We supply the best fruit trees, berries, grapes and orchard support plants for your home orchard.

Habitate Nursery has been supplying high-quality organically grown plants since 2005 from Waitati (just north of Dunedin), where we grow our plants (unless stated otherwise). We have trialled and selected the best of the best varieties for home gardens: super tasty, diverse in flavours and uses - you can't beat picking amazing fruit from your own trees.

All of our plants are suited to growing in temperate areas of New Zealand, and have proven to do well in the south of the South Island; we can make recommendations for specific microclimates in this area. Our plants have been selected for ease of backyard growing - they are generally healthy trees, resistant but not immune to the common diseases blackspot and powdery mildew, unless noted in their descriptions.

We are a mail-order nursery: we deliver your plants bare-rooted direct to your door or you can pick them up in July, August, and September - the best time for planting.

Fruit descriptions

Fruit Ripening Time
Early: Early Ripening (December-February)
Mid: Mid-Season Ripening (March/April)
Late: Late-Ripening (April/May)

Pollination Groups

If you are getting a few trees, then pollination will likely happen without a problem. Most fruit trees need to have a different variety of the same type of fruit nearby, that flowers at the same time, so that cross-pollination occurs and subsequently fruits develop to their potential.

Pollination groups are trees that flower at the same time and are labeled B, C or D. Different varieties of apples or pears in the same or adjacent pollination groups  will pollinate each other via insects carrying pollen between them (e,g. a C can be pollinated by B, C or D).

Put a note with your order if you would like us to check that pollination is all sorted!

Self-Pollinating: These varieties will pollinate themselves, but often do better with a pollinator.
Part Self-Pollinating: These varieties will only partially pollinate themselves, and so will produce better crops with a pollinator nearby.
Triploid: These varieties will not pollinate other trees at all, but need to be pollinated themselves. Plant a Self-Pollinating partner tree if you are to only have two trees.

Select the best rootstock for your situation

The rootstock that an apple or pear tree is grafted onto will determine the final height and width of the tree. Choose the most suitable rootstock for a tree that fits your orchard space.

The final size of a tree is determined by the rootstock, the vigour of the variety, the fertility of the soil, and the amount of competition the tree encounters.

To keep your fruit reachable, first choose your rootstock carefully for your site, then use twine to train branches downwards, and summer pruning - rather than heavy winter pruning! See our book ‘Home Grown Fruit’ for practical explanations and diagrams.

Dwarf/Small M26 Apple Rootstock: 

• Grows a 1-2m tree.

• Suits small spaces, interplanting, or small espaliers.

• Requires moderate to high soil fertility, low competition, consistent moisture, and permanent staking. 

• Great for small gardens that are well composted and mulched with woodchip to get them started.

Medium M102, M106, M116 Apple Rootstocks and BA29 Pear Rootstock: 

• Grows 2-3.5m trees. 

• Suits medium sized areas or espalier. 

• Requires moderate soil fertility, moisture and low plant competition at least initially.

• The most commonly used rootstocks for home gardens and lifestyle blocks.

Vigorous/Large M793 Apple Rootstock: 

• Grows 3.5m+ trees. 

• Tolerates poorer soils and moderate competition from other plants. 

• Great for producing large crops of juicing and cider varieties that don't need to be hand picked.

Apple orchard bundles

If you don't know where to start with selecting trees, let us make up a mix of varieties for you. Simply select a bundle type that suits your needs. We offer a choice of Heritage, Crisp and Juicy, Cooking, and Cider bundles.
Larger bundles will have multiples of the same varieties from our catalogue.
We will ensure that they come with matched pollinators.
They come as standard on medium rootstock, except the cider bundles which come  on vigorous rootstock - please enquire if you would like your apples on different rootstock.

Delivery or pick-up date

We pack plants for delivery or pick up in three batches: the first week of July, August, or September. These are the best planting times. Select your preferred date on the product page.

Plant delivery

Plants will be delivered direct to your door by courier or by us if you are local.

Trees delivered by us will not be pruned. Areas covered: Mosgiel, Farfield, Blackhead, Waldronville, Green Island, Dunedin Inner-City Suburbs as far as The Cove, Ravensbourne to Port Chalmers.

All trees sent outside these areas will be sent by courier, and will be pruned to 1.4m high as required by the courier.

Plant pick-up

Substitute varieties

Plants grade (size at time of sale) and small grade plants