CITRUS IN THE GARDEN

Citrus have always been popular. They are vitamin rich, great tasting, can be picked progressively over a long time and are relatively easy to grow.

They are also very attractive trees with their glossy green leaves, fragrant blossom in spring and coloured fruit in winter. And they don’t take up a lot of space.

Mandarins begin to ripen from early June with some oranges, tangelos, grapefruit and lemons harvesting through to February. This winter to spring fruiting makes citrus so valuable when other fruit is more expensive.  

Where to plant

Citrus will grow in warm or mild climate zones. Providing frosts are not severe they will tolerate cool conditions. They will thrive in hot conditions providing they have water. They require a sunny position protected from cold winds.

Citrus prefer a sandy or loam soil. They can tolerate clay soils providing they are planted on a raised area with lots of compost or organic material mixed into the soil.

How to plant

Refer to the article ‘How to Plant’.

Use ican Slow Food as a base fertiliser when planting, which will feed the plants as they need it for up to two years.

When to plant

Citrus trees are available most of the year and can be planted anytime provided they are watered regularly over the summer months. All citrus need protection from frost until established.

Feeding

‍Citrus are big feeders. A moderately sized mature tree requires at least 500g of ican Fruit Food each year. Two thirds of this should be applied in late winter and one third in January. Do not cultivate under citrus trees as their feeding roots are relatively close to the surface.

Watering

‍Citrus must be watered regularly through spring and summer. Irregular watering can cause fruit drop and fruit splitting, reduced yield and dry fruit.

Mulching

‍A layer of mulch spread over the surface under citrus trees will conserve moisture and improve performance. Take care however, to keep mulch away from the base of the tree trunk.

Pests and diseases

Citrus trees are relatively free of insect pests but occasionally can be attacked by scale insects, aphids, whitefly and mites, which then encourages black sooty mould.

All the above problems can be minimised by applying Enspray99 at two monthly intervals. If this doesn’t provide control ask our team for further advice.

Verrucosis, a fungal disease which sometimes attacks lemons causing rough skin on the fruit and leaves, is controlled by spraying with Freeflo Copper.

Pruning

‍Citrus tend to be self-shaping and so need little pruning. Some varieties become a little dense and benefit from some thinning out.

Remove any shoots below the graft. These are easily identified as they have different foliage. Citrus fruit on new seasons growth or one year old wood.

Making your selection

Lemons

· Meyer is most popular because of its reliable high yield over 6 to 8 months June to December. The fruit is medium size and sweeter than other varieties.  

· Yen Ben is an improved selection of Lisbon for those wanting a ‘real’ lemon for cooking.  Pick from July to January.

· Genoa is a small tree with heavy crops in summer.

· Lemonade is a very sweet lemon that tastes like delicious lemonade. It ripens during spring, but ripe fruit can be found most of the year—if not already eaten!

Grapefruit

· Golden Special is the traditional grapefruit with a pale orange colour. Pick July to Oct.

· Cutlers Red  has the typical strong grapefruit taste, but a deeper orange colour and is more attractive on the tree. Excellent for those who like a strong marmalade. Ripens July to October.

· Wheeny is a larger sweeter variety ripening October to December and is inclined to biennial cropping.

Limes

‍Limes are popular largely because of the interest in cooking. Most popular is the Tahitian lime or selections such as Bearss, for juice, and the Kaffir lime, grown for the leaves, an essential ingredient in Asian cuisine.  

Oranges

‍NZ oranges rate very highly against imported oranges for flavour. Valencia oranges are medium sized, thin skin, can be hard to peel. Navel oranges are larger and easier to peel.

· Washington Navel is reliable in all but the coldest regions. Ripens Oct to Dec.

· Fukumoto is a navel type with very attractive fruit. Ripens Sep to Oct.

· Harwoods Late is a Valencia type with high yields of flavoursome juicy fruit.

Mandarins

· Clementine produces heavy crops and is full of flavour. Ripens June to August.

· Silverhill, a Satsuma selection, ripens early in July and is very easy peel.

· Miho is similar, early ripening, easy peel which begins cropping as a young tree and has more flavour.

· Encore is vigorous with large crops and  excellent flavour. Ripens Oct to late Feb.

Tangelo ‍

Seminole is a heavy cropper of large orange-red thin-skinned fruit. Ripens August to November.