Here in Florida, all the orange farms shut down because there is like a million diseases. However, if you walk into a forest here you can find wild sour oranges and delicious mandarins growing wild in the shade. So I put my trees in the shade and they are doing amazing. Just a tip for my fellow Florida gardeners who are definitely having trouble 😉
Hence why to create a food forest where a good mixture of trees and plants with various layers can support and protect each other. Mono-culture farming isn't natural. Mother nature is telling us something.😀
Some pests that I deal with on my citrus that weren’t discussed: Scale-This is hard to notice until it’s too late sometimes. Always check new plants from nurseries. I got a Meyer that had so much scale it ended up not making it. It was a young plant and it didn’t recover after I found the issue. Spider mites- This is mainly when I bring mine in for the winter. I have to be diligent when I see webbing around my fruit. Great video Kevin!
Last year had problem with one of my brown select Satsuma had half dozen of Swallowtail catipillers so I left them have at it, so now it's bringing back new leaves. So hopefully have some beautiful butterflies around the yard.
@@carolynbradshaw7969 I found something online somewhere that said mix neem oil, a drop of soap, and water and to spray everything at 7 day intervals..... I got 1 spray done, but weather didn't cooperate to get a second one done and I don't want to spray inside. Neem oil stinks. Some plants seem o have gotten better, others not.... I used 1.5 tsp neem to a quart of water, but like I said, I'm new at this too and was hoping someone had more experience. Our citrus tree is 2 or 3 years old and we are somewhere between 5 and 6 for zones so moving it in and out between seasons.
We have 13 citrus trees and enjoy sharing all of the fruit with friends and neighbors, there is no way one family can eat them all. Our favorite novelty citrus is the finger lime! They are so much fun to eat fresh from the garden, just bite the tip off and all of the little caviar shaped fruit can be squeezed out to eat as a snack. They are also great to use as a garnish for fish tacos, or anything you would normally use lime juice on.
This video came at a great time as I bought two citrus trees and want to transplant them to a bigger pot. But since I live in Florida it is very difficult to grow citrus here. I have heard that the University of Florida developed a couple of resistant varieties but they are not readily available yet. Meanwhile what Floridians are doing is growing citrus under other tree canopies. It seems that the insect that causes the greening has a harder time finding the citrus this way. I have also noticed that the trees last longer when grown in pots and surrounded by herbs like cilantro and oregano. But even doing all this they just last a few years. Hopefully we can have more resistant varieties soon.
I’m growing a lemon tree in my kitchen/conservatory in Northern Ireland,for three years and it gives all year round lemons! Visitors are very impressed. It does have a fine web so must keep an eye on that.
Last spring seeing your citrus hedge got me wanting to grow my own citrus in zone 6b. I've had a calamansi tree in a grow bag for the last year and it's been doing great. I was so excited to send pictures of the fruit to relatives in the Philippines this last November/December. Had some nice fresh calamansi juice to drink during a very cold Christmas season.
Thanks a lot. I have a key lime tree and all of a sudden some of its leaves started to yellow a bit. Just bought the iron fertilizer after watching your video. Greetings from Supetar, Croatia 😀
I love my kafir lime for the leaves in my Thai style dishes. But, the fruit is also amazing. If you wait until the fruit goes yellow on the tree, it has the most amazing flavour and the juice is great in Thai dishes. The rind is also really flavoursome too
Always found strange, that the most popular variety we have here in Brazil is called "orange", when it was mostly sould when it's yellow(ish). Then I forgot some on my freezer, then boom, they became what they are named haha nice tips Eric ❤
Great video! I grow citrus in zone 4 indoors in pots and have really good luck with them. Lots of fruit. I wouldn't say that all citrus is grafted though. My Meyer lemon, eureka variegated lemon, and key lime are mature trees from rooted cuttings. I've also been successful rooting cuttings and making cloned plants of these. Right now I'm trying to air layer a mandarin. But, yes- if it's grafted it's important not to bury the graft union
I was curious about this, because I don't think the one we bought from Lowes a couple years back is grafted either. Just looks like a straight stick.... and looked almost dead when we bought it. 😂 but it was also one of those novelty sort of things that came in a pretty bucket type thing like they expected you to use it as a centerpiece rather than to grow it too.
My coworker just gave me a baby dwarf kumquat tree and I'm soooo excited! I really want to plant fruit trees now that i have a backyard, thanks for this!
I have citrus in pots. Last year I had hundreds of flowers but squirrels and rabbits ate almost all of them. I just harvested the only Oro blanco on my tree. I have never tasted such an amazing fresh grapefruit…needed no salt or sugar! Wish I could keep the squirrels at bay…I just love citrus blossom fragrance!
Grey Water Basins are Awesome because the soap from the Shower and the Clothes Washer contains Phosphates. That is like Mother Nature’s Miracle Grow. My sister had the washer draining out the garage here in Florida. That was where the grass grew perfectly and was so lush and green. Great Videos Love Your Channel Thank You 🙏
Interesting! The idea of using grey water always baffled me because I thought the soap would be detrimental to the plants - even the kind I use which is more eco-friendly and nature-based.
@@NicolaiAAANo phosphate from the soap is one of the best fertilizers from the washer and the shower. That’s why a lot of people who have a septic system will divert the grey water aka washer and shower water right out to the lawn or the flower and shrubbery beds. Here in Florida is where it’s mined the phosphate in its raw form is really hard on the plants.
Nice video. Its a reminder for me. I can’t wait for full spring. My Meyer lemon lost most of the leaves indoors so I fertilized it around Valentine’s Day and I hope the leaves come back. I need to check my root ball tomorrow.
Definitely giving growing a citrus tree a try, nothing beats the taste of oranges straight from your backyard, my tree produced quite a lot i just finished using up all the oranges and its just now started flowering again 😅 i also have a buddhas hand growing in a container hopefully it flowers soon, the flowers look absolutely beautiful
Not all citrus are grafted. Some are rooted from cuttings and you can grow some from seed. I have a lemon tree i grew from a Sunkist lemon seed about 25 or 26 years ago. It lives in a pot because i live in western Massachusetts. I also have a Key lime i grew from seed that's also in a pot. Both come in for the winter about October and go out in the spring during the day when it's about 50F/10C and come back in for the night. Right now that's March. They do both get scale in the winter despite a good couple of treeatments with insecticidal soap befo re coming indoors in October. But so far, ive managed to keep the scale mostly at bay. I have gotten one lemon from my tree in the 25+ years ive been growing it, and the lime used to bloom and produce a ton of fruit up until about three years ago. Id love a video on growing in containers!!
This is why he is making this point tho. For nearly any citrus tree you buy from an Arborist or nursery will always be grafted as they are far more productive and are designed to stay within certain parameters based on the root stalk it’s grafted to. Not all fruit trees from a nursery will be grafted, stone fruits for example usually aren’t, but citrus just doesn’t do nearly as well from seed as a grafted plant.
I was watching a video by an arborist. According to him, there are some issues with buying potted vs bare root trees and you have to be careful about planting too deep. Interesting stuff! I replanted my fruit trees after watching.
I’m in NE Ohio in zone 6 and tried growing a citrus tree as a kid-that poor thing came to the brink of death every winter when my Dad would haul it up to my room for me, all the while getting poked by its thorns. I didn’t know about citrus being grafted then. (I grew that sucker from seed, so I was just growing rootstock.). My Dad was relieved when I finally gave up on it😂
Great video. Love watching you. Problem with all my citrus right here in OB. They’ve been planted about 4 yrs now & bud boy no fruit. SO frustrating. We put a Meyer lemon in a big pot & that’s actually growing well!!
Enjoyed this class. Got surprised you got calamansi. We, Pinoys have a lot of uses for it - as food and medicine. I personally use it to accompany our fish sauce (patis) for a lot of viands from Sinigang to fried fish :) I also use it as medicine - the juice is great for easing dry cough, the rind is especially useful for treating infections. Great episode!
Enjoyed! Very helpful! Replanted a satsumas where my grandmas was for 30 years this year. From Lakeside (San Diego for those that don’t know all the suburbs of San Diego) ca . Really enjoying your channel!
You can air layer the waterspouts to get your own root stock that you can then graft onto from your other grafted stock. Best way to clone your citrus at home.
Great information about citrus. I live in central Florida and deal with the citrus greening disease. It’s a shame because I love to grow my own citrus. As a master gardener i know this disease has been with us for a while but I’m still growing my trees. It seems I get about 7 years of productivity from the tree and then , off to the burn pile! I plant succession trees so I can have at least have a lemon, orange and kumquat giving me fruit. It’s sad, but it’s a way to deal with this until the University of Florida finds the solution. What can I say, it’s in my heart and soul to keep growing ! Thanks for sharing, I love watching your channel.
I had no idea about this! I'm from the North East and just went to Florida for the first time last month hoping to find tons of fresh fruit, particularly citrus since its the Winter. My family and I were sooooooo disappointed. It's nearly impossible to find any fruit grown near the Space Coast. I even seeked out small family farms like Nick's Tropicals and JTA farms but they barely had anything to offer. The farmers markets were pathetic as well. Was I missing something or just in the wrong part of FL? I'll be going to Naples again in a month so hoping it's better then.
It has been a hard time for the citrus industry in Florida for past decade or so. I trust the information I get from the University of Florida about the Citrus Psyllid Moth that started all the trouble. Dr. William Lester in Hernando County studies plant medicine and has been a wealth of information. Also there is a great UTube video by Mongi Zekri all about citrus greening and what is being done to eradicate this infection. I’m not giving up and keep learning as a resident of Florida for the past 50 years. Best of luck to you!
I'm super excited about this year. I got a Meyer Lemon about a year ago and this year I kind of went a little nuts with buying things - blueberries, blackberries, an Owari Satsuma, etc. I just really hope that I can keep them alive because they all have to go into containers. I'm doing what research I can so they settle in nice and happy, so fingers crossed they grow up and provide lots of goodies!
Best advice, add 1 part PINE (NOT FIR) bark (mulch) with 5 parts of the E.B. Stone Citrus & Palm mix for every hardiness zone below 10. Why's that? Pine bark is proven to promote aeration to the roots, and it helps reduce root rot. Example. If you live in zone 9, add 1 part pine with 5 parts E.B. mix. If you live in zone 8, add 2 parts pine with 5 parts E.B. mix. If you live in zone 7, add 3 parts pine with 5 parts E.B. mix. Good luck, and happy gardening!🍊🍋🥑
Shoutout to the kalamansi Man i love those They remind me of when i lived in the phils It was always so amazing and refreshing Great video thanks ✌🏻🇺🇸🙏🏻
Thank you so much man, for this video,and a month ago, i put my mandarin seed to germinate in a wet towel, in a plastic bag, and i think a week or two weeks ago, the seed sprouted, so i planted it in the pot, you know, and it's growing good,AND GOING TO THE QUESTION,could you maybe film video about citrus seeds and how to grow them the right way, and of course all about grafting..
Thanks Kevin. I’m in Texas zone 9. I have 2 improved Myers lemons in medium pots. They survive our Texas heat cause I had to put them on the patio and not in the yard full sun. One is bushy the other is taller. I’m 5 ft and like your information on keeping them like shrubs. Should I prune the taller one back. It has 5 non ripe very small lemons and green in it.
Alternative picks Lisbon Lemon (almost identical in flavor to eureka but less seeds. More thorny and upright) Boukhabza orange blood orange (very rich flavor) Choose any or all (if you have the space) of tahoe (very juicy rich flavor), yosemite, shasta Dwarf for potted or small yard kishu (tastes like mandarin jarritos when at their best) Washington navel for classic flavor Ortanique for unique citrus instead of a valencia (extremely juicy rich and late extended harvest).
I have an orange tree that is not grafted. My mother grew it from a seed. I gave some fruit to my neighbor and she now has two trees from seeds. The fruit is delicious. The oranges are easy peel and very big. So, not all citrus is grafted. Although I’m sure that all nursery grown trees are.
I planted a lemon tree from a seed in a container and it’s been growing for 4 years now. It is about a foot tall now and getting pretty wide. It has two main very horizontal branches. When would be a good time to start pruning it? Thank you!
In my limited space i jave a mandarin from Wal-Mart about 20$ probably like 1.5 years which is in a time being container with catnip and thai pepper. So definitely start something if you're unsure about it because literally buying a tree a year or two older the price really goes up and its way better to be ahead of the game in this...i also got a Mexican lime which has some jade succulent and clover with it biking it back in a duffle its thorns got me alot its almost on its second pruning but not much fruit yet hence my advice start earlier...and a calamansi i started from seed from a calamansi i bought at the store...these trees really take patience but do really well if youre in the right climate without much effort only pest so far were hungry caterpillars but nature justs gets the trees going more...fun good trees go for it jealous of the grapefruit that might be next...my papaya though is like prolific soemehow perfect spot....and that started from a clearance one at Walmart 2 little plants in one little seed start pot 1 is like 10 feet tall and the other is adapting after alot of shock but adapted just in time to harbor winds and way more light. 2 trees for a buck or 2 lol but yeah i started some of your made in the shade mix where it originally was... limited space and not optimal conditions but people love it thanks for your inspiration and knowledge 🙏
I used to work at a big box store back in the day and ran the garden center there and we used to sell what they called a fruit cocktail tree. Someone had grafted grape, pear, Apple, cherry, and anything else you will find in fruit cocktail on one root stock. They were like $100 for a small one but you essentially got five or six trees in one and you could grow all the fruit in just one spot. I don't know how they grew but it would be nice to see the results of one
I just lost 2 small lemon trees to, i think they're called shield-mites (hard brown bumps on your lemon tree). I think if im ever gonna try it again ill not grow them from seeds out of a restaurant😅
We recently moved to San Diego in November, and I want some fruit trees so bad!!! I also found a dragon fruit plant in a very sad undersized pot buried under a plant that's been growing over our retaining wall. The poor thing is in DESPERATE need of some TLC, but I have no idea where to start Dx
After trying for a decade I pulled them out apart from the lemon That's one tough plant Can't be bothered with the constant chore of growing oranges and limes where I am. Every insect and microorganism under the sun loves living on them
I'm super allergic to oranges and avoid most things in that vein (lemon and limes seem not to bother me), but I recently discovered that I can have calamansi, and I've never been so happy! I hope that I'll be able to grow my own one day.
I grew up with an orange tree in my backyard in LA (and a lemon in the neighbor’s yard that grew over the fence), but now I live in the PNW and thought I wouldn’t be able to grow citrus well. I really appreciate the callout for specific varieties that can be cold-hardy (loooove satsumas!!!)!
If I don't take out about 1/3 of the foliage on my big Eureka lemon every year, it gets so thick in the interior that I get an ugly outbreak of white fly and the resultant sooty mildew. Fortunately the tree is very vigorous and it seems to like hard prune. 💚
The biggest mistake your standard gardener gets is when educated by horticulturists that the PH levels are due to supplements like Nitrogen. If your bio is out your plants are incapable of taking in the foods they need as a common misdiagnosis that your citrus needs more nutrients, trees need microorganisms to feed off so compost is the key . I can say one thing as mentioned in this video the healthier the plant the less issues you will have from bugs and disease. The problem is on a cellular level so feeding rock minurals especially in pots on a regular basis allows your trees to protect themselves. Using any type of non organic pesticides on introduces more infestations and thereafter brings in diseases. We have a product here in Australia by the name of "EarthLife Garden Care Products" that I have introduced into my orchards and have had surprisingly amazing results not only with growth but flower and fruit production with absolutely no use of discouragements.
Question: I just purchased, from a garden nursery here in the Galveston, Texas area an Eva‘s pride, peach tree and a Rio red grapefruit tree both of them in a 7 gallon pot. Should I leave them in the pot and plant them in January or February/2025 or would it be OK to plant them now, which is May 22, 2024. Thank you in advance for your feedback and advice ! 🙏🏼 ✝️
We just moved in to a house that had some trees. 4 citrus, peach, apple, apricot & plum. The orange and lemon trees have a lot on them, but are so big. They were planted next to the house. One of them is growing up under the eave. I didn't think once fruit trees have buds, flowers, or fruit on them you were supposed to prune them back. I saw you cutting off chunks though, so it it OK for us to trim the back some. The height is do tall, and they're so dense, we can't even get a fruit picker in there to get the fruit that is old. By the time that fruit is falling, it splits when it hits the ground.
@@epicgardening Thank you! I love that you are in San Diego. And not very far from me. It helps knowing if it is good timing for you, it's good time for me. Now if I could just get rid of gophers, raccoons, and coyotes.
Fruit trees first and foremost! Great video much appreciated! brought back alot of great memories I'll have to grow that Owari Mandarin in a container for sure!! we dip well below 0 for a couple weeks usually :/
I just trimmed a branch off my new tangerine today, its so much taller than your citruses, the reason i did so was because it was the only branch that wasnt growing on top i believe the tree is pretty mature though, as it almost seems fake and the wood is very hard. I really didnt want a weird giant branch to the one side, there are several leaves growing from the trunk though so i assumed they will turn to branches over time. Its been potted im in 8b wish me luck lol
I grew a citrus tree from a supermarket lemon, but I'm in NL (zone 8 I think?) and it was too much hassle moving it inside as it always got some kind of pest during winter.
It’s interesting you said all citrus trees are grafted. I’ve heard/read that citrus grows true from seed. Last year I started some grapefruit seeds from store bought fruit. In 6inch pots now (zone 7). Will they or won’t they be fruitful?
We live in San Diego and are anxious to get a small lime tree going. My husband wants a tree with limes on it already. When is the best time to plant a lime tree to benefit most? We plan to plant it in a large pot, as the soil in our area is very clay-heavy. That, and we want to have the option to move it if necessary. Thanks in advance for any advice.
hi there, im glad i found this video. so i have 4 citrus in pots, very large pots. one lemon doing awsome, never had any issues. the others well.. mm.. not so great. i managed to get a Tahitian Lime , and it did well ish.. then it died but.. there is some life still left in it. but its not doing well at all. sigh. i dont even know what to do bout that now. all i get is suckers coming out of the base, where the grafting is.. the rest above is dead. ;/ so what do i do about this.. is the plant done?
I could be wrong, but it sounds like that to me. I had something similar happen to a Citron. The top is all dead and dry, but there's still suckers coming out below the graft. But if you want to do one last experiment with it, you can try your hand at grafting a new citrus onto the rootstock. If you have suckers, the roots are still doing their job and you might be able to get something out of it. I have a Meyer lemon tree that's doing really good, so I'm going to try cutting off a healthy branch and grafting it onto the viable rootstock. Worst case scenario, you just have an unproductive plant, which is the situation you're already in
Hi. I live in Texas and I started with one Meyer lemon 10 years ago. The fruit was juicy and got baskets of lemons. Then we had snow and fried everything. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong but I haven’t got any fruit since 2020. What am I doing wrong? I have 7 lemon, 1?orange and 2 lime and 1 key lime. Thank you
In Florida most dudes are starting to plant their citrus under oak trees to keep safe from HLB Citrus Greening. Supposedly it helps quite a bit. I’ve got an orange and lemon under the shade of an oak for the last year or so it’s very healthy and just started flowering.
1:51 I love that zone 8b is a cold climate in this instance 😅 I'm in Buffalo zone 6b and can only grow the inedible flying dragon orange unfortunately....
Hey EG gang. I have a teensie-tiny patio (Brisbane, Australia) and I desperately want to create a mini potted orchard. I am just overthinking the steps to fill the pots. Do you have a video suggestion, or even an author I could turn to? 💚✨🐝
On young plants I had issues with caterpillars (the brownish one that looks like a bird poop - but shows orange "horns" when you pick it). They could chomp young seedlings in a few hours. Now I always have a pair of chopsticks around to just pick these and, well, throw them where I am pretty sure birds will eat them. Oh yeah, I live in Fujisawa, south of Tokyo, which is 10a or b depending on who you ask. We do have a yuzu tree from the previous owner (be careful with the thorns haha), and a couple of other local varieties I've never heard about... Any feedback on white smll dots on the plant ? The plant itself looks fairly healthy, and its only on some leaves.
Best varieties from Valencia (Spain): Navelate, the best orange. Clemenules, the best clementina. We don’t consider mandarines a great deal, but we export a lot of it to USA, as you got a thing with it. The best blood orange is Tarocco Rosso. Thanks Kevin and friends ❤
Im planning on moving back east when im done with school and part of my plan is to build a massive orangerie just so i can have my delicious citruses even if i end up in somewhere around usda zone 7
It is easy to grow citrus further north. You just order a dwarf variety, put it in a container in front of a sunny window with a grow light over it and you are good to go.
Thank you for this video. You have answered many of my questions regarding citrus. I really wish I could buy the kind of lime you are growing. I have never seen that in Texas.
Hi Kevin, i’m new in gardening and your channel helped me alot. I have 4 citrus trees, an orange has leaves, green and healthy. But the other 3 (lemon, Chinese orange and bitter orange) that lost the leaves and its been nearly 4 months nothing! Just a stick in the ground. Is that okay? Or should i prune or do something? The bitter orange nearly 2 meters high when i bought it. The others around 70-90cm
