On winter solstice the oranges on my tree reach their peak – but I always leave one fruit hanging, past its primeach long Melbourne winter I delight in seeing the fruit on our orange tree glow in the back yard as though lit from within. In the looming dusk it’s as if the tree’s stored sunlight is sending a promising message to the waning day: despite the night, tomorrow will come.
It seems wondrous that the tree spends the summer gathering the energy to create sugars and vitamins that are sorely needed at a time of scarcity, six months later. Bringing new meaning to the term “companion planting”, the orange tree helps brighten my spirit through another dark season of the soul.Caring for this benevolent companion is fairly simple too. Once past the early bitter stage, edible fruit will keep on the branches for at least three months.
In response to possum damage, I once made the terrible error of spraying the whole tree with bitter pine oil as a flavour deterrent. As anyone who has walked along the sterile floor of a conifer forest should know, pine oil is a toxin to most flowering plants. I almost killed my friend, and only saved it by pruning back so hard that I had to wait three years for the next viable crop.
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