CITRUS in CONTAINERS: 11 TIps for SUCCESS

adding citrus to your garden is a great idea especially if you live in a warm climate growing citrus in containers means those trees will take up less space and we can add more types of citrus to our garden if you have problems with poor soil and drainage issues if you live in a cooler climate you can move that container indoors when it gets too cold for citrus for those reasons and more i love growing citrus in containers and in today's video i'm going to share my best tips so you can grow them too but if we haven't met before my name is angela from growing in the garden and i love to share garden inspiration and helpful tips so you can be successful in your own garden the first tip is to choose a large enough container citrus plants can grow large and you need plenty of room for those plants roots to grow the pot should be twice as wide as the citrus nursery pot to give the roots room to grow a half wine barrel is my favorite choice for growing citrus look for a container that's about two feet wide and two feet deep if you're going to be moving your citrus around make sure that that container has some sort of a dolly or way for you to move it whatever pot you use should have several holes in the bottom of it the quickest way to kill your citrus tree is to drown those roots when is the best time to plant citrus citrus does best when planted after danger of frost has passed in the spring that gives the roots time to adjust to their container before the hottest months of the year the next tip is to understand which varieties of citrus are going to do better in a container buy citrus trees grafted onto dwarf root stock those trees will naturally be smaller in size than full-sized citrus trees dwarf trees produce the same size and quality of fruit but yield about half as much fruit so when you're ready to buy that citrus tree if you see roots circling the inside of that container do not buy that plant that tree has been in the pot too long and will not transition well to your container look for young healthy roots it's also a good idea to buy smaller trees for a couple of reasons smaller trees are easier to plant and will transition better into a container than larger trees that are more established almost any variety of citrus will grow well in a container but certain varieties will grow faster and outgrow their container quicker smaller types of citrus that do well in containers include improved meyer lemon bears lime mandarins australian finger limes or kumquats all of those trees are naturally a little bit smaller and will last longer in containers native soil and regular garden soil are too heavy for container grown citrus that type of soil is not going to provide the air that those roots need to grow well the best type of soil is a potting mix with a combination of compost coconut coir peat moss and vermiculite or perlite a soil that is all organic matter like planting in all compost will break down too quickly and become compacted it's important to put your container in the best location you want to make sure that citrus get plenty of sunlight they need at least eight hours of sunlight to grow well a sunny wind-free location is the best spot to put citrus especially if that location gets morning sun and a little bit of afternoon shade if you live in a hot climate like here in the low desert because containers heat up more quickly it's important to provide some afternoon shade if you live in a cooler climate then you want to make sure that that container is getting as much sunlight as possible a wall that gets reflected heat is a great location once you have your tree your container and your soil you are ready to plant fill the bottom half of the container with soil [Music] and gently remove the pot from around that citrus tree loosen the bottom little bit of roots on the bottom of that tree but keep the root ball intact [Music] put the citrus tree in place in the middle of that container most citrus are grafted onto a root stock and if you look you can see that graft line on the trunk of the tree make sure that the graft is above the soil line here in the low desert containers dry out so quickly and i add oils to all of my containers so if you're going to add an oil planting is the time to do that when you fill that halfway up with soil at that point you're going to add in your oil so that the top of the oil is level with the top of the plant and then fill up that container with soil leaving an inch or two at the top cover any visible roots with soil and then mulch that container with wood chips or additional compost keep that mulch and soil pulled back from the trunk of the tree once everything's all planted then it's time to water your citrus i use a shower attachment and water slowly and deeply you want to make sure that that soil has a chance to absorb all of that moisture if you have an oil fill that oil all the way up and also water all of the surrounding soil the roots in that container rely on you to keep it well watered use a moisture meter to give you a more exact idea of how wet the roots are each time you water water thoroughly making sure the water is being absorbed and not just draining out the hole in the bottom pay attention to your plants they are going to tell you if their water needs aren't being met [Music] how often you water is influenced by the weather during hotter drier conditions you're going to water your citrus in containers more often during the cooler months of the year your citrus in containers is going to need much less water having an oya in place allows you to go a little bit longer between watering and in our incredibly hot summers it keeps that citrus from drying out as quickly my next tip is to feed your citrus regularly because you are watering citrus more often and that excess water is draining out of those bottom holes nutrients are also being washed away citrus roots can't go looking for other sources for nutrition you have to give it to them use an organic fertilizer formulated for citrus that's going to have some of those extra micronutrients that citrus trees need fertilized citrus in containers about once a month during the growing season my next tip is all about pruning your container grown citrus you may not need to prune citrus at all but if you need to prune the best time to prune is in the spring after danger of frost has passed if you expose any bark to sunlight or if any bark is already exposed to sunlight it's important to wrap or paint that bark to protect it from the sun so when you prune citrus in containers you are pruning the suckers below that graft union those suckers will grow straight up and sap energy from the tree all citrus varieties are frost tender and need to be protected from freezing temperatures citrus should be brought indoors or covered with frost cloth when nighttime temperatures go below 35 degrees citrus in containers are more susceptible to frost damage because they don't have that added insulation that trees do when they're grown in the ground cover your citrus all the way drape it over the container and all the way to the ground to trap that radiated heat if we have a cold night that goes below freezing if you live in a cold climate where temperatures regularly go below freezing you need to bring that citrus indoors and then provide additional light move the pot back outside after danger of frost has passed in the spring citrus trees naturally self-thin and will drop fruit throughout the year depending on the environment it's possible to get a fruit or two from those container-grown citrus the first couple of years in subsequent years citrus harvest will increase in size how can you tell when citrus is right learn the harvest window for your particular kind of citrus for your area and then the best way to tell if citrus is ripe is to try one and see if it's not quite ready leave the remaining fruits on a little bit longer citrus stays ripe on the tree for several weeks and up to several months when citrus begins to soften and fall off from the tree that's the time you need to get all the remaining citrus off the tree growing citrus in containers means that almost anyone can plant and grow a citrus tree thank you so much for watching

Channel: Growing In The Garden

Views: 104,388

Keywords: how to grow citrus in containers, how to grow citrus trees in pots, how to grow citrus trees, how to, how to fertilize citrus, how to grow citrus trees in a pot, how to plant a citrus tree in a pot, how to plant citrus trees in pots, how to plant citrus trees in ground, how to protect citrus trees in winter, how to grow blackberries in containers, how to grow citrus trees in cold climates, how to grow dwarf citrus trees in containers, how to make potting soil

Id: SH4Jz31Z5FQ

Length: 9min 20sec (560 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 18 2022