Backyard Chill Hours for fruit trees - Microclimates

 

Yarrahapinni Blood 

Guess your backyards Chill hours?

Answer: [My location or District, State] [Chill Hours]
eg. Kyogle, NSW 400 hours

Chill hours are "very loosely" defined as the number of hours below 7 degrees you get in Winter.

If lots of people comment from the same area as you, Then you can use the maths of averaging to get a more accurate picture where you live (Great for beginners) so please all you old hands help out.
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This picture is of a Yarrahapinni Blood Plum and requires 450 chill hours to fruit ( Medium Chill )

What happens if you get it Wrong?
**Too low** - eg. 200 chill hours (Low Chill location)
Answer: Worst scenario is when this plant is deciduous (no leaves) in winter. The fruit tree would think it hasn't got enough chill and may never break dormancy (grow leaves again). Otherwise it may wait too long even into summer to break dormancy and may also die out. Best scenario is where some varieties handle the wrong chill hours very well and may break dormancy and fruit but are likely to do this at unexpected times. Found out by Trial and Error.

**Too High** - eg. 800 chill hours (High Chill location)
Answer: Worst case scenario is during winter you may get 1 hotter than normal day. Since the chill hour requirement has been met it will think it's time to break dormancy. As soon as it does the temperature drops again and the leaves drop and the tree may die this way. Again some varieties handle this better than others and you need to find this out by Trial and error. 

Microclimates and Chill Hours: Just because you live in Melbourne doesn't mean you are high chill and just because you live on the QLD sunshine coast doesn't mean you are low/no chill. We don't mean that some parts of Melbourne have a tropical climate but you may live in a bizarre microclimate location where hot air rushes up early morning and the opposite may be the case in the QLD sunshine coast where you may live in a cold pocket allowing you to grow plants with chill requirements. If so let us all know what successes you have had. #chillhours #fruittrees #plumtree #YarrahapinniPlum

Dwarf Plum Gulf Gold Fruit Tree for Sale

Dwarf Plum - Gulf Gold Fruit Tree is our favourite of all the stone fruit. Yes we know it's a big call. It is Low Chill, (350 Chill Hours) excellent juicy flavour and doesn't seem to attract as many fruit fly as other varieties and fills the branches when it crops. Dwarf Gulf Golds can fruit by themselves but to get a better crop you can match them with a Gulf Ruby Plum Tree. We can't say enough good things about this variety and have done lots of videos on it over the years.

Grafted Dwarf Plum Tree - Gulf Gold Fruit Tree - Ripens @ Christmas Time

What is the best fruit tree for Christmas? The Dwarf Gulf Gold Plum Tree and this is why.

It is self pollinating and a low chill plum tree that is great for backyards. So if you live in a Subtropical climate and don't get those months of freezing weather or you live near the ocean and don't get heavy frosts then this is the plum tree for you as it only needs about 200 chill hours.

Why Christmas? Well this Grafted Plum Tree produces it's golden plums just before Christmas. Why Is it the best. Because of the taste and because of the amount of flesh on each fruit. This is because of it's very tiny seed.

Every staff member at Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery agrees this is the Champion of plum trees that we grow and the one that gives us the most success.

Buy it now : http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/buy/plum-gulfgold-tree.htm
Learn More about chill hours