Can you plant Australian natives under an apple tree?
I want a predominantly native garden, however a retaining wall on the property gets full sun throughout the day and I thought that would be a great place for fruit trees - I have planted a Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, then used some Myoporum to act as ground cover - will this be ok?
I only planted this this weekend (20/06/2022) so it's not too late to move them, or choose something more suitable.
I have clay soil that I've incorporated compost into, and have used clay breaker to help improve drainage.
Any other tips would be great as I'm a total novice and have no clue what I'm doing - it's all been from online research
Mixing natives and exotics is generally not a problem - they don't antagonise each other. What you must do though is select plants that like the same amount of light, soil type and nutrients. So if they both like full sun and are happy in reasonably well drained soil then you will be doing well. The last point is however quite important, and that's how much and what you intend to feed it with. Australian natives (most of them) don't like a lot of phosphorous so you'll need to ensure that when you fertilise your trees that the NPK mix is low on 'P'. Generally fruit trees like apples like a lot of Nitrogen so just make sure that you have plenty of that and don't overdo the Phosophrous and you'll be fine.
P.S. I'd say those two apple trees are planted rather close together. Think about how big they will get, then allow for those canopies side by side. Best to ask the nursery where you bought them what size they'll grow to then re-plant one if neccessary.