First year citrus tree.

Tue May 13, 2008 7:15 pm

Being as i grew up in Ohio i have little know how when it comes to taking care of a new citrus tree. Now that i live in the south i have decided to plant a couple of orange trees in my yard. They are both first year trees and are looking pretty good so far.

What tips do you suggest aside from regular watering and protecting the tree from critters and wind? How about the fruits that are growing? What should i do with them this first year? Should i let them grow or pluck them off to make the tree focus more energy into roots and limbs?

Tue May 13, 2008 7:58 pm

Oh, I wonder if Grey is around....

Do any other members know about citrus trees? As always any and all advice is more than welcome.

Tue May 13, 2008 8:17 pm

I consider myself a newbie with citrus trees as well. I have a lemon, 2 valencia oranges, persian lime, Key lime, robinson tangerine, and a grapefruit tree. I've obtained a how-to guide from a local nursery. As per the guides instructions...I water them for close to an hour each once a week, I add Iron directly to the roots 3 times a year(The first time I added it to the lemon tree it almost tripled in size!), I fertilize it every 3 months with 8-3-9, and I use chelated citrus and liquid copper fungicide directly on the leaves once a month.

Citrus trees are susceptible to a ton of diseases. I would recommend researching Citrus Canker and Citrus Scab. I don't know if it is local to my area, but I think my lemon tree may have citrus scab. I haven't been to the nursery lately to ask.(It's close to an hour drive) I have posts and pics of some of the trees on here.

As far as tree growth...I didn't pull any fruit until they were ready to be eaten. The trees seem to be developing fine.

I will follow up and see if we can help each other.

Where is Grey??

Tue May 13, 2008 10:47 pm

I'm not sure, she was around a bit last week.

But I'm sure that some of the members are also officianados when it comes to citrus.

I druel over you guys when I hear about you growing citrus, not really possible where I live.

Fri May 16, 2008 1:39 pm

I should have been more specific earlier...The Copper Fungicide need not be applied until the tree flowers.. Unless, the tree shows signs of fungal disease.(Brown spots on leaves)

In any case, it is applied once a week in these situations. After the plant gives it's last fruit, you can apply LCF once a month as a preventive measure if you like.