Exotic fruit takes root in heatwave

BRITISH gardeners are ditching their cucumber frames and cabbage patches to grow more exotic fruit and veg such as avocados and pomegranates – thanks to the heatwave.

While traditional plants such as roses are struggling in the heat, others including watermelons and bananas are flourishing, the Royal Horticultural Society said.

This year has seen several records, with the hottest UK day ever at 40.3C in July, and the joint hottest summer with an average of 17.1C.

One milestone – with 2022 being the driest year since 1976 so far – has posed a challenge to gardeners. But many have found that tropical plants that cost a lot at the greengrocer can now be grown more easily here.

One family and their neighbours in Southwark, South London, are nurturing a 12ft tree full of avocados, pictured left. Engineer Kamlesh Musrani, 57, said: ‘As summers get warmer there’s more fruit. It was planted years ago and the yield is bigger.’

In Ipswich, window cleaner Chris Bower, 39, has had a bumper crop of watermelons, pineapples, sweet potatoes, peppers and aubergines, and expects lots of lemons and limes.

He said: ‘It’s been a great year. The way the climate is going has allowed me to have plants you would normally expect in a Mediterranean or Californian garden.’

RHS chief horticulturist Chris Barter said milder winters and roasting summers help exotic plants.