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Citrus Care Guide
Planting citrus in a container;
The most popular planter for a tree is 16 to 20 inches about a five
gallon size pot. This provides room for many years of root growth.
Smaller containers may be used to graduate the plant to a larger size.
Citrus are unique, having root systems that fit readily into containers
of average depth. If your plant becomes root bound and you donft want
to graduate to a larger pot, remove 1/3 of the roots and cut back the
top approximately 1/3. Add new soil and repot in the same container.
This makes an attractive bushy dwarf tree. Do this only before new
spring growth starts.
Soil mix:
Use a light, well drained perennial mix such as Fafor #52, Scotts
Hyponex. Compost, rock phosphate, greensand and lime are fine additives
to basic mixes. These soil mixes should not be boggy. Small composted
bark chips can also provide good drainage. The graft should be well
above the desired soil level.
Watering:
Allow one inch from soil to top of container for watering. Water when
necessary. Donft let the tree dry out or be too wet. Good drainage is
essential. In the ground, maintain a deep basin as wide as the tree.
Citrus need a moist soil and air for roots. Again, avid airless and
soggy soil in the pots.
Planting citrus outside;
In light, well drained soil, water established trees about once a
week in dry weather. In heavy clay soils, the air spaces are tiny and
excess water canft drain away rapidly. Water deeply every two to three
weeks or more in dry weather. Allow time for it to drain and the surface
to dry out but donft go so far as to let new growth wilt.
Fertilizing: (potted and outside growing)
Use your own favorite all-purpose fertilizer or scatter balanced
fertilizer as recommended on package only when plant is growing new
leaves. Fish emulsion or other organics work fine. Nitrogen is the main
requirement; use as directed and water it in. In a pot we use 12-month
citrus fertilizer tablets. 2 tablets @ gallon of soil mix. Citrus
fertilizer tablets come in packs of 20 tablets for $5 each (plus
shipping) from Edible Landscaping. A sign of lack of fertilizer or poor
drainage could be yellowing leaves. Citrus trees can benefit from minor
nutrients (i.e. zinc, iron and manganese). These nutrients may also be
added to the soil in chelate sequestrene form, scattered in the basin
with other fertilizers. I have found magnesium deficiency more
frequently in potted citrus; this can be remedied with @ 1 Tsp of Epsom
salt for every 3 gallons of soil.
Suckering:
Know where the graft is on your tree (if there is one). Remove all
growth below the graft; it is worthless and takes vitality away from the
top. This is especially true with younger trees. Suckers are generally
very vigorous, thorny and have quite a different leaf than the top.
Remove them as soon as seen.
Pruning:
Little is required. This is one of the basic qualities of citrus.
However, some trees may develop erratic branches; if so cut them back at
any time. Given time, the trees round out and shape up naturally,
without much pruning. To hurry this you can pinch off the tips of new
growth.
Pest Control:
Keep the tree free of pest. Pests distort leaves which retards growth
and fruiting. There is a constant parade of new insecticides on the
market. Rather than recommend any as being .ebestf I will just tell
you what we use: for aphids: We have found for indoor citrus the over
the counter rubbing alcohol 65% dilution controls every citrus insect
and is safe and easy to use. A Windex spray top will screw onto the
rubbing alcohol bottle so it can be most convenient to use. Spray
bottoms and tops of leaves,. If the insect has laid eggs repeat in 5
days, aphids & mites have an 11 day egg to adult cycle. We are using
90% Neem oil extract Triact™ with success on our citrus. We spray
about once per month and itfs a great safe insecticide/fungicide.
Growing Indoors and Under Glass
Too little is know about growing citrus indoors in .enon-citrusf
areas. Suggestions are: protect from freezing, give all sun light
possible, rotate trees to light, keep pest free, florescent growing
lights enhance plant growth, as do high pressure sodium and halide
lights. We use a full spectrum light with 8000 hours life. It gives off
100 watts of light but only uses 20 watts. These can be ordered from
Edible Landscaping for $25 each (plus shipping). Avoid sudden changes in
environment. If moving from indoors to outdoors place trees in
semi-shade to harden off.
Winter
In cold weather areas citrus should be brought indoors when the season
starts changing to winter. A warm sunny spot is best. Some of the
hardier types like Satsuma and Meyer Lemon can tolerate colder winter
conditions. A customer in Virginia Beach, VA, for instance, over
wintered her potted Satsuma in her garage. Cold sensitive varieties like
Key Lime would probably drop their leaves for the duration of the winter
months. The citrus can acclimate slowly to its new surrounding.
In colder northern climates citrus would suffer from abrupt changes
in humidity. Citrus will grow in low humidity areas of the country, i.e.
southern CA, AZ, but a house in Chicago may not have a humidity
controlled environment. The moisture of the outside compared to the
inside could differ greatly, especially if you bring your citrus in from
outside late in the season and your heat is on day and night. One can
buffer low humidity with misting the leaves of the plant. There is less
leaf drop to healthy green leaves.
In colder areas the roots of the citrus wonft be growing much. Any
repotting would usually be done when spring growth starts. Early in my
gardening experience I learned good soil is 40% air. Too wet or
compacted potting soil leads to root rot, especially with cool soil
temperatures.
Is good common sense not to fertilize while the plant is not growing.
Usually by the end of January the days are longer and citrus will start
to respond by blooming and unfolding new leaves. Citrus scent fills the
room Spring has sprung indoors! All blooms will not turn to fruit. The
plant will carry what it can ripen. Most citrus will bloom again in the
summer or fall. If youfre new at citrus growing, youfll probably
pick your first fruit before its time. Thatfs OK because it will
probably taste like the store bought fruit you are used to Waiting holds
its reward. The fruit only gets sweeter. For instance, our Washington
Navel was color ripe around Christmas, but we did not pick it till mid
February. Some of the Key Limes dropped off before I knew they were
ripe, so experience is the best guide.
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