I am so excited, I just bought a new rio red grapefruit tree. Anybody have any special tips for growing dwarf citrus trees in pots?
kanita
New Grapefruit Tree
I'm no citrus expert, but I've got seven in containers. Keep pH just south of 7. Citrus are heavy feeders...they take up nutrients at a ratio about 5-1-3, so fertilize in similar proportions. Don't forget trace elements, Fe and Mg. Use a mix with good drainage to avoid root rot. Flush the soil about once every 3 months with a volume of water equal to about 3-4 times the container size, as citrus are also prone to salt buildup in the growing medium. Lots of sun. Watch for scale and mealies.
I have my citrus in a 3:1:1 mix of coconut husk chips:peat:composted horse manure...excellent drainage, impossible to overwater. And I use RO or rainwater, not tap or well water.
Help that helps. Maybe some from your zone can chime in with more. SB
stress has a lot of great ideas. Citrus in containers need good feeding and watering. I have Mexican Lime, Variegated Calamondin, Buddha's Hand, and a dwarf Royal in containers. Here in Phoenix, with the heat, we use a large pot, at least 18" in diameter. Lots of fun!
Thanks so much. I had a fatal incident with the last two citrus' I had (sweet navel orange and kaffir lime). I over watered and did not have proper drainage which I am now learning.
Should i let the soil dry out before watering?
kanita
Kanita,
Yes, let it dry out some. What kind of mix are you using? Many people use standard potting mix, and this can work OK if you are careful. But the particle size of this mix is fairly small compared to a mix with CHC or pine bark chunks. Larger pieces mean better drainage and better aeration. The adhesive and cohesive properties of water in a mix with smaller particle size will mean that you may have a "perched water table" in the bottom of the pot which doesn't drain until it evaporates or is used up by the plant. In this zone in the bottom of the pot there is no aeration at all...root rot.
You can minimize this by not overwatering (duh) but also by using a taller container and a mix with larger particle size. SB
We are still not allowed to plant citrus because of the canker crisis. Wish I were in Ca....
Thanks Stress. I haven't repotted yet thank goodness. Last time, I did use regular potting mix. THANK YOU!!!
Tplant, sorry to hear about you not being able to plant citrus, I would think in sunny Fl everyone would have citrus trees of some sort. I was tinkering with the idea of putting the tree in an EB.
kanita
It would work fine in an EB. Papaya do well, so a dwarf citrus of any kind would work! To bad I'm not fond of Papaya or I'd have one. Ya know, my DIL loves Papaya? I'll think about it?
I'm with you Tplant, I don't care much for papaya, but I do have my eye on a dwarf mango tree. The dwarf trees are fairly reasonable, like $18.00 each.
That settles it then on the EB. I have one that is empty and I was trying to decide what to put in it.
kanita