tips for citrus success

Here’s what you need to do to take good care of your citrus trees.

PLANT citrus in full sun, and ensure you have perfect drainage.

WATER new trees every 3–7 days for the first year after planting.

APPLY a good layer of mulch, except in cold climates (see ‘Climate challenges’, opposite), and keep topping it up, as the shallow roots dry out easily.

FEED citrus regularly, as they are generous fruiters. A yellow-leafed tree is a hungry one. Give them a little feed 3–4 times a year from spring to autumn. Homemade compost is wonderful, but a specific organic citrus food scattered into mulch works well. Some soils may need a trace element mix applied once every decade or so, too. As citrus are shallow-rooted, never fertilise them if the soil is dry, or you may quickly kill the tree. Soak soil before applying fertiliser, and always water it in well.

WATCH OUT for water shoots, which are long, thick prickly shoots that grow fast from under the graft. They’ll be rootstock and not what you want to grow at all. Pull them off as soon as you see them.

PRUNE citrus trees to keep them as small and neat as you want. A little trimming here and there, as needed, is better than one big all-over haircut each year, which removes fruiting wood.

You can buy dwarf varieties of most citrus, but they won’t be as vigorous. Keep secateurs near the back door, and prune as you pick.

STOP ants from bringing scale, woolly aphids and other pests to your fruit by investing in some tree-banding grease. Dark patches on the leaves will be sooty mould breeding on the sweet excretions of the pests. Use a horticultural oil spray according to directions. Never leave fallen fruit on the ground, as the scent will attract pests such as fruit fly, stink bugs and many others.