Caring for stone fruit trees

South Australia's climate is well-suited to stone fruit growing. These trees prefer cold winters and warm, dry summers, conditions we reliably get here. This makes growing peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots in your backyard more straightforward than in many other regions.

The key to productive stone fruit trees is getting the pruning right. Timing matters enormously. The most important thing is to prune on a warm, dry day, ideally with some breeze, so the cuts dry out quickly and prevent bacterial infections. Different stone fruits need pruning at different times: peaches and nectarines should be pruned lightly in summer with the main prune in autumn, while apricots, cherries and plums are all pruned in summer after harvest. In Adelaide's climate, consistent watering is also essential—give your trees a thorough soak once a week when rainfall is low, particularly during flowering and fruit development when water stress can lead to fruit drop or poor quality harvests.