Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing

23 ft

In-row spacing

23 ft

Between rows

28 ft 8 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type

Fruit · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Sunlight

Full sun, with eight hours a day the minimum.

Watering

A deep watering every two weeks in summer, and none at all in winter.

Feeding

A balanced feed in late winter, then a nitrogen-rich one in early spring.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Flowering

April

Pruning

Prune in late winter while dormant, opening the tree to a vase shape.

Through the year

• Mar–Apr Bud Break
• Apr–Sep Flowering
• Sep–Sep Fruit Set
• Sep–Nov Harvest
• Nov–Dec Dormancy
• Jan–Mar Dormancy

Companions

Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Pomegranate

Pests & problems

• Psyllids Pistachio psyllid
• Scale insects Immobile brown or white bumps fixed to stems and leaf undersides, sucking sap and weakening growth. Wipe off with a damp cloth or dab with horticultural soap; watch for the sooty mold that follows.
• Gray mold (botrytis) Botrytis rotting whole bunches
• Late blight Alternaria late blight
• Verticillium & fusarium wilt Verticillium wilt

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. ★ companion plant

• Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
  Hunts Scale insectsPsyllids

  The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

  Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow
• Hoverfly Syrphidae
  Hunts Scale insects

  Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

  Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum