Where do macadamias grow? California Macadamia Society

SO WHERE DO YOU FIND MACADAMIAS?

We can all play a role by providing information. For me to do that, I'm looking for your help. There is strength in numbers. Do you know someone who sells macadamia trees, nuts or seeds in your corner of the world? How about you? If so, can you send me that information and I'll put it in a central repository on the World wide web? Send your information to me at:

e-mail address: CalMacSociety@aol.com
or snail-mail: California Macadamia Society, PO Box 1298, Fallbrook, CA 92088

Please include:

product (trees, nuts, or nuts for seeds)
your e-mail address (preferred, if available)
Your name, or company name
Address
Phone number
your web page address (if you'd like a free link to CMS)
If you're a CMS member, your free advertisement to link with your listing

The next time someone asks me "Where can I buy macadamias, would you like to get the referral? Please send it in. And for those who want to know whether or not macadamias grow in Timbuctu ... I don't know, you tell me!

WHERE DO MACADAMIAS GROW?

Jim Teeter

As your CMS website webmaster, one of the most popular questions I receive is “where do macadamias grow?” We all know macadamias originated in Australia, don't we? Yes, they grow in Hawaii. They also grow on every other continent with a sub-tropical climate (i.e. not Antarctica). According to articles published in past CMS yearbooks, macadamias will grow where there is only light frost and temperatures rarely exceed 100 degrees. They don't like windy areas. They prefer elevations below 1000 feet, though in South America and more tropical climates, the increased elevation may help macadamias succeed by gaining a more sub-tropical environment. Noted grower Paul Thomson notes that Sunset Garden book climate zones 21-24 are suitable for macadamias, though macadamias have also been found to grow and fruit in zones 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. In California, macadamias are found primarily in Santa Barbara and below, especially along the coast, and especially in San Diego County. In the north, some are found in the Berkeley area as well as Oroville (Butte county). Here is a cross-reference for you of articles about where macadamias grow that have been published in CMS yearbooks.

Place              Year

Australia          1987 p 61, 1974 p 27

Brazil             1974 p 28, 1997 p 31

Central America    1966 p 36

China              1997 p 64

Costa Rica         1966 p 53, 1966 p 50, 1972 p

                   40, 1973 p111,

                   1976 p 53, 1979 p 76, 1983

                   p125, 1990 p 15

El Salvador        1968 p 81

Fiji               1978 p119

Indonesia          1982 p 131

Israel             1963 p 41, 1965 p 76, 1970 p

                   51,1982 p129,

                   1984 p129

Jamaica            1963 p 38, 1964 p 34, 1967 p

                   39, 1968 p 73

Japan              1991 p 23

Kenya              1998 p ??

Malawi             1970 p 20, 1971 p 71, 1972 p

                   46, 1973 p 86,

                   1990 p 70, 1995 p168

Mexico-Baja        1972 p 54

Mexico             1962 p 44, 1960 p 43, 1963 p

                   39. 1966 p102, 1966 p108

New Zealand        1965 p 65, 1966 p 33, 1972 p

                   43, 1973 p 55, 1976 p 46,

                   1979 p 93,5, 1980 p151, 1981

                   p133, 1982 p137, 1987 p104

Paraguay           1965 p 57, 1968 p 71, 1969 p

                   18, 1972 p 57

Rhodesia           1967 p 40, 1970 p 64, 1979 p

South Africa       1963 p 40, 1963 p 44, 1968 p

                   63, 1968 p 69, 1969 p 53,

                   1970 p 55, 1976 p119, 1989 p

South America      1989 p 29, 1994 p 77

Beerwah            1981 p 108-10

Dunoon             1982 p 110

Trinidad           1971 p 70

United States

California         1996 p 42

LA County          1969 p 44

Orange County      1969 p 42

Riverside          1969 p 40

Santa Barbara      1959 p 22, 1962 p 69, 1969 p

                   47, 1975 p 47

Santa              1989 p 26

Barbara/Ventura

Tulare County      1963 p 25, 1964 p 29, 1969 p

                   48, 1972 p 53

Ventura            1962 p 68, 1969 p 45

Florida            1956 p 45, 1960 p 35

Hawaii, high       1987 p 53

elevations

Kauai              1990 p 63

Venezuela          1971 p 65

"Selected          1994 p 27

Countries"

Other places where macadamias are known to grow but are not listed above (no articles known to be published by CMS) are:

Swaziland
Zimbabwe

For those of you in California outside of the optimum Sunset Gardens zones 21-24 and the marginal zones 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, will macadamias grow and produce in your area? (“I live just outside zone 9” or “I am protected by a pond or a hillside”), well it just may be possible. I had an acquaintance with a tree in Hemet, which is hot desert in summer and icy cold in winter, so there can be exceptions.

A healthy mature macadamia tree can tolerate maybe as low as 24° F for up to four hours. You might want to get historical temperature readings for your area to see what you can expect. There certainly may be a few macadamia trees growing in your area. That could be due to a few microclimates or due to extraordinary measures on the part of the growers. You can take those kinds of measures for a few trees but you be hard at work to do it for 40 acres. Macadamias can tolerate temperatures as well as an avocado so if you have them growing there, you can grow macadamias. As far as variety selection, that is very subjective, so, I recommend that you read some of the past California Macadamia Society Yearbooks. They are available in the UC system so your library should be able to get them on an interlibrary loan.