Tips
Caring for citrus
Fertilise
Feed citrus with a complete fertiliser, preferably one that’s been formulated especially for the job. Acticote for Fruit & Citrus is an effective slow release fertiliser, which also contains an instant booster for rapid growth and production. If you’d rather use an organic mix then sprinkle Yates Dynamic Lifter Advanced for Fruit and Citrus around the base of the plant.
Weed and Mulch
Apply or renew mulch over the root system of the citrus tree. One thing that citrus trees really hate is having to fight with grass growing right up against their trunks. Grass is so greedy it will gobble up any nutrients it can get at.
Clear grass away from the base by hand, or carefully spray with Zero. When all the weeds and grass have gone, give the roots a really good drink and then put a 10 centimetre or more thickness of organic mulch (old manure, grass clippings, compost) over the entire root area. Make sure that the mulch is not contacting the trunk (because this will encourage root and collar rots).
Prevent Root and Collar Rot
And speaking of rots, citrus roots rot away very readily when the soil is heavy or clayey, and citrus bark can decay and lift from almost any part of the tree (collar rot). The layer of organic mulch will help to introduce more air into the soil, but the best defence is to spray citrus plants a couple of times a year with Yates Anti Rot. This low toxic fungicide gets right inside the plant and helps it to withstand the fungal diseases that so often attack citrus, especially lemon trees.
Control Insect Pests
Citrus trees are also attractive to a number of insect pests. The most difficult to diagnose is citrus leaf miner, a tiny caterpillar that burrows its way through the leaf tissues and causes new leaves to twist and curl. Sometimes the trails left behind by the caterpillar can be clearly seen inside the leaf. They look a bit like snail trails, which throws some gardeners off the scent. Spraying the trees every 10 days with PestOil during summer and autumn will smother the tiny caterpillars within the leaves and deter the adult moth from laying its eggs. Avoid applying any type of oil on hot days because it could burn the leaves.
Nasty stink bugs (bronze orange bug and spined citrus bug) can be controlled with Rogor, or picked off by hand and squashed. These horrible creatures can squirt out a caustic substance when attacked, so be sure to protect yourself by wearing glasses, long sleeves and gloves.
Comments (9)
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This area is for general comments from the Yates Garden Club community. Questions posted here will not receive a reply from Yates. For specific gardening advice visit Ask an Expert
Leanne
Yates site member
12:21, 07 April 2011
I have both a lemon and lime tree in pots. My lemon bears fruit no trouble, but the lime tree flowered alot and only 1 lime survived! They all seemed to drop off when they were quite small. I have been told not to let the pots dry out, so a bucket of water everyday and fertilise regularly. Also, keep them out of a windy spot and plant some flowers nearby to encourage the bees. Fingers crossed it produces more fruit next time. Hope this helps?
Peter
Yates site member
05:19, 22 September 2011
G'day Leanne! The easiest solution I personally have found is to polinate the lime yourself once. If you have a friend with a lime tree(in fact I used my orange tree so i imagine any citrus would suffice)see if you can get them to cut off a couple of branches of flowers and rub these all over your lime. I now have so many limes I am having to find new ways to make use of them. Found an awesome recipie for lime curd. Anyway, good luck!
john
Yates site member
18:36, 22 August 2011
thanks
brenda
Yates site member
15:24, 08 September 2011
hi, my lime tree has no more leaves on it? i planted it 2 weeks ago. they curled up and fell off, please help me. iv been watering the lime tree every second day. hope you can help!
Peter
Yates site member
05:22, 22 September 2011
Gday Brenda, sounds like you've killed it too me :-( Did you put it in the ground or a pot?
gerald
Yates site member
23:01, 27 September 2011
I pruned a lemon tree that was dropping fruit,fertilized and sprinkled some epsom salts around the base, now has more than enough nice sized lemons
t
Yates site member
14:56, 30 September 2011
hey guys I have a problem with my two lemon trees. One hasn't flowered in many years, its leaves are nice and green. The other one has many flowers but its fruit never matures and its leaves have small yellow tips. I have recently fed both heaps of fertiliser, trace elements and cut the grass to the drip line. Any help would be appreciated.
Nancy
Yates site member
17:04, 24 October 2011
Has anyone tried the "mandarin lime" - I have one in a pot, it has grown well but has had problems with leaf miner & not one flower. My mandarin tree (same age, but planted in the ground) has flowered well & has quite a lot of fruit set for its size.
Hui
Yates site member
16:54, 21 November 2011
Hey guys I like to re-pot my lime tree to bigger pot, when is the good time to do it? Thanks Hui
Bryan
Yates site member
19:06, 15 January 2012
My Lime treeblooms well, fruit appears to set, they grow a little then go yellow and fall off. Would Epsom salts or Potash would help?
Joanna
Yates site member
21:20, 21 January 2012
I have a lotsa lemon tree planted in a big pot and it has fruit on it about 6cm big and they are still green they have been green since november no yellow at all what have i done to it? and my lime tree is in a big pot too and gets lots of flowers but only 2 limes at a time. I have used fertiliser for cituris trees about 3 months ago and give them a big water every 2 day. any advice would be great
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