I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with the GreenAll brand Citrus and Avocado Food? It is not exactly the 5-1-3, but it is pretty close and seems to be more readily available that the JR Peter's Brand. It is manufactured by the folks at E B Stone who also make a decent organic Citrus Fert: Citrus & Fruit Tree Food 7-3-3, but beware because it contains no Iron.

GreenAll info:
http://www.ebstone.org/21_citrus.php

EB Stone Organic info:
http://www.ebstone.org/11_citrus.php

GreenZ, a lot of different fertilizer formulation are OK to use with citrus. Citrus trees that are growing in the ground are really not all that particular which fertilizer that they are being fed. What citrus require is higher amounts of nitrogen and potassium. The ratio of citrus root uptake being 5-1-3, makes this ratio optimum, certainly not essential. About the only company that makes a 5-1-3 W/trace minerals is the Peters Co. I agree, that 30-10-10, along with good cultural practices, will grown a nice tree. - Millet (1,268-)

Which type of fertilizer formulation should be used for citrus trees growing in CHC ?

5-1-3 ratio W/TM optimum, 30-10-10 W/TM should also work well. - Millet (1,257-)

So I still hadn't gotten around to finding that fert and ran out of miracid, which I had been using. I went out to get more miracid as a stopgap and found something else:

Vigoro "Tree, Shrub, and Evergreen Food".
16-4-8
3mo time release granules
1.6% ammoniacal nitrogen
14.43% urea
.02% boron
.05% copper
1% iron
.05% manganese
.0005% molybdenum
.05% zinc

What do you think, do the micronutrients look sufficient? The ratio is pretty close to 5-1-3 I will just use 1/3 the amount. Somebody said something negative about urea but I don't really know the explanation.

I've played with plant foods for 40 something years, and I think if I had to choose only one food, it would be Polyon's 18-5-9 with micros. You can buy it in 25 lb. bags from commercial ag suppliers. This is a slow release food (10-12) months that is actuated mainly by soil temps rather than ground moisture. That means that the plant will get what it needs based on its seasonal growth rate....and that is a good thing. This is the same blue pellets you see in some commercial potting mixes.

I'm using Polyon on container citrus (Flying Dragon rootstock) and it works extremely well. I'm also a commercial farmer of Christmas trees and vinifera grapevines and have reduced the time to production by at least half on both. I work in a handful around each new planting with my foot.

Mark

When using water soluble fertilizers, depending on how frequently applications are applied, a container citrus tree's diet can become feast then famine. The addition of a good long term slow release fertilizer blended into the medium, helps even out the nutritional highs and lows. Because citrus are such heavy feeders, a nutrition program using a good water soluble fertilizer plus the addition of a slow release fertilizer is an excellent method of feeding a citrus tree. - Millet (1,255-)

Hi Mark, I asked you about this fert over on WinePress.US. Thanks for coming over here to talk about it! I did a little research and I think that Polyon you are using may be an eastern-US only product - if it is made by Harrell's anyhow. I would love to get my hands on some. Oh well, I'll just keep using the 18-6-12 Multicote.

Many lawn fertilizers are close to the 5-1-3 ratio. Look around and you will find them. Make sure you are not getting one with weed killer as a side.