Tips for Growing Your Own Grove
Citrus has been cultivated and adored for thousands of years, with its origins tracing back to regions of South and Southeast Asia. What began with a handful of ancestral citrus species, including citron, pomelo, and mandarin, has been enthusiastically crossed and cultivated into the incredible variety of citrus fruits we enjoy today.
In ancient Mediterranean cultures, citron and early varieties of lemon were considered exotic luxuries and were sometimes associated with wealth and status. Centuries later, citrus took on a much more practical role at sea. By the late 18th century, the British Royal Navy began issuing lemon juice to sailors to combat scurvy, dramatically reducing the disease on long voyages.
Today, we enjoy citrus for a plethora of purposes. Countless recipes, fragrances, beverages, and cleaning products feature citrus as their main star. Luckily for us here in South Louisiana, we can grow many varieties directly in our own backyard, especially with informed care.
Citrus trees are primarily subtropical, which means they handle our blazing-hot summers wonderfully. Colder temperatures, however, can heavily damage them. For the best results, choosing the right variety for our climate is imperative.
Step One: Choosing Your Variety
Not all citrus is built equally when it comes to cold tolerance, and this is important to keep in mind when choosing which tree to plant.
Some of the most cold-tolerant citrus for our area include satsumas and kumquats, with calamondins also showing relatively good cold tolerance. Even with hardier varieties, protecting young trees during freezing temperatures will help them become established.
Sweet oranges, blood oranges, grapefruits, and many mandarins generally have moderate cold tolerance. Keeping an eye on the weather throughout winter and having a protection plan ready for sudden freezes is wise.
Among the least cold-tolerant citrus are lemons and limes. These may be best grown in containers so they can be moved to a protected area during severe cold snaps.
Individual cultivars have their own characteristics as well, including differences in ripening season, cold tolerance, growth habit, and flavor. Most commonly grown citrus is self-fertile, so you generally don’t need to plant two different varieties to produce fruit.
Here are some of our favorite varieties for our Zone 9 climate:
Satsumas:
Owari, Brown Select, Arctic Frost
Sweet & Specialty Oranges:
Washington Navel, Valencia, Moro Blood Orange
Kumquats:
Nagami (tart), Meiwa (sweet)
Lemons:
Meyer
Limes:
Thornless Key Lime
Step Two: Planting Your Tree
Being intentional about how and where you plant your tree is one of the easiest ways to set yourself up for long-term success.
When choosing a site, full sun and well-draining soil are essential. Soil testing can be helpful as well. Citrus prefers slightly acidic soil, generally around a pH of 6.0–6.5, so checking your soil’s pH and nutrient levels before planting can give you a better idea of what your tree will need.
Once you’ve picked your spot, it’s time to dig your hole. You want your planting hole to be wider rather than deeper. In areas with heavy or poorly draining soil, planting the root ball slightly above the surrounding grade and gently mounding the soil around it can help improve drainage.
Think turtle shell rather than ant hill. The slope should be broad and gradual.
The top of the root ball should remain at or slightly above the surrounding soil level. Avoid burying the trunk or graft union, as consistently wet bark can encourage disease and rot.
Remove grass and weeds from around the base of your citrus so the young tree isn’t competing for water and nutrients. When backfilling, use primarily the native soil you removed from the hole. If organic matter is needed, it is generally better incorporated over a broad area rather than concentrated heavily inside the planting hole. This encourages the roots to expand into the surrounding native soil instead of remaining confined to a pocket of amended soil.
Finish with a layer of mulch around the root zone to suppress weeds, conserve moisture, and insulate the roots. Just make sure to keep the mulch pulled several inches away from the trunk.
Follow these steps and bada bing, bada boom! Your freshly planted citrus tree is ready to take root!
Growing Citrus in Containers
For container-grown citrus, choose a high-quality, well-draining potting mix and a container with ample drainage holes.
Avoid jumping immediately into an excessively large pot. A container that holds far more soil than the root system can use may stay wet for too long, increasing the risk of root rot. On the other hand, a container that is too small can restrict root growth and cause the tree to become rootbound.
Container citrus will generally require more frequent watering and fertilization than trees planted in the ground. Check the soil regularly, water thoroughly when needed, and repot into progressively larger containers as the tree grows.
Step Three: Maintenance
Now that you’ve chosen the right tree, researched the winter protection it may need, and planted it properly, all that’s left is keeping it happy.
Citrus maintenance can be divided into three main categories: fertilizing, pruning, and pest and disease management.
Fertilizing
Fertilization is one of the more hands-on parts of growing citrus. For healthy growth and good fruit production, established trees benefit from regular feeding during the growing season.
After planting a new citrus tree, avoid immediately applying a heavy dose of fertilizer. Give the root system time to begin establishing, and wait for signs of new growth before beginning a fertilization program.
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all application rate, choose a fertilizer labeled for citrus and follow its instructions based on the tree’s age and size. Citrus requires nitrogen as well as several micronutrients, so a citrus-specific fertilizer can make providing balanced nutrition easier.
Avoid fertilizing too late in the year. Late applications can encourage tender new growth just before cold weather arrives, making the tree more vulnerable to freeze damage. Late winter to early spring is the ideal time to fertilize.
Pruning
Luckily, citrus rarely requires heavy pruning. Most pruning should focus on maintaining a healthy structure, removing problematic growth, and improving airflow.
Start by removing any suckers growing from the rootstock below the graft union. Most commercially grown citrus trees are grafted onto a rootstock selected for traits such as cold tolerance, disease resistance, and adaptability to local soils. If shoots from the rootstock are allowed to grow, they can become vigorous competitors with the desirable grafted portion of the tree.
Next, remove crossed or rubbing branches, as repeated friction can damage the bark and create entry points for disease.
Vigorous, upright shoots, often called watersprouts, can also be selectively removed when they are overcrowding the canopy. Thin dense interior growth when necessary to maintain good airflow, but avoid over-pruning.
Low-hanging limbs may also be removed when they are touching the ground or interfering with maintenance around the tree.
Lastly, remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood. After a freeze, however, resist the urge to immediately cut away everything that looks dead. Wait until new spring growth makes the extent of the damage clear, then prune back to healthy, living wood.
Something else to keep in mind with freshly planted citrus is removing developing fruit for the first year or two. Producing fruit requires a lot of energy, so removing it allows your young citrus tree to direct more of its resources toward developing a strong root system and canopy. While sacrificing those first few fruits may be difficult, it can help your tree become stronger and better established for future harvests.
Pest & Disease Management
Proper pruning leads us directly into our final category of maintenance: pest and disease management.
Good airflow through the canopy can help reduce the humid, stagnant conditions that favor certain fungal diseases. Keeping weeds and fallen plant debris under control around the tree can also make the environment less hospitable to some pests and pathogens.
This next part may sound counterintuitive, but it may be one of the most important tips I can give you: one of the best ways to manage pests is to avoid unnecessary pesticide use.
Your garden is home to plenty of beneficial insects that naturally prey on citrus pests. Broad or excessive pesticide use can kill those beneficial insects along with the pests you’re trying to eliminate. If you repeatedly create a hostile environment for the predators, you may inadvertently create prime real estate for the pests.
Instead, inspect your citrus regularly and treat problems when they actually arise. Whenever possible, identify the culprit before choosing a treatment.
Signs that something may be wrong include distorted or curled new growth, unusual spots or discoloration, sticky residue, hard bumps along stems or leaves, white cottony masses, fine webbing, sooty mold, powdery growth, premature leaf drop, or soft, foul-smelling areas of tissue.
Anything that looks unusual is worth investigating.
There are many useful resources available for identifying citrus pests and diseases. However, if you ever need guidance, one of our knowledgeable staff members would be happy to take a look at clear photos or a plant sample and help point you toward the appropriate treatment.
And that’s how you grow a citrus tree!
With the right variety, a sunny spot, proper planting, and a little maintenance throughout the year, citrus can be one of the most rewarding additions to a South Louisiana garden. Give your tree a good foundation now, and you may be harvesting fruit from your own backyard grove for years to come!
