Growing Citrus in Your Yard
July 14, 2009 by Brian Brown
Filed under Citrus
Many types of citrus can be grown by the home gardener in Florida however, careful consideration should be given to the site selection, variety and nutrition of the plant chosen.
Selecting a citrus variety for your garden involves both personal and practical decisions. Consideration of which variety your family would eat as well as which varieties perform best in Flagler County are two such decisions.
Some of the favorite varieties that are grown in Flagler County are as follows:
Sweet Orange:
Naval Oranges are often the sweet orange that is most chosen. Naval orange- an early variety that is available in either standard orange fleshed or red fleshed. Naval oranges are thick-peeled large oranges with a “naval” in the bottom of the orange. They are extremely sweet and juicy and make great eating or juicing. Naval oranges are ripe anywhere from November to December generally.
Valencia Oranges are another favorite that are also extremely good eating and juicing however are a late variety (ripening in February to March) that will have fruit on the tree throughout the season that cold temperatures or freezes are prevalent in Flagler County. Fruit that freezes will be unusable for eating.
Grapefruit
Red Fleshed Grapefruit: The red fleshed varieties such as Ruby Red, Redblush or Flame are most popular due to the combination of “sweetness” and seedlessness. Mature grapefruit trees are heavy bearers and the fruit can remain on the tree for an extended period of time. These varieties of grapefruit are early season ripening anywhere from November to January.
Mandarins (Tangerines)
Dancy Tangerine is a good tangerine for Flagler area. It has small, relatively seedless fruit that is “zipper” skin so makes for easy peeling. The fruit is quite sweet and are often ripe by November but frequently require a couple of more weeks to sweeten more.
Ponkans are also excellent choices and are also easy peeling and sweet.
Satsuma Tangerines are an extremely cold hard variety of mandarin that especially sweet maturing in late November however only maintains the fruit on the tree for about 4 to 6 weeks.
Tangelos
Honeybell tangelo is certainly the most favored amongst the tangelos. It is a large bell shaped fruit that is extremely sweet and juicy. They are a midseason ripening fruit that are ready December to February.
Lemons
True lemons such as Eureka or Lisbon are not recommended for Flagler home use due to their extreme sensitivity to freezes and susceptibility to scab. Lemons are “ever bearing” which means they can produce fruit and flowers at the same time so it is possible to have a small lemon plant with fruit on them.
Meyer Lemons are an excellent substitute for real lemons. They are approximately the size of an orange at maturity and the fruit is somewhat less acidic than real lemons. Meyer lemons can be used for lemon use the homeowner may wish from baking to drinks.
Ponderosa Lemons are extremely large fruit that more resemble a grapefruit in their size. They too are less acidic than real lemons.
Limes
Limes are more sensitive to freezing and in Flagler County; caution must be taken when choosing a lime.
Limequats are an excellent substitute for true limes. The limequat is a Key Lime that has been crossed with a kumquat to make them cold hardy. The fruit tastes and looks identical to a Key Lime and may be used by homeowners in any Lime capacity they may want. Limequats are also “ever bearing” so will produce flowers and fruit at the same time and small plants can bear lots of fruit.
Site Selection and Planting
Selection of a good site for your new citrus is important as all the above varieties grow to a fairly large size. For home plantings, the spacing recommended is a minimum of 15 feet between trees or adjacent to buildings or fences. Avoid septic tanks and drain fields as well. Low areas that hold water is not a good location for fruit either.
The location should be an extremely sunny location as the tree will produce more fruit in a sunnier location and should be kept free of grass, weeds as well as mulch.
When planting a citrus tree care should be taken to insure that the tree is planted at the same depth in the ground as it was in the nursery container. A basin should be provided around the base of the tree to hold 5 or 10 gallons of water. New trees should be have this basin filled up with a hose for 5 to 10 minutes each day for the first month and tapering off slowly thereafter until irrigation can take over. If no irrigation is available, the trees should still get watered (if not by rain) then by the homeowner at least once per week. Regular irrigation for fruit trees is important.
Nutrition:
Nutrition is also very important for citrus trees.
Newly planted trees may be fertilized when new growth starts to appear- often as early as three weeks after planting. The first year of planting, citrus should be fertilized more often as frequently as every 6 weeks from March until October. As the tree matures less fertilization is required however a good rule of thumb is to fertilize the tree three times per year at a minimum- spring, summer and fall. Never fertilize fruit trees later than early November in Flagler County as it is not advisable to be pushing out new growth when going into the coldest season of the year.
Pest Management:
Citrus can be grown in the backyard fairly successfully without having too much in the way of pests.
One of the biggest pests for homeowners is defiantly aphids. Young trees in particular are susceptible to this problem as aphids are particularly attracted to young fleshy leaves. If you spot a black sooty substance on your foliage, it is a sure sign of aphid infestation. This problem can be controlled with either soap (not antibacterial) or water or with a light spraying of horticultural oil (available at Verde Go).
Leaf miner often bothers homeowners as well. Leaf miner is a pest that burrows into the leaves of the young fleshy leaves and leaves a trail that is silvery in appearance. The leaf miner is not a serious problem but can cause leaves to fall off the tree. Spraying with oil can also help this to a degree however will not change any existing damage.
There certainly are many other issues that can cause a problem for homeowners however, these are not the majority and if you find yourself with a questionable problem, bring the sample to Verde Go for assistance.
Routine Care: All suckers growing from the roots on citrus trees should be trimmed away and not permitted to grow. In additions any large fast growing “waterspouts” that appear may be trimmed out as well. Generally pruning is not required for citrus but some maintenance may be done as necessary.
Conclusion: Fruit trees can be grown very successfully in Flagler County when a regular watering, fertilizing and weed management program is followed. Many homeowners enjoy two or three varieties of fruit in their yards and there is nothing better than walking into your yard and picking a fresh fruit right off the tree to enjoy!!
