Citrus Basics How To

California is a great place to grow citrus plants in home gardens because of its warm climate. In fact, every garden should have a citrus plant whether you grow it in a pot or a garden.

Growing citruses of all types is very easy and there are lots of citrus varieties – for eating, cooking, and juice.

Selecting Your Citrus

• Choose citrus varieties that you like, that you’ll use
• Consider growing citrus that are hard to find in grocery stores or that are expensive
• All types of citrus need same care and all are easy if simple requirements are met
• Choose a well-branched, well-balanced tree

Planting

• Full sun site
• Well-draining soil
• Amend soil with Planting Compost & Citrus & Avocado Food
• Plant about 1” inch above soil line, firm soil around (citruses won’t tolerate being planted too deeply)
• Create a “well” out of soil to hold 2- to 3-inches of water

Watering & Care

• Water deeply and thoroughly (not frequently and shallowly like you would a lawn). At first, about once a week.  Once established, once every two weeks.
• Feed quarterly with E.B. Stone Citrus & Fruit Tree Food
• Only prune lightly to shape (citruses are sensitive to over-pruning)

Harvesting

• Fruit ripens very slowly
• Usually fruit ripens about same time as new flowers appear (great fragrance!)
• Fruit left on the tree will last longer than picked fruit
• Once your tree matures, you’ll have a lot of fruit, so be sure to share!