Citrus Trees- How to Plant for Healthy Trees

Lemons, Limes Mandarins Oranges Grapefruit Finger Limes and Kaffir Limes

 

How to grow a healthy productive citrus tree in the Southwest and Perth.

Your Planting Mix is everything. And will affect the health and cropping of your trees. Citrus love a warm, free draining soil filled with compost and nutrient. Plant Citrus trees in full sun. Some shade is ok.

Our Citrus Trees are grafted onto suitable rootstock for each variety. Over the years, we have helped customers troubleshoot why their citrus trees aren’t growing and have become stunted or not producing fruit. The first thing we look at is how the ground has been prepared. As Citrus trees are heavy feeders – the planting soil is so important.

Also, if you can, avoid dwarf trees. The tree is grafted onto a smaller, weaker rootstock, that restricts the growth of your tree, which makes it a dwarf variety. You can still get fruit from these trees , quite successfully, but most of the troubleshooting done here at the nursery has been from customers who have planted dwarf trees.

 

Planting Citrus Trees into the Ground

1 Add Organics

use soil conditioner or other compost. The organic matter will create life in your soil and you want to create a lovely environment for the many microbes to grow that will ultimately feed your trees.

2. Add Clay

If you are living on the swan coastal plain, and have sandy, gutless soil. Your trees will benefit immensely by adding clay along with compost to your existing soil. If you were to just add organics such as compost, this is fine. Your tree will grow nicely, but the organic matter breaks down in the process of feeding the tree and you are left with sand again. You can top up your organics with the use of mulch, which then breaks down to become your soil organics. Adding clay into the mix is beneficial as it will stay there FOREVER. Holding onto water and also fertiliser making it avail for the plant to take up.

3.Use Rockdust Minerals

This is another superhero of the soil structure. Over 80 minerals are directly available for plants to take up. Holds water, has a high cationic exchange capacity (CEC) and is readily available for the plants to take up

Rock Dust improves the Cationic Exchange Capacity (CEC) of soil. Soil then becomes ADsorbant –  meaning the soil holds onto and chemically binds nutrients like nitrates and phophates in for plants to use, rather than being leached away.

You can add rock dust to your planting mix. Or spread it on top of the planting mix.

4. Fertiliser

We use a commercial 12-14month slow release fertiliser. Avail to buy at the nursery. One application at planting. Then annually after that.

However, citrus are hungry trees. And may benefit from a top up ‘fruit tree’  fertiliser throughout the year. We recommend to plant using the slow release, then apply a fruit tree fertiliser Spring, Summer and Autumn. Not needed in Winter.

5. Water

Please ensure your newly planted citrus trees are watered adequately. Don’t plant and then leave for 2 weeks. Depending on the time of year, your watering needs will need to adjust to suit how much water the tree is using. Ie if it’s summer, extra hand watering may be beneficial. Check retic is working and that trees are receiving enough of a water. Check drips – these annoyingly become blocked so easily – we avoid these here at the nursery.

 

 

Soil Saviour

We use a mixture of compost, (with added bio char)  clay, rock dust as well as  zeolite to help retain water and nutrient. Bio Char and Zeolite are added and work to hold on to valuable soil nutrient.

It is avail in bags here at the nursery – Soil Saviour

 

Citrus in Pots

If planting in pots, we highly recommend to use a premium potting mix that is free draining, while holding onto water and nutrient.

We have avail for you to purchase, a potting mix that we use for all our plants here at the nursery. It is made here and we use it here. We use the same mix for all of our plants. It has added a premium 12-14 month slow release fertiliser , rock dust minerals, plus other additives that help to hold on to nutrient and water, but also allow free drainage.

 

Our customers rave about both our Premium Potting Mix and also our Soil Saviour 

 

Our Citrus trees are at least 1.5 – 2 years old. They are already mature enough to flower and fruit. You may want to pick off the flowers, or any forming fruit while the tree is still young.

Right now, we have avail

Lemon- Lisbon, Eureka, Lemonade, Meyer

Lime – Tahitian, West Indian, Kaffir, Finger Lime

Orange – Washington Navel, Summer Navel, Valencia, Italian Blood Orange, Cara Cara Blood Navel

Grapefruit – Rio Red, Ray Ruby

Mandarin – Imperial , Afourer, Japanese Seedless

 

These varieties will be avail throughout the year, but please be aware, we may sell out at various times of the year. So just give us a call to confirm the varieties you are after

More varieties to come as well!