Edible Plants and Bush Tucker

How to choose food plants that earn their space

Start with the room you can give the roots. A Eureka Lemon in the ground wants 4m by 3m, while the same variety on dwarf rootstock stays nearer 2m and lives happily in a large pot. A Black Mulberry spreads 7m by 6m with vigorous surface roots and staining fruit, so it belongs on a lawn well away from paving and the pool, where a blueberry at 1.5m fits a balcony trough. Between those extremes, most of the citrus tree range, plus figs, pomegranates and olives, suits an ordinary suburban backyard.

Then look for double duty, because the best edible gardens hide in plain sight. A pomegranate planted at 1.5m spacings makes an informal flowering hedge that also fruits. Gulf Coast blueberries at 1m centres build a productive low hedge, bay laurel clips into formal shapes at 1m apart, Tuscan Blue rosemary edges a path at 60cm, and a Kalamata olive at full size is as handsome as any feature tree. Patience is the last filter: citrus and blueberries usually offer fruit within a season or two, while olives, figs and avocados are trees you plant for the years ahead.

Bush tucker worth growing

The Australian natives here are not novelty plantings. Lilly pillies such as 'Resilience' and the riberry (Syzygium luehmannii) produce tart berries traditionally used for jams and cordials while doubling as dense screens planted 1m to 1.5m apart. Lemon Scented Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) gives leaves for tea and cooking on a handsome 6m tree. Native Gardenia carries perfumed white flowers and edible yellow fruit in frost free gardens, Red Back Ginger offers edible blue berries in shade at 1m spacings, and native violet spreads an edible flowered groundcover under it all. A bush tucker bed is one of the easiest ways to grow food in poor sandy soil, because these species evolved for exactly that.

Where edible plants thrive across Australia

In tropical and subtropical gardens, mangoes, monstera, Native Gardenia and citrus all crop generously, and low chill blueberries such as 'Gulf Coast' and 'Vitality' were bred for precisely those mild winters. Warm temperate gardens around Sydney, Perth and Adelaide are the citrus heartland, and everything in this collection is on the table there. In cool temperate gardens, pomegranates, mulberries, figs, bay and blueberries shrug off frost, olives crop well, and the Meyer lemon is the hardiest citrus for a north facing wall. In dry inland and Mediterranean climates, olives, pomegranates and figs are outstanding, fruiting on modest water once established. Frost tender choices like mango and monstera stay north or live in pots you can shelter.

Planting, feeding and picking positions

Nearly everything edible wants six hours of direct sun and free draining soil. Plant into a hole twice the width of the pot and no deeper, water in well, and mulch 75mm deep with the mulch kept off the trunk. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, and remember pots dry out roughly twice as fast as beds. Feeding is where edibles differ from ornamentals: citrus are hungry and want a dedicated citrus food three times a year, while blueberries need acidic soil, so grow them in azalea and camellia mix if your soil is alkaline. Olives sit at the other end of the scale and crop best kept slightly lean, spaced 3m apart for a grove or screen. Our lemon tree care guide walks through the citrus year in detail.

Common questions

Is everything in this collection safe to eat?

Edible refers to a specific part of the plant, prepared the right way, and the rest may not be safe. Monstera fruit is only edible fully ripe, and several edible plants here, including citrus, bay and lemon myrtle, carry oils that are toxic to cats and dogs. Check the product page before planting where pets graze.

Which fruiting plants suit pots and balconies?

Dwarf citrus around 2m, blueberries, chillies, rosemary and a clipped bay cover most of it. A 40cm pot with quality mix, six hours of sun and slightly more frequent feeding than the label suggests will produce genuine harvests from a few square metres.

Do I need two trees to get fruit?

Mostly no. Citrus, figs such as 'Celeste' and most olives sold here are self fertile, so one tree crops on its own. Blueberries set fruit alone but crop noticeably heavier with a second variety nearby, which is the easiest upgrade in the edible garden.

What are lilly pilly berries actually like?

Crisp, tart and closer to a spiced cranberry than a supermarket fruit. Riberries from Syzygium luehmannii are the pick for flavour and turn into excellent jam. Birds agree, so net a branch if you want your share.

How does delivery work?

Everything here is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and no minimum order. Advanced stock, including the mature trees in our fruit tree collection, is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.