thirsty crops through a dry garden.
A wicking bed is worth considering in Perth, Adelaide and dry inland areas - it holds a water reservoir below the soil and dramatically reduces watering frequency through summer.
Fruit trees and chill hours
Deciduous fruit trees need a certain number of cold hours over winter to fruit properly. Apples, cherries, pears and most stone fruit want high chill and perform in Melbourne, Canberra, Tasmania and the tablelands. In Brisbane and further north, choose low-chill varieties specifically bred for subtropical conditions, or plant citrus, mango, avocado, lychee and other subtropical fruit instead.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need two avocado trees to get fruit?
Hass will set fruit on its own in most backyards, but pairing an A type like Hass with a B type such as Shepard noticeably improves the crop. In a small yard, one Hass is still well worth planting.
How long until a new citrus tree fruits?
Grafted citrus generally begin cropping within 2 to 3 years of planting, with worthwhile harvests from year four. Remove fruit that sets in the first year so the tree puts its energy into roots and frame.
Can I grow a mango in Sydney?
In a warm, frost free coastal position, yes, though cropping is later and lighter than in Queensland. Give it the hottest north facing spot you have and protect it from frost for its first two winters.
What are the best fruiting plants for a small backyard?
A potted Meyer lemon, two blueberries in tubs, a passionfruit on the fence and a rosemary border will produce year round from less than ten square metres, as our guide to gardening in small spaces demonstrates. Espalier anything larger.
Ready to plant?
Build the backbone from the fruit trees collection, or shortcut a few years with the advanced trees collection. If you are unsure what suits your climate zone, run your postcode through the plant finder and check the delivery page for how trees travel.
