Macadamia nut tree is one of the sweetest and most popular trees. This tree originates from Australia, but, can thrive in many subtropical regions such as Hawaii and Southern California. Since it is a subtropical tree, it does not tolerate frost and requires temperature degrees above freezing level during winter. This article will teach you how to grow Macadamia nut tree in the best ways possible.
Since Macadamia nut fruits are extremely expensive, learning how to grow this amazing tree is essential if you want to enjoy its great taste and health benefits. Due to its high absorption rate, this eating its fruit will allow your body to absorb all the nutrients it contains.
Besides being tasty and healthy, Macadamia is also decorative. It is a beautiful and a good smelling plant. It is a bushy evergreen tree that grows up to 12 meters tall. This plant lives up to 50 years. Thus, learning how to grow Macadamia nut tree is a long time investment. If you wish to invest in Macadamia, keep on reading this small article.
1. Propagation
You could propagate Macadamia nuts tree either from seeds or from cuttings. Either way, it is easy to propagate. However, propagating it from cuttings is faster than propagating it from seeds. Seeds will take 10 to 12 years to start producing fruits. However, cutting usually takes 4 to 6 years.
There are many varieties of fruiting Macadamia nut trees. But not all the varieties produce edible fruits. In fact, you can eat the fruits of only two varieties which are Macadamia integrifolia and Macadamia tetraphylla.
2. Planting
You could buy the seedling of macadamia tree from your local nursery store. Make sure you ask for a seedling of the Macadamia integrifolia variety or the Macadamia tetraphylla variety. Drill a hole in the soil as deep as the rootballs of the seedling.
Since Macadamia tree does not like transplanting, plant it in the same depth in which it was grown and water thoroughly to help it overcome the shock of transplanting.
3. Choose an appropriate location
When choosing an adequate spot for your Macadamia tree, there are two main factors that you should take into consideration. The first factor is sunlight exposure. Macadamia trees daily access to sunlight. Therefore, you should choose the sunniest spot in your garden.
The second factor is wind protection. You need to provide a shelter for your plant from winds. Winds can make the fruits fall. Hence, plant it before a building or anything else that could protect it from the wind.
4. Soil
You should avoid a clay-rich soil. Macadamia is already a slow grower and a clay-rich soil will further slow its growth. It requires a well-draining deep soil. For best results, you should amend the soil by adding sand and perlite. These two will improve the quality of your soil and boost the growth of the plant.
PH levels should be between 5.5 and 6.5.
5. Watering
Macadamia prefers a slightly moist soil. During the growing season, water the plant regularly every two or three days. Once the plant grows and becomes mature, watering it once a week is enough. However, during summer, you should water daily. If you live in an extremely warm area, water twice per day during heat waves.
To help keep the soil moist you should do mulching. Mulching will keep the soil moist as well as it is a preventative measure to protect your plant from weeds.
6. Fertilizing
Fertilizing depends on the quality of your soil. If you have a good quality rich soil, you don’t need to fertilize this plant as too much nitrogen will damage the plant. If you believe that your soil is poor and lacks nitrogen, apply 1% nitrogen fertilizer twice a year. You should fertilize only during the growing season.
7. Pruning Macadamia nut tree
Macadamia nut tree is a bushy plant, hence, it requires pruning. Use pruning shears to prune the plant at the beginning of the spring. Prune off the vertical shoots, they don’t produce fruit and will bother other productive shoots. You should also prune off useless branches and dead wood.
8. Pests and diseases
Macadamia nur tree can protect itself from pests and diseases. Even if it is attacked by thrips, mites, and scales, it deters them by itself. However, in some cases, it gets a large serious infection. In this case, apply organic pesticide to help it fight these pests.
9. Harvesting
When the skin of the plant begins to crack, it means that the harvesting time has come. Shell the nuts as soon as you harvest them to prevent mildew
learning how to grow macadamia nut tree and growing it is easy. It is also recommended as this plant will provide you with fruits at least for 40 years. Since its nuts are so expensive that they are considered a luxury, growing this plant in your garden is an extremely profitable investment.
There are many other expensive fruits in the markets that you could invest in growing them by yourself. Perhaps the most popular are papaya fruit and sugar apple fruit.
Enjoy gardening and let us know how helpful this article is.
