RETAIL SALES:  We do not sell Truffle Trees direct to the public, by either pick up, mail order or delivery. 
Please visit our Retail Stockist link and contact one of our stockists in your area, who can order them in from us, for you.

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WHOLESALE SALES - these plants are available from Triffid Park at the NGIV Trade Days from September through May by order only,as we do not bring extra stock. 
We do not attend Trade Day from June to August.

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POT SIZE AVAILABLE

Our Truffle Trees are grown in 250mm pots, so are NOT suitable for large commercial quantities.  We DO NOT grow tube stock.

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GROW YOUR OWN TRUFFLES
Your very own fresh truffles...A gourmet's delight...But where to get them?
Your long cherished dream of having your own little bit of France is now here.  For you can grow your own delicious truffles in your backyard, or even on your patio or deck.
Yes, the mystique of the French Perigord black truffle is simplified with this oak tree inoculated under laboratory conditions with black truffle spore (Tuber melanosporum).
You can leave your prized truffle in its pot, or better still, plant it in a half wine barrel.    WHAT A TALKING POINT!
This oak tree will enhance your garden if planted directly into the ground.
Truffles are edible fungi that grows on the roots of its host tree and will form below the ground in the winter after a few years.  Truffle growers need a little bit of patience.  But "VOILA" it will be worth it.  Just sniff the ground from time to time during the winter months and you won't miss the overwhelming, pungent and sensuous odour of a ripe truffle.  PURE ECSTASY!

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Available in gold 25cm pots
-Corylus avellana (Hazelnut tree) - deciduous

Quercus robur - English Oak - deciduous (small trees - end of stock)

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QUICK ANSWERS:
Can you send Truffle Trees to WA and Tas? - NO all plants going into Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory have to be sprayed with Fungicides for state requirements.  Truffles are a fungus, so therefore, the sprays would kill the truffle spores.
If I have mature trees already growing, and plant Truffle Trees near them, will the fungus spread? - NO - each tree is individually innoculated in a lab.  It would take 100's of years in a mulch rich forest for the fungus to finally spread.

Do you sell spore - NO we do not sell spore.  The truffle spore is injected directly into the tree as the first shoot comes out of the acorn (before it is even a tree) under laboratory conditions, so you cannot inject your own growing trees.

Do you sell acorns - NO we do not sell acorns.

Do you sell tube stock? - NO we do not sell tube stock of either inoculated or unoculated trees.  Our trees have been grown on as a retail product for your customers to be able to purchase one tree for themselves, not 100 tubes.

Do you sell to the retail public? - NO we do not sell to the public.  Please contact a nursery on our stockist list in your area and ask them to order in for you from us.

 

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GROWING CONDITIONS:

Before planting - prepare your soil.  This is very important.  Truffles thrive in hungry, lime-based soils.  To enable your tree to produce truffles the pH of the soil must be 7.5.  Many good garden centres will gladly pH test a soil sample for you, or you can buy an inexpensive pH test kit at most nurseries or hardware stores.  Once you have determined the pH you can amend the soil, if needed, using materials commonly available at your local garden centre.  Because different soil types react in different ways to the application of lime, you will have to add more lime to clay soils and peaty soils than you will to sandy soils to achieve the same result.   The soil needs to be properly prepared before planting.

To increase your pH by 1.0 point and make your soil more alkaline:
      - add 135 grams of hydrated lime or garden lime per square metre in sandy soils
      - add 270 grams of hydrated lime or garden lime per square metre in loamy soils
      - add 400 grams of hydrated lime or garden lime per square metre in clay soils
      - add 850 grams of hydrated lime or garden lime per square metre in peaty soils

Hydrated lime is fine to use on your truffle trees, but can burn your skin if you get it on you.
Garden lime has low toxicity and is safe for the home gardener to use.

Once you have your soil conditions right, you can then add a generous helping of lime to the soil or potting mix once each year, usually in spring, although it doesn't really matter on the time of year, just don't forget. 

These trees will grow to about 10 metres tall in time.  If you have sufficient space you can plant your truffle tree directly in the ground, which would be preferable long term.  If you don't have the room, or want to take your tree with you if you move house, you can grow the tree in a large pot or half wine barrel.  Use a better grade potting mix, and add lime to raise the ph as described above. You can prune the foliage to keep the tree at a manageable size when planted in a large pot or half wine barrel.    

The truffle inoculation and the lime both have an impact on slowing down the growth of your host tree.  So the tree will be a lot slower growing than an non-inoculated tree.  But remember, you are growing truffles, not trees, so keep the ph up.

You can plant at any time of the year.

Keep the foliage well pruned to let the light onto the soil. Truffles do not grow in the deep shade.
Plant in a sunny aspect in free draining soils.  North, South, East or West, it doesn't matter as long as they get sunshine on the ground over the root system.
Do not prune the roots, as that is where the truffles form.

Water well, but not water logged, in Summer.

Truffle's prefer cold winters and can tolerate frosts, with hot summers.  Don't forget to keep the ground moist with water.  How much and how often you water, depends on the growing conditions.  If you want to mulch to help keep the tree moist over the summer while it is smaller, this is ok.  However as the tree matures, around 5-6 years, remove the mulch to allow more sunlight to the roots.  Also removing the mulch will make it easier to find the truffles.

Minimise vegetation around the base of the tree.

Fertilizing - use a general purpose slow release fertilizer like Osmocote.  Usually a 3-4 month slow release.  Do not use a "Native" fertilizer.   You can also use seaweed, fish emulsions or worm leachates, which will stimulate the bio-life in the soil. 
Feed in spring and summer.

Truffles will grow anything from around 20cm under the soil, to almost popping out of the ground.
Truffles can grow from just 2 centimetres in diameter to the size of a grapefruit.
Truffles start to grow in the warm summer and ripen in the cold of winter usually from June to August in Australia.
As for how many truffles you can expect off your one tree, it is up to the "Truffle Gods"!  Many of the above factors will come into play as to how many you will produce.

In terms of which tree to purchase, it is purely a personal choice.  They are all great host trees for the truffles, so it is a matter of deciding whether you want a deciduous tree, or evergreen.

English Oaks in particular are prone to aphids which you can spray with pyrethrum.
They also tend to get a fungus on their leaves.  Do not spray this with anything, or you will kill the truffle spores which are also a fungus.  In Autumn these leaves will fall off anyway as the tree goes deciduous for winter.

Hazelnut trees will give you an added bonus of Hazelnuts as well as Truffles.  Hazelnut trees contain separate male and female parts on the one tree, but are unfertile and require at least two Hazelnut trees to cross-pollinate.  It may be best to plant at least one other variety of Hazelnut tree as a pollinator.  Plant within 30 metres of each other.   The pollen is transferred between the trees by the wind. 

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TRUFFLE TREE CERTIFICATION

As of 2014 there are 2 nurseries in Australia that will supply certified seedling stock, based on sample testing done by a third party.
Triffid Park’s truffle trees are 5-6 years old, so were bought/grown prior to this testing coming into practice. As this certification only came into effect in 2014, you will only be able to purchase inoculated tube stock that are 1-2 years old.

How the system works:

When a nursery has a number of trees ready for testing (say 500, or 1000, or more),  a specific sample batch of 12 trees is selected randomly from the tree seedlings.

The sample tree seedlings are physically sent to a third party, who conducts the exact tests per the certification program.  This is a very expensive exercise, and will add to the cost of the product.

The sample tree seedlings are assessed against a thorough series of criteria. This includes plant health, the colonisation of Tuber melanosporum, as well as DNA verification of all tuber species existing on the roots of the sample 12 trees (identifying if brumale is present, or others).

These tests are extensive and will result in the destruction of the 12 tree sample — but will also give concise information on the remainder of the batch still at the nursery, that is invaluable for both the nursery and also any potential purchaser of those trees.

The detailed test results are returned to the nursery, and if they are satisfied with these, they can then order tree tags, which are sent to them to place on the batch of trees for which a sample was tested.

The tag has the details of the batch size, the year of testing and also a code number. This tag gives the grower access to the testing information.

Purchasing a certified tagged tree seedling is not a guarantee that a grower will successfully be able to produce truffles — as there are so many other variables including site location, climate, irrigation, pests/diseases, and more.

 

 

Organically grown by French Harvest.  Distributed by Triffid Park.