Nestled in the stunning natural landscape of New Zealand, Blockhill is more than just a garden - it's a living, breathing testament to regenerative living and ecological harmony
Wood is cut and graded in June for dispatch in July – August. On receipt, scion wood will need to be stored refrigerated until the appropriate local grafting time.
Length: 150 – 170mm with 3 - 4 buds
Diameter: 5 – 12mm
Grafting is the process of adding part of a known, desirable tree onto existing, growing roots of a similar species. This process offers many benefits such as having many types of apple on a single tree or influencing the characteristics of the tree such as size, soil requirements and disease resistance.
Details
The Braeburn apple is a popular and well-known variety of apple known for its unique flavour profile and attractive appearance. It is believed to have originated in New Zealand in the early 1950s as a chance seedling. Since then, it has gained popularity and is now grown in various apple-producing regions around the world.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
The Discovery apple is a well-regarded early-season variety in New Zealand. It originated in the United Kingdom, believed to be a cross between Worcester Pearmain and possibly Beauty of Bath. Its popularity in New Zealand lies in its vibrant colour, sweet-tart flavour, and early harvest.
Characteristics:
Appearance: Small to medium-sized with a bright red blush over a yellow-green background. Occasionally, the red can dominate depending on growing conditions.
Flesh: Crisp, white to pale cream-coloured, often tinged pink near the skin if exposed to sunlight.
Taste: Sweet and tangy with a refreshing flavour, making it ideal for eating fresh. Its flavour can be more pronounced when freshly picked.
Seasonality: As one of the earliest apples to ripen, it is typically available in mid to late summer in New Zealand.
Uses: Best enjoyed as a fresh eating apple but can also be used in salads or light cooking.
The Discovery apple is appreciated for its vibrant appearance and refreshing taste, especially when consumed shortly after harvest. However, it has a relatively short shelf life compared to later-season varieties.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Price for 4 or more
$3.20
each if you buy 4 or more
Details
Early Strawberry is a charming heirloom apple known for its early ripening and beautiful red-striped skin. Dating back to the early 1800s, this small to medium-sized fruit has tender, juicy flesh with a sweet, lightly tangy flavour and a hint of berry-like aroma. Ripening in mid to late summer, it's one of the first apples of the season. Best enjoyed fresh, Early Strawberry is perfect for home orchards and heritage collections. Short keeping — enjoy straight off the tree.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
A yellow green skin with some russeting. A juicy, aromatic apple with, creamy white flesh with a firm texture. Flavour is a combination of apple, pear and banana with a touch of anise and liquorice.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
A large, sweet, crisp, fine textured, and complexly flavoured apple. This vigorous tree produces excellent eating fruit that store very well. A late season apple, Fuji has eating qualities that are similar to Red Delicious. Requires 500 chilling hours to set fruit. Tip bearing.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
A striking heritage apple known for its large, ribbed fruit and bold flavour. The skin is yellow-green with a red-orange blush, and the crisp, cream-coloured flesh has a rich, tangy taste with a touch of sweetness. Maturing in late summer to early autumn, it's excellent for fresh eating, cooking, and cider. A vigorous grower and reliable cropper, Giant Geniton is a standout addition to any heritage or home orchard.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Irish Peach is a very early season apple. It has good natural resistance to many of the diseases that affect apple trees. For such an early apple, the flavour is good, although like all early varieties it really needs to be eaten straight from the tree.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Very large pale-green apple with red streaks. Excellent for dessert or processing. Vigorous disease-resistant tree. Mid-late season ripener - usually March.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Disease-resistant, medium-sized dessert apple developed for home orchards and organic growers. It features attractive red-blushed skin over a yellow base and crisp, juicy flesh with a sweet, mildly spicy flavour. Harvested in mid to late season, Priscilla is scab-resistant and stores well, making it an excellent low-spray option for fresh eating. A reliable bearer with good keeping qualities.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
The Royal Gala apple is a popular variety of apple known for its sweet and crisp flavour, making it a favourite among many apple enthusiasts. It is one of the most widely grown apple cultivars in the world.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Small yellow fruit that hang on the tree late into winter. Attractive food for birds and useful for pollination. Unknown variety found growing wild on a North Canterbury roadside.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Price for 4 or more
$3.30
each if you buy 4 or more
Details
Freestone variety that has superbly flavoured fruit that are medium to large in size. Skin is deep yellow with orange blush that's fuzz free. The soft and juicy flesh of Moorpark allows the fruit to be suitable for fresh eating, bottling or drying. A mid-season variety best suited for cooler climates.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Highly productive, early-ripening variety, typically one of the first apricot varieties to be available in the season. Low chill requirement. While not immune, Royal Rosa shows reasonable resistance to common apricot pests and diseases, such as bacterial canker and brown rot, especially when proper horticultural practices are followed. Self-fertile, although cross-pollination with other apricot varieties can enhance fruit set and quality.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Chinese Haw (Crataegus pinnatifida) producing large dark red fruit and no thorns. Offering scions as people have struggled to grow this variety from seed. Graft onto wild hawthorn seedlings.
These are sold for budding or grafting purposes. Technically it is possible to grow these as cuttings in early spring but they have a low success rate.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Absolutely delicious to eat, Nashi Hosui pears are renowned for their sweetness, juiciness, and perfect balance of acidity. Their large, golden-brown fruits boast a distinctive russeted texture, and their fine consistency adds to their appeal. Additionally, Nashi Hosui trees are partially self-fertile, simplifying the pollination process for growers.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
A long necked pear, one of the most popular varieties, known for its sweet and juicy flavour, making it a favourite among many fruit enthusiasts.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Japanese variety with very large heart-shaped fruit and extremely dark red, sweet and juicy flesh. Superb freestone plum. Mid to late season. Good pollinator. Pollinators include - Omega, Santa Rosa and Sultan.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Japanese plum with medium sized yellow fruit. Apricot type plum. Gold skin, golden flesh. Freestone. Excellent fresh or as jam. Heavy cropper. Self-fertile.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
The Luisa plum (Prunus domestica or Prunus salicina) is a distinctive cultivar originating from New Zealand, known for its exceptional flavour and unique characteristics. This medium to large plum has an elongated, heart-shaped or mango-like form with a smooth, glossy yellow skin often blushed with red or pink. Its vibrant yellow flesh is firm, juicy, and nearly freestone, offering a sweet, aromatic taste with a slight tartness, earning it descriptions like "sugar bomb" for its intense sweetness. The Luisa plum is highly versatile, ideal for fresh eating, baking, canning, or preserving, though its softness when fully ripe makes it less suitable for commercial shipping.
The Luisa plum tree is self-fertile, producing heavy, consistent crops without requiring a pollinator, though cross-pollination with varieties like ‘Billington’ can enhance fruit set. It ripens from late January to early February in New Zealand, with fruit maturing over several days, which benefits home gardeners but complicates commercial harvesting. The tree is hardy, disease-resistant, and adaptable to various soil types and climates, thriving in full sun and well-drained soil. It grows to about 5 meters tall and 3 meters wide, requiring annual pruning to maintain size and promote fruiting. Popular in New Zealand and Australia, the Luisa plum is a favourite for home orchards due to its flavour, productivity, and ease of cultivation.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Price for 4 or more
$3.30
each if you buy 4 or more
Details
Large, rounded, yellow fleshed fruit with red-purple skin. Sweet and juicy with a tendency to go dry and mealy when over ripe. Heavy cropper performing well in warmer areas. Cross pollinates with most other plums.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
The Ballarat apple is a classic Australian variety, prized for its large, greenish-yellow fruit with a firm, fine-grained flesh. It is renowned for its excellent cooking qualities, holding its shape beautifully when baked or stewed. Hardy and easy to grow, the Ballarat apple tree is a vigorous producer, perfect for home orchards and cooler climates. Harvest typically begins in late summer to early autumn.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
A chance seedling grown in 2009 that produces huge fruit with a free stone. Ripens mid January Best eaten fresh a some fibre near the stone that shows up in cooked flesh.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Price for 4 or more
$3.00
each if you buy 4 or more
Details
This early-ripening variety produces large, vibrant orange freestone fruits with a sweet-tart, classic apricot flavour. Renowned for its reliability and heavy yields, this self fertile apricot requires 600 chilling hours to set fruit. Known for its ability to delay blooming during unfavourable weather, reducing the risk of frost damage to blossoms.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Medium to large, yellow with cinnamon russet. Smooth, melting, buttery and very juicy. Rich aromatic flavour. Vigorous, healthy tree, quite hardy. Regular heavy crops in a warm location.
Beurre Hardy is in flowering group 4 and is not self-fertile so needs a pollination partner of a different variety nearby. Pollinate with Clapp's Favorite, Conference, Nashi Hosui, Williams' bon chrétien
One of the few pear cultivars compatible with quince rootstock and therefore suitable for creating dwarf pear trees.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Large classic variety of dessert pear, bearing delicious pears in mid-to late autumn. Green skin flushed red with white, melting juicy flesh of rich flavour. Tastes like sweetened cinnamon. Mid to late season. Upright and vigorous habit. High chilling hours needed to set fruit.As most pears need cross pollination, the planting of more than one variety is recommended or the growing of a double grafted tree. Pollinators include - Beurre Bosc, Williams bon Cretien, Winter Cole, Winter Nelis, Nashi Hosui and Nashi Nijiseiki.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Smaller pears with thin skin and soft flesh. Red blush on the skin.Louise Bonne of Jersey is not self-fertile and needs a pollination partner of a different variety nearby. Pollination partners - Packham's Triumph, Conference
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Pyrus communis 'Red Bartlett' produces pears with bright-red skin when fully ripe. The fruit is very aromatic and has a melting flesh with good flavour. It ripens in mid to late summer and is an all-purpose pear that can be used for eating fresh, preserving, baking, and poaching.
Pollinators in the North Island are 'Packham's Triumph' and 'Winter Nelis', while in the South Island, the pollinators are 'Doyenne du Comice' and 'Conference'.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
A medium-sized Comice pear with a russeted, golden-cinnamon skin. It has tender, ivory-cream flesh that offers a sensational, juicy, and aromatic flavor. This pear is perfect for desserts and ideal for bottling.
While partially self-fertile, it yields the best fruit set when cross-pollinated with Beurre Bosc, Winter Nelis, and Nashi pears.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
The Williams Bon Chretien pear, also known as the Williams pear or Bartlett pear in North America, is a popular and well-known variety of pear. Large long necked, green-yellow fruit, that is ideal for eating and bottling. Early season, fruit will naturally fall in February and will keep up to 3 months. Good pollinator.
Pollinators include - Beurre Bosc, Doyenne du Comice, Taylors Gold, Winter Cole, Winter Nelis, Nashi Hosui and Nashi Nijiseiki.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
A popular, non-astringent variety known for its sweet, crisp, and juicy flesh that can be eaten while still firm, unlike many other persimmons.
Self fertile
Price
$4.40
each
Price for 2 or more
$4.10
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
Early to mid-season English plum with greenish yellow flesh and dark purple skin which has a pale blueish bloom. Excellent dessert plum with rich, sweet highly flavoured flesh.
Pollinate with another European plum
Price
$3.70
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Details
This mid-to-late season European variety produces large, oval, golden-yellow fruit with sweet, juicy flesh and a rich, gage-like flavour balanced by a subtle tartness. Ideal for fresh eating, baking, or preserving. Self-sterile, it benefits from pollination with Greengage or Damson.
Price
$3.90
each
Price for 2 or more
$3.50
each if you buy 2 or more
Collection Scion wood is collected during the dormant season from shoots that grew the previous year. In North Canterbury that is June - July. Vigorous growth of at least a 30 centimetres make the best scions. Water sprouts from up in the tree usually make good straight scions. Do not collect scion wood while it is frozen, and avoid wood that has been damaged by cold.
Storage After cutting, scions should be tied in bundles, labelled, and stored under moist conditions in a temperature range of 4 to 7c. Bundles wrapped with damp paper towelling, sealed in plastic bags, and placed in a refrigerator store well providing it does not contain apples, pears, or other ethylene gas-generating fruit, as this is reputed to ruin the scion wood. However, wood sealed in plastic bags may not be affected?
Grafting time Choosing when to graft can be tricky. What you want to be doing is performing the graft when the host tree or rootstock is waking up in the spring and the sap is rising and buds starting to swell, prior to blossom or leaf burst. Generally the grafting proceeds in the same order the trees flower and fruit, but earlier. Starting in mid to late august with almond followed by cherry, plum, peach & nectarine, nashi, pear and finally apple in late September.
At grafting time, cut off and discard the tip and base of the scion. Buds near the tip are often flower buds, and those near the base are often weak buds. The remaining portion of the stem is used to make scions each containing three to five buds.
Direct or Green Grafting Scions of apple and pear (possibly others?) can be collected and grafted immediately in early spring. Mid August to mid October in North Canterbury
Postage When we send scions they are bundled and labelled, sealed in a resealable bag with a wad of damp paper.
Scions of desirable species must be grafted onto a suitable, compatible root system or ultimately the graft with be rejected by the host tree. The roots determine to size, growth rate and suitable soil conditions for the tree while the scion controls the flowers and fruit type and timing. Most are only self compatible and so apple must be grafted to apple but as usual there are exceptions such as almonds onto peach.
Multi grafted fruit trees - Combine your favourite varieties on a single tree
Imagine a single tree with apples of many flavours, ripening from March to June, or combining apricots, plums and peaches.
A great way to save space and spread the yield over a longer harvest time.
While there is no limit to the number of different cultivars that can be supported from a single root system there are several considerations or complications that arise:
Differing growth rates can result in one type becoming overly dominant
Each additional variety increases the complexity of pruning
If you'd like extra flavours added to your existing fruit trees you can teach yourself to graft or talk to us and we may be able to help.
Learn more about sustainable living and organic gardening, energy efficiency and permaculture design. Explore, discuss and take part in practical, land based activities. We offer a selection of informative and educational activities and workshops for individuals and small groups.
You have arrived at blockhill, 966 Leader Road East.
If the gate is shut please contact us before entering, unless you have an appointment. Otherwise you may wish to explore the website and learn more about our forest garden.
Since 2012 we have been sharing our knowledge, produce and lifestyle with motivated volunteers.
If you'd like to come and stay and help out with our day-to-day activities, we happily exchange some of your time and efforts throughout the day for education, inspiration and comfortable accommodation surrounded by the permaculture food forest garden.
You have arrived at blockhill, 966 Leader Road East.
If the gate is shut please contact us before entering, unless you have an appointment. Otherwise you may wish to explore the website and learn more about our forest garden.
Blockhill is located between Kaikoura, Cheviot and Hanmer Springs, about 2 hours scenic driving North of Christchurch. You'll find us easily with mobile mapping and driving directions
You have arrived at blockhill, 966 Leader Road East.
If the gate is shut please contact us before entering, unless you have an appointment. Otherwise you may wish to explore the website and learn more about our forest garden.
A food forest includes a diverse range of trees, shrubs, vegetables and vines to grow healthy, organic food in a multi dimensional, functional and interdependent biological system. Arranging plants in natural, beneficial relationships creates a resilient, highly productive and attractive landscape.
Browse our selection of organically grown vegetable, flower and tree seeds. Hand harvested in Autumn from healthy plants growing in the blockhill forest garden.
Our collection sometimes includes imported seeds from popular permaculture shrubs and trees that are difficult to source locally.
Our consultancy specializes in foodscaping, an innovative approach to edible landscape design that transforms your outdoor spaces into productive and beautiful gardens.
Through our comprehensive garden design service, we empower you to create a sustainable, delicious landscape that nourishes both body and soul, bringing beauty and bounty to your outdoor space.
Rabbits love to chew, and if you prefer they aren’t chewing your furniture, give them our amazing chew snacks to enjoy instead!
The chew sticks sold here are approved by Norman and Pickles, and are safe and nutritious for all healthy bunnies. Chinchilla and Guinea Pig customers are also welcome to enjoy our apple stick products.
Wood is cut and graded in June for dispatch in July – August. On receipt, scion wood will need to be stored refrigerated until the appropriate local grafting time.
Length: 150 – 170mm with 3 - 4 buds
Diameter: 5 – 12mm
Grafting is the process of adding part of a known, desirable tree onto existing, growing roots of a similar species. This process offers many benefits such as having many types of apple on a single tree or influencing the characteristics of the tree such as size, soil requirements and disease resistance.
In the weeks and months after completing the graft it is important to check back and follow up with basic care to ensure the graft stays healthy and has the best chance for success.
It is usually obvious after a couple of weeks if the graft has failed as it will have dried and shrunken. If the wood looks alive and the buds are full or opening then there is a good chance your graft will take.
Remove active growth and buds from below the graft point as this will take energy required by the healing graft.
If any of the buds on the freshly grafted wood are blossoms then these should be removed. Just pinch them off carefully with fingernails or clip with secateurs. This allows the branch to focus on healing the union and prevents any breakage caused by heavy fruit. This may be necessary on the following year also, depending on the style and state of the graft.
When the graft is part of a larger tree consider periodic pruning or bending down of old wood to encourage development of grafted part(s)
After several months check grafting tape / bindings are not strangling / girdling the healing graft. Some tapes are biodegradable and will split or peel after exposure to summer sun, others require manual splitting with a sharp blade to release the pressure.
Excessive sun and wind exposure can dessicate or dislodge grafts. If your rootstock is in a pot keep it in a sheltered location until the union is solid. A high humidity environment is ideal.
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