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Citrus Delight

© Kathy Reiffenstein

Picture this. . .it’s a glorious Sunday morning and you’re sitting on a patio or balcony enjoying a coffee, as the sun climbs into the sky. You reach out and pluck an orange from the tree next to you. Think you’re vacationing in a luxury resort in Florida or California? Think again. Citrus are so easy to grow in containers, you could be sitting in your own garden.

Few things you grow assault the senses as completely as citrus. When in bloom, a citrus tree has an exquisite perfume that dances through the garden heralding the delicious fruit to come. Their year-round brilliant green, glossy foliage and yellow, green or orange fruit add a great splash of color to the garden. And what can beat the tartness of a new lemon or the sweetness of a fresh picked orange?

What Can You Grow?

Dwarf varieties are best for containers as they will grow slowly and you can control their height and width through pruning. The favorites for containers include Meyer lemons, which are thinner skinned, less acidic and more juicy than typical grocery store lemons; Satsuma mandarin oranges, which are nearly seedless and have a sweet, delicate flavor; and Bearss limes, which are seedless and very juicy. Any citrus grafted to Flying Dragon rootstock would also be appropriate as it is naturally dwarfed.

Where Can You Grow Them?

Citrus can be grown in a wider area than you might think, although they are particularly suited to the southeast, southwest and west. They need 8+ hours of direct sun and a relatively wind-free southern exposure. Most citrus will thrive in climates that have warm to hot summers and mild winters, as they cannot withstand freezing temperatures. In areas where winters are cold, shelter the plants in a garage or basement that gets good bright light or bring them indoors and place no farther than 6 feet from a sunny window. The prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures is more harmful than a brief dip in temperature. If you only get occasional freezes, you can just wrap them with a frost blanket or spray them with an antitranspirant like Cloud Cover.

What Container To Choose?

Any container will work for your citrus as long as it’s big enough and has enough drainage holes. A 15” x 15” pot is a good size to start with if you’re buying a young tree. Don’t start out with too large a pot as it will be difficult to control the moisture levels. Plastic or ceramic containers will not dry out as fast as terra cotta or wood. The size of the tree will be greatly influenced by the size of the container, so you will need to move your citrus to a larger container every few years as it grows. You’ll know it’s ready for a larger pot because the leaves may start to drop or turn brown. At this point you can either move the tree to a container than is about 25% larger or if you’re happy with its size, take it out of the existing container, cut off about ¼ of the roots, re-pot in new soil and prune 1/3 of the foliage.