As many of you have already done that , I oversized in the past some citruses and the response was ok , the canopy was bigger , the root system had filled all the spaces , and this in only few months of sun.



Before and after

I did eventually lost him due to the soil being to airtight so during winter after a WLD he died.

But my point is , a tree with enough space to grow will grow beatifull , this rule of 1 inch bigger might not be the right thing to do. Just my opinion.

I'd like to experience some tall pots instead of the regular wide pots.

My personal opinion........
I've read bunches of threads where ppl have been able to be sucessful at "over potting".. but I believe these situations have more to do with climate, soil quality and personal watering habits...
A person with poor soil, and or cooler more humid climate, and or over watering habits will surely kill a citrus plant that is over potted..
many variations need to be considered when potting up.. it you live in a hot dry climate and have fantastic soil and fantastic watering habits (checking each pot in several places before watering) I think over potting would not be a problem...
Also one might check a pot and find it needs water and asume that ALL of their citrus need watered, to find out that one tree is taking up water faster or slower than others...
other considerations... root stock.. and growth stage of each indivdual plant...
But generally speaking over poting for novice citrus growers would be a bad idea..
Consider that this is my opinion and observations of threads..
Gina *BabyBlue*

The biggest mistake is usually made not in the type of pot, but by using too large a pot. People think that they are doing their tree a favor by giving it a lot of room. But when the tree doesn't grow fast enough to use all of the space, trouble will occur. An over sized pot can become waterlogged very easily, and then the tree suffers from lack of air. The soil can also become sour, causing problems to the tree's health. It really does not matter how many trees are over potted, resulting in success. For every successful over potted tree, there are MANY times more trees that are directly killed because they were over potted. The next size container to up grade to, depends on both the type of plant, and the type of container being used. - Millet (579-)

From south Texas citrus expert John Panzarella:

"Citrus does get root bound in 15 gal pots, but I just leave them there and do not root prune. I have a navel orange in a 15 gal pot since 1989 and it puts on fruit every year. I have a key lime in a 15 gal for 10 years and it puts on lots of limes and all I do is fertilize and water them. And I can list many more. You can put little citrus in 15 gal pots to start. It just is not necessary. All I am saying is make it easy on yourself for the first few years and put them in smaller pots so if you have to move them it is not as much work and does not take up so much room. True a bigger pot will require less attention to watering, since it will take longer to dry out, but I have over 300 pots to possibly more for a freeze and I want them light as possible. One other point if you are trying to get a seedling to fruit, you want it to be root bound. A big pot will take longer to get it that way."

I hope he doesn't mind me quoting him.

thanks Millet and Hydrobell for quoting him , it really helped

I know John Panzarella, not all that well, but still I know him. I also grow some of his cultivars. John can, of course, grow his trees any way he wishes. I like John, but I would never agree with the above advice that John is purported to have said. I also believe, neither would 95+ of nurserymen. But each to their own. Last time I checked they still call this America, and people can grow their tree any way they wish. The best to all. - Millet (579-)

A, Dont forget New Zealand there millet
Actually i am a real mongrel....both parents are born in england but i was born in Wales(im welsh!)and now live in NZ...My 5 year old boy is half of me and half chinese....so it only gets more complicated
P.s I ate a couple of my mandarin clementines fruit yesterday...This is the first year of fruiting and not a very big tree...only let 5 develop....To my suprise they are very yummy and sweet(so that goes against popular theory that it takes years for fruit quality to really improve)...I am aware fruit quality gets better with the age of the tree and was expecting=yuk...My favorite citrus.Do any other citrus produce yummy fruit from an early age?
p/s whats the 579 thing in brackets millet? Is that the number of citrus trees you have?

Sorry i was not clear about my post....
My intent was to point out that there are those who have been able to over pot but I'm sure their trees probably had the ideal of living conditions.. and that generaly speaking over potting is NOT good idea for novice citrus growers...
I agree that for every over potted citrus that does make it many more don't..
There are too many variables working against you if you over pot is my point..

Hope that clears my point up a bit..
Gina *BabyBlue*

on a summer time ...

I have never had a problem with large containers & have gone from1 gal direct to 30 gal. As Millet said, just watch your watering.

What do you recommend for fertilizing the plant? I currently have Vigoro Citrus and Avocado fertilizer. Should I just follow the directions or is there any other advice? Thanks.

MeyerMark, when you transplanted your root bound tree with the root system tightly circling around the inside of the container, did you tease the roots out from the circling direction, and align them straight into the new medium? The reason I ask, is because...."A root grows like a bullet goes"... Meaning that a root will continue to grow in the same direction as it is pointed, unless it hits a hard object causing the root to deflect its direction. Therefore, a circling root will tend to continue circling around and around, instead of growing out into the new container. - Millet (578-)

Vigoro & Osmocote are both great.