' Blood orange trees grow to around 3m tall. Find a sunny spot that receives at least six hours of sunshine a day with well-drained soil. When planting a new blood orange tree, mix some Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone into the planting hole. The rich organic matter helps improve soil quality as well as providing the new tree with gentle, slow- release organic nutrients.
' Blood oranges can also be grown in a large pot (at least 40cm in diameter) filled with a good quality potting mix like Yates Premium Potting Mix.
' Feeding blood oranges regularly is the key to promoting the best possible harvest. Citrus are very hungry plants. Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food is a complete plant food that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need. Apply it every week while oranges are still on the tree and then start feeding again in early spring when new foliage and flower buds start to emerge.
Cranberries
Bright red cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants and can be enjoyed in a variety of delicious savoury dishes including relish, salads, sauces and stuffing and mouth-watering sweets like puddings, tarts and cakes.
If you live in an area with mild summers and have a moist but free-draining spot in the garden with acidic soil, you can try growing your own cranberries. They are hardy evergreen creeping shrubs that form a dense mat of stems and small leaves.
Keep horizontal cranberry runners in check by pruning them off, with more upright stems producing colourful 1-2cm diameter fruit during autumn.
Feed cranberry plants with a fertiliser like Yates Thrive Granular Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron that's designed for acid-loving plants and apply Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur to help maintain an acid soil pH.
— Courtesy of Yates
Grow your own delectable apricots
It's thought that apricots originated in China, perhaps around 5000 years ago. They are a type of stone fruit that produce the most delicious golden orange fruit and when you grow them yourself, can be picked when they are at their absolute sun-warmed sweetest. Apricot trees are very decorative too, with masses of pretty spring blossoms and colourful autumn foliage.
Apricots do best in areas with a cool winter, so they receive sufficient chilling hours. However, there are varieties such as Katy Cot and Royal Rosa that will still fruit in areas with a milder winter. Apricot trees also like a warm and dry spring and summer to help ripen the fruit.
Apricot trees can reach up to 5m tall. For smaller spaces look out for dwarf varieties of apricots such as Aprigold, reaching around 2m tall, which can also be grown very successfully in large pots (at least 40cm in diameter). For best results, fill pots with a good quality potting mix such as Yates Premium Potting Mix.
Apricots will need to be grown in a full sun, wind-sheltered position that's ideally protected from spring frosts, which can damage apricot flowers. Most apricots are at least partially self-fertile, however, growing them near another apricot tree can help achieve the best possible harvest. It's possible to grow a few different varieties that fruit in early, mid or late summer, giving you mouth-watering home-grown apricots over several months. There are also double-grafted apricot trees, which combine two compatible varieties. For the best flavour and maximum sweetness, allow apricots to ripen on the tree. They are ready to pick when they're just starting to soften.
Winter is a great time to plant a new apricot tree. To give the tree the best possible start, mix some Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food into the hole. It will improve the quality of the soil and provide the new tree with gentle slow release organic nutrients as it establishes.
From spring to autumn apply Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food around the root zone, which promotes healthy leaf growth and lots of delicious fruit.
