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Index : Citrus and Other Fruits
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- 16. It's Citrus Planting Time - Top
- Now that the danger of frost has past, it's time to plant citrus! Garden Centers are stocked-up, and ready with a wide variety of the most popular home citrus varieties.
If you have room for only one citrus tree in your yard, then make it a Mineola tangelo, commonly referred to as the "honey bell" for it's honey-sweet and unusual bell-shaped fruit.
Although similar to an orange, Mineola Tangelo is actually a cross between Dancy mandarin and Duncan grapefruit. The combination gives Mineola a distinctly rich, sweet flavor, excellent for eating or juicing.
If you have room for a second tree, make it an orange. Oranges are by far the most popular citrus, and we have an excellent choice of varieties for growing in Tucson. Arizona Sweets are a group of oranges well-suited to the low and mid-elevation desert locals. All are good, but there are subtle differences between them. Hamlin and Marrs are early season Arizona Sweets, ripening from November through January. Both are excellent for juicing. Diller and Trovita are mid-season Sweets, ripening from December through February. They're great for eating or juicing.
If you want a late-season orange, then Valencia is for you. This is the world's premiere juicing orange, but it is also very good to eat! In addition, Valencia will keep on the tree when ripe for many months, becoming sweeter as time goes on.
If you have very limited space, consider planting a dwarf or semi-dwarf citrus. These trees take up as little as half the space of a full-sized citrus. Dwarfing is accomplished by budding a citrus hybrid variety on the roots of another type of citrus with dwarfing properties. For a semi-dwarf tree, about one-third smaller than the standard tree, look for the citrus you want growing on C-35 Citrange rootstock. If you want a tree half as large as the standard, choose Flying Dragon rootstock. Most citrus sold have tags listing both the hybrid budded top and the rootstock.
Purchase citrus from a reputable garden center or nursery. The most vigorous and easiest to transplant trees are those sold in 5 or 15 gallon containers. Small trees establish and grow faster than larger ones sold in 24 or 36 inch boxes. Quality citrus trees can be costly, but it's better to pay the price than save money and end up with a weak, inferior tree.
Citrus should be planted in well-drained soil. To test the location where you intend to plant, dig a hole 12 inches wide and 18 inches deep. Fill the hole with water and allow it to drain out. Fill it again, and time how long it takes for that water to drain out. If it takes longer than 48 hours, choose a different location for planting. If a caliche hardpan is blocking drainage, it should be removed.
It is critical to plant citrus no deeper than they were growing in the pot. Citrus trees cannot tolerate soil contacting the base of their trunks. For this reason, dig the hole no deeper than the height of the root ball. In fact, it's better to dig the hole a little less deep so that the top of the root ball stands slightly above ground.
Dig the planting hole a foot or so wider than the root ball. Loosen the soil and remove the larger rocks will encourage the roots to grow out into the native soil. And contrary to popular belief, the planting soil should not be amended with organic matter such as compost, peat or manure. The healthiest and strongest citrus trees are those whose roots grow out into the native soil. Filling the hole with "good stuff" actually restricts normal root growth.
After planting, water the tree daily for the first two or three weeks. After that, water two or three times weekly through October. When cooler weather arrives in November, reduce the frequency of watering to every 7 to 10 days.
Finally, you may apply a small amount of fertilizer a month or so after planting and again in August to maintain tree vigor. Apply one-quarter cup (5 gallon trees) to one-half cup (15 gallon trees) of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) or citrus fertilizer per tree. Scatter the fertilizer near the near the base of the tree and then water it into the soil.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161.
- Updated: March 23, 2003
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