Black Sapote - a chocoholics dream

 Not surprisingly, this is one of our most popular fruits, and if you like Chocolate Pudding you'll love the Black Sapote! Commonly known as Chocolate Pudding Fruit, this amazing fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C, containing about 4 times as much as an orange.

The fruit is delicious eaten fresh or used as a chocolate substitute in recipes and milkshakes, or simply mix the pulp with yogurt and lemon juice for a refreshing treat. Fruits can be cut in half and eaten covered in passion fruit - in Mexico the pulp is mashed with orange juice or brandy and served with cream. It is also delicious mixed with wine, cinnamon and sugar.

The green fruit is picked when hard and allowed to soften and go brown within 3-6 days. At the ripe stage you should be able to press the skin with your fingers and leave an indent. A very close relative of the persimmon, the black sapote is a Chocoholics dream come true! #daleysfruit #blacksapote #fruitnursery #chocolatepuddingfruit

Yuzu 💛

 Native to China, the Yuzu has been used and cultivated in this region for thousands of years. The fruit is tart, resembling a grapefruit with mandarin overtones. It is rarely eaten as a fresh fruit, but is used to makes sauces, preserves and a popular yuzu vinegar. In Korea, thinly sliced fruits are combined with sugar and honey to make a thick marmalade like syrup. Yuzu kosho is a spicy Japanese sauce made from green or ripe yellow yuzu zest, chillis and salt. The yuzu is more cold tolerant than most other citrus, being able to tolerate to -5 degrees ❄

Native Gardenia 🌼

 An evergreen rainforest tree with attractive glossy foliage and highly perfumed, small, white, tubular flowers. They also produce a large, edible, yellow fruit which turns brown and soft when ripe. The smooth flesh around the seed can be sucked, it is sweet like dates but has a bitter aftertaste. The flesh under the skin is similar with a gritty texture. Ideal in large tubs as a shade tree, or somewhere the delightful scent of the flowers can be enjoyed #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #gardenia #native

The sweet Vanilla Vine 🌿

 The fermented pod of this aromatic climbing orchid are used to flavour cakes, sweets and perfumes. The Vanilla Vine must be hand pollinated. The only insect capable of pollinating the blossom is the Melipona bee. This bee is native only to Mexico, so all Vanilla Vines in Aus must be hand pollinated within 12 hours of the flower opening. The pods take nine month to develop #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #vanilla #vanillavine #backyardgarden

Edible Pandanus

 The Edible Pandanus is widely cultivated for use in Asian cooking and basket making. It has a nutty fragrance and is most commonly used in rice dishes or tied in a bundle and cooked with food. Also useful in flower arrangements. A low growing plant to 1m with long narrow blade-like leaves and woody aerial roots. In tropical climates it can be grown as a marginal plant in dams and ponds, and used as a bedding plant in tropical landscaping. If you live outside of the tropics, it is well worth trying as an indoor plant in winter with a warm, sunny aspect. Allow the plant to dry out over the winter months. #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #pandanus #ediblepandanus

Muscadine Grape

 Muscadines are well adapted to the warm, humid conditions of the south-eastern U.S., therefore will grow well in all humid areas of Australia where European grapes are unsuitable. Both east and west coasts, and through the “top end”, provide the climatic requirements for growing muscadines successfully. It is a vigorous vine and should not be planted where it can escape into native bushland, as it would quickly smother surrounding trees and shrubs. A level of frost sensitivity limits it to regions North of Sydney and Perth.

Muscadines are vigorous, deciduous vines growing 18-30 mts. in the wild. Botanically, they differ in significant ways from other grapes and are placed in a separate sub-genus, Muscadinia. In contrast to most other grapes, muscadines have a tight, non-shedding bark, warty shoots and unbranched tendrils.

The fruit is borne in small, loose clusters of 3-40 grapes, quite unlike the large, tight bunches characteristic of European and American grapes. The round, 25 to 40mm fruits have a thick, flavourful skin and contain up to 5 hard, oblong seeds. In colour the fruits range from greenish bronze through bronze, pinkish red, purple and almost black. Sugar content varies from about 16% to 25% for the sweetest cultivars. The wild fruits and some older cultivars have a musky quality similar to American grapes, although not as pronounced. Modern cultivars have a unique fruity flavour with very little muskiness. The flavour and appearance of the dark coloured muscadine fruits are remarkably similar to the jaboticaba.

As with all grapes, muscadines need full sun with good air circulation.

Annual pruning must be severe to keep new fruiting wood growing. The basic framework of a vine consists of the trunk, permanent arms, and fruiting spurs. Vines must be pruned each dormant season to maintain this framework. Current season shoots bear the fruit, but these shoots must arise from last season's growth, since shoots from older wood are generally sterile. It is important to leave the correct amount of fruiting wood #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #muscadinegrape

Pecan Trees 🌳

 Pecan Nut Trees are among the best of the multi-purpose trees, providing a valuable nut crop and an excellent long-term investment. The trees are long lived, and unlike other commercial crops don't have to be replaced in the short to mid term. Although most varieties are self pollinating (SP), planting 2 varieties - one from each group - will ensure optimum cross pollination. Or, for large plantings, 1 of one type, to up to 5 of another.

Pecan cultivars differ in the order male and female flowers mature. When pollen is shed early, before the female flowers are receptive, the cultivar is called protandrous (Type A). When pollen is shed late the cultivar is called protogynous (Type B).

Pecans are a large deciduous tree suited to temperate and sub-tropical areas, requiring very little chill - only 200-300 hours. They love the dry spring weather of the east coast, which enables effective pollination. Irrigate for best results through these months.

In Australia the tree has very few pests, making them an easy tree to grow for food and shade 🌳 #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #pecannut #pecan #pecantree

Custard Apples 💚

Custard apples grow on an attractive small to medium sized tree that is similar in habit to the cherimoya. The open, spreading canopy is made up of long drooping branches that can often touch the ground. This tree offers delicious fruit and succulent soft white flesh that is wonderful eaten fresh or blended into ice-cream or as a rich and smooth drink #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #custardapple #backyardgarden

The interesting Plum Pine

 The Plum Pine is an attractive rainforest pine that bears seeds on swollen edible stalks - which is the 'plum'. The seeds get darker the riper they are. The purple 'fruit' are grape-like, with a sweet, juicy, soft jelly-like pulp and a subtle plum flavour. The slightly resinous fruit can be used for both sweet and savoury recipes. It is an attractive hedge due to its contrasting dark and lime green foliage. The timber is popular in cabinet making. The trees are either male or female, so planting 3 or more together will increase your chances of getting both a male and female tree which then allows for pollination and fruit set. They are from an ancient family of trees originating in the time of Gondwana, growing now in the rainforests of the east coast of Australia. The tree grows quite slowly and can take 8-15 years to fruit #daleysnursery #daleysfruit #plumpine #backyardgarden #fruittree

Finger Lime

A delicate rainforest tree that naturally occurs as an understory tree in SE Queensland and Northern NSW Australia. Finger Lime trees are erect trees growing up to 10 metres.

The fruits can be green and cylindrical in shape, up to 100mm long, and only about 20-30mm in diameter. They do have prominent thorns and do contain some seeds. They have a thin skin that ranges in colour from green, yellow, red, purple to even a black. The oil cells on the rind are small, giving the fruit a great glossy appearance. The fruit contains an acid juice similar to that of a lime, and has been rated by famous chefs as 'superior' to other lime juices. Vesicles are compressed and burst out (staying in one piece) when the skin of the fruit is cut, enabling them to be used in creative ways.

Used in chutneys, jams, marmalades, savoury sauces, and refreshing drinks. In great demand for culinary use as it displays well as a garnish. The fruits can also be frozen successfully without destroying the fruits flavour or texture on thawing, thus allowing us to have access to the fruits all year round 🌿 #daleysfruit #daleysnursery #fingerlime