I have 4 dwarf citrus plants currently in containers (improved meyer lemon, mexican lime, trovita orange, and oroblanco grapefruit). I live in central Alabama, so no more freezes...hopefully. I have been letting them adjust by placing them out in the day and in the garage at night. Are there any tips I should be aware of when transplanting them into dirt? When to fertilize, how deep to dig holes, using growing medium in new holes, etc....? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

Don't plant them deeper than they already are in the container. Don't fertilize after Aug 1. Citrus are pretty much care free trees except for the leafminers.

Thanks Laaz.

I usually dig a hole 70 cm deep and 70 cm wide, put some organic and anorganic fertilize at the bottom, then some ordinary soil, citrus soil and then goes seedling. In the end you have to water it a lot. I have to say, that soil over here is very poor with minerals and fool of stones. That is why i have to dig deep.

Dig a hole approximately 3 inches wider and deeper than the size of the tree's root ball. Place the tree at the same height as it was growing in the container. Fill in the hole ONLY using he soil that was made by digging the hole. Don't dig a wide and deep hole thinking you will be helping the tree, doing so would be making a lake that the tree's roots will be setting in. Add no other material other than the original dirt. Then make a soil ring around the tree that will hold about 5-gallons of water. Fertilize at the time of planting, another in June and the last early in August. - Millet (Edith Stein d. August 9, 1942)

Millet, what if the soil is very sandy and perks water very fast ? Couldn't you dig a hole twice as big as needed and add some good stuff like compost and cedar mulch if you were certain that the soiled drained real well ? I know the root ball needs to be the same height as it was in the pot or nursery. Tom

Joshjkl,

If the tree is root bound, gently tease the dirt around the outer roots before planting in the ground. Also, your Mexican lime will be more sensitive to the cold than the other trees, so consider a protected southern location for it. Lightly water the trees after planting to settle the soil around the roots.

Container or in ground, I wish you strong growth and green leaves.

David

While I dont have years of background to rely on, I have very sandy soil which drains extremely quickly which means nutrients run off just as quickly. I dig out a hole about twice as big in the sandier areas and refill with storebought topsoil on the bottom and cow manure compost around the sides. In theory this is to give something solid nutrients will hold out a little longer in and provide a barrier to nematodes while the tree is young. We will see if that works in the long term. It seems to do well for the apple trees I planted a year ago, they are all about twice as big and sporting small apples now and the citrus with one or two exceptions seem to be doing well.

If the area is extrememly hard packed I might go a little deeper and wider but then just refill with original. I use the grey sandy leftover soil for the water ring.

1) Dig a hole aprox 2 to 3X larger in diameter than the container its presently in if the plant is well rooted in it , and at least 3X deeper , putting all the removed soil on a mat or in a wheelbarrow. I use a pony shovel and loosen as much soil as I can. Only thing I put in the hole other than what came out is a couple of pounds of cottonseed meal and a scoop of milorginite.

2) Take the plant and gently remove aprox half of the container medium that is surrounding the roots and get rid of it cause it will tend to dryout the roots if left on cause its more than likely a mix heavy in bark(unless your in HEAVY clay, then you can leave it).

3) Dump half the soil you took out back in the hole and mix it up with the meal & milorginite-- dump the rest back in till the plant sits in the hole about 3/4 " higher than the surrounding soil level/line-- thats done cause the plant will settle- you want it to be aprox ground level after it settles. Hose it all in slowly to get air pockets out-- do not pat / tamp the soil around it.

Do it like this and you will have success-- I have never lost a plant doing it like that-- and I have planted lots of 'em

Tom, to answer your question. My guess is that if the tree is going to be planted in very sandy soil having rapid drainage the soil might be successfully amended, so that it would hold more water and nitration, then watered with caution. The reason that a larger hole is never dug when planting citrus is due to the fact that a large hole becomes a lake each time water is applied thus causing root rot. The danger of root rot might be lessened if the soil where the tree is to be planted has rapid drainage deep enough so that the roots are not setting in water after each watering or heavy rain. The reason that when refilling the hole using only with the same soil that was removed when digging the hole, is because citrus roots tend not to grow into or through an inner face of two different types of soils. Of course anyone can plant however they wish, I only point out that Dr Manners who is in Florida, has written on this forum his recommendations on how to plant citrus trees exactly as I have written in my earlier post on this thread. Perhaps Dr. Manners might see this post, and wish to confirm, add, or place a refinement. - Millet (Edith Stein august 9, 1942)

Mine seem to be growing just fine- My plants have been in the ground about 4 years and most from a 2 or 3 gallon container , I highly doubt there are any that look better than mine and would dare to say not many at all as good.

To each his own

Dont worry about the lake-- it will be a fast draining lake

Good luck

Millet, Thanks for the detailed explanation. What you wrote makes a lot of sense. Tom

i was told to mix the soil i took out together with some citrus soil or soil for flowers, and then dump this mixture in to the hole. They also told me, before dumping soil, to put some organic and anorganic fertilizer at the bottom of the hole. It is important that fertilizer does not come in touch with roots.
Then i came to agrostore to buy some soil, where the salesman told me not to dump anything in to the hole, except soil i dig out and soil for flowers or citrus.
Then i went to dig out the hole, and dumped everything in to it, together with some citrus anorganic fertilizer (which is usually used for container citrus), which i dissolved in the water.

The most current thinking with planting trees (all trees), is NOT to amend the soil, but to back fill with your native soil, as Millet has suggested. You can top dress your trees with compost and then mulch, just make sure the mulch is not banked up against your trunk, so as to prevent moisture from accumulating around the trunk and encouraging fungal infections. I plant all my trees in this manner. Level or slightly above the soil line. Again, current thinking for depth of planting is never any lower than where the tree was planted in the pot, preferably a bit higher. I top dress with compost and more mulch every year or two (depending on my time available, it's a big job with all the trees I have).

Out of curiousity, if you live somewhere extremely sandy how would not amending soil help? Water and nutrients flow through it like a seive and you have to deal with nematodes. Adding(my justification for doing so without years of proof to back it up) topsoil and compost helps the tree in it early years while in sandy soil by adding a organic shield against the toads and holding moisture a bit longer, thus keeping nutrients from going straight down(also good for the aquafer on a couple points). Large scale I can see the issue but onesies and twosies in theory should only help. Thats what my logic is telling me anyway. Plus by the time the tree roots leave the immediate area around it, the organic part will have started breaking down and gradually the nutrients will wash away. Thus roots should move into the non-nutrient rich soil because of the lack of difference since they will find themselves there anyway.

The soil here for example is so porous I can put a hose in a hole and unless I go full blast, it will absorb almost as fast as I put it in and by the time I turn the hose off and come back the hole will have no standing water.