[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[Olin Miller]

----- Original Message ----- From: <josh_enright2001 at yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 11:22 AM
> I was wondering if it would be too cold to plant citrus in January. I was 
> also interested in suggestions for a good citrus vendor. What is an ideal 
> size to plant? Can a tree be too big? How do limes, lemons, oranges, and 
> tangerines differ?
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The publication "AZ1001 Low Desert Citrus Varieties " at
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1001.pdf

should answer most of your questions.
Citrus can be planted anytime from containers if watering is adjusted to 
account for seasonal variations.  Fall is usually considered to be best 
because the new tree is less subject  to stress with the cool weather.  Some 
people prefer planting in February so that new growth will not be subject to 
frost damage.

To name a few, the established nurseries like Summer Winds, Gardeners World, 
Baker Nursery , and Star are all good sources.  Others people have other 
favorites. The big box home improvement centers also have good stock with 
good prices but their staff tends to be transient and less knowledgeable. 
The container trees are usually in 15 gallon containers which is a good size 
for planting because they are pretty well established and less susceptible 
to transplant shock than the larger trees..

Look for a label on the container.  The tags on the plants are often removed 
by customer for closer reading and are sometimes returned to the wrong 
plant,

There is a lot of information on the web on how to plant and care for your 
tree. See:

Planting http://www.gardenpro.net/?page=citrus
Growing http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_Citrus
Irrigating  http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1151.pdf
Fertilizing http://home.att.net/~millero/VSG/MC91-FertilizingCitrusChart.pdf

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer, Maricopa County AZ