How to Grow Macadamia

Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is clay based, add gypsum and some composted organic matter and fork in well.

Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the tree from the container, gently tease the roots out if required.

Position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down.  Form a raised or doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes.

Mulch around the base with organic mulch like bark chips, sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk. Once you start harvesting, you may like to reuse the nut husks as mulch, helping give back to the tree.

Water regularly and deeply during the growing, flowering and fruiting season – usually from spring to autumn. While they're drought tolerant and self reliant once established, trees produce more nuts when they are well-watered.

Feed your tree at least twice a year, in autumn and spring with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. For an added nutrient boost, feed fortnightly during the flowering and fruiting season with Yates Fruit & Flower Booster Liquid Potash. These trees are part of the proteaceae family, so don't over feed with foods high in phosphorus.

Collect fallen nuts from February on. The green husk will split open to reveal the nut that can then be cracked and eaten raw, roasted or crushed.

Macadamias are from the Proteaceae family which have specialised roots that are highly efficient at taking up phosphorus. This is why it is important to feed Macadamia trees with a low-phosphorus fertiliser such as Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.

Macadamias can grow into large trees (up to 20 m tall and wide, although smaller varieties are available for the home gardener). However, if you're short on space, look for dwarf forms, which are also self-pollinating and perfect for smaller backyards. 

There are several macadamia varieties available to the home gardener. Select a grafted variety for quicker establishment and heavier-bearing trees. Try Daddow or 816.

You can help the plants to make the most of any available water by mulching heavily over the root area with a ten-centimetre-thick layer of organic mulch and by applying Yates Waterwise Soil Wetter Concentrate. Soil wetters encourage water to move into the root zone.

The husk is a great mulch for the garden or can be added to your compost heap, while the woody shell can also be used as a fuel or composted down or used in a variety of other applications.

Macadamia trees are remarkably tolerant trees, but don't generally like very cold winters. Established trees will tolerate light occasional frosts.

While most trees are self-pollinating, larger trees will benefit from having a partner tree to assist with pollination and nut development.

To reduce disease, Macadamias do benefit from pruning. Prune the tree in the shape of a vase so that all the main branches are pointing outwards. This will encourage better ventilation and reduce diseases.

Prune any crossing to rubbing branches and anything that is dead, diseased or damaged.

Always use sharp pruning tools, and sanitise in between trees to stop the spread of pests and diseases.

Common pests of Macadamia trees include chewing pests such as Caterpillars, Beetles; and sap-sucking pests such as Aphids, Scales, Mites, and Thrips.

Common diseases of Macadamia trees include Grey Mould, Canker, and Root Rot.