I haven't seen any posts about this and it's the soil I've been using my Lemon Meyer trees. I have three of them, the oldest is from 2007 then the next ones are from 2008, then 2009.

So far they seem to be doing well. The soil drains quickly, they have nice green leaves, lots of blooms etc.

Each spring I take off the top layer of soil , maybe going in about 2 inches deep and replacing it with new soil.

I would like to keep my trees for the long haul and even though I am having sucess so far I noticed many of you here mix your own soil rather than being lazy like me.


Am I setting myself up for failure? Please educate a novice about her plants.

Trees are in a 17"w x 13"d pot

I also fail terribly with fertilizing as I can't find the 5-1-3 ratio fertilizer in any nursery, garden center or on Amazon. *sigh* I feed using bloodmeal, epson salt, coffee and coffee grounds, and a tiny bit of miracle grow all purpose.

Any chance someone knows an online store which carries a fertilizer with this ratio?

I have used this soil a few years ago, and I liked it. Probably you don't hear about this product because it is easy to mix your own and its composed of common materials like peat, bark shavings & sand.

Another reason most here don't use it is because of its higher cost and low availability, you have to buy it in small bags. Since I have about 18 trees(and others have MANY more) I would have to buy about 100 bags or more! Some on this forum like different mediums like fur & pine bark chips mixed with sand or CHC(cocoanut husk chips) & peat. I would say If it works for you stick with it.

One thing you can do to increase the longevity of your trees is once every 2 or 3 years slip, the root ball out of the container and trim back the roots about 20% refill with fresh mix and cut the canopy back 20% this should work better then removing the top few inches of soil and replacing.

About the 5-1-3 thing, the simple fact of the matter is it dosnt matter if you use exactly 5-1-3- or not. You do want to use as close as you can to it but don't worry about following it exactly. Personally, my base nutrient is 6-4-4, I add things to it sometimes depending on where we are in the season, like right now with spring I add more nitrogen and later when fruit are ripening I reduce nitrogen a little and boost K. A lot of people of this forum swear by Osmocote indoor and out door 19-6-12. you can find this pretty much anywhere, Lowes, Amazon, Home depot ect. If you are interested in an organic fertilizer take a look at Espoma Citrus tone - if you do use this be sure to add a little extra N in spring and summer, I have had pretty good luck with it. Make sure you flush with plain water a few times a year to remove any buildup in the soil(for me the rain dose this but I don't know if you are using a greenhouse or not)

Thanks RyanL. My trees are all outdoor during most of the year . I live in Austin, TX so it's pretty warm year round expect for maybe a month where we will get a hard freeze for a few days.

I have all of my citrus in pots because the soil at my house is heavy clay which I hate and I don't want to risk killing off my trees. I tried planting three citrus trees before and they all died. Either it was my fault or it was the bad clay soil.

Anyways I appreciate the answer. I agree the soil is pretty costly but I only have a total of 8 citrus trees which I accumulated over time. So ATM it's not too bad for me. I'm sure if I had a ton of citrus or if I keep growing my collection I'll need to look at the recipe you all use!

Also THANK YOU for the recommendation of Espoma and Osmocote. I have seen those at my Home Depot but stayed away. That's going to make life much easier for my guys.

I am using the Miracle Grow to start out with, but am looking for an alternative to peat. I think I might try this and see what happens in mixing my own:

http://www.groworganic.com/coco-peat-4-5-cu-ft-brick.html

I believe CoCo peat is just a larger grind than CoCo Coir (CoCo dust). Many people use Coconut products rather than peat because they believe that they are more environmentally friendly. Since about 1990 there has been a dramatic increase in interest in the use of CoCo peat and Coir fiber dust in potting media, mainly as a direct substitute for peat. Coir fiber dust is the pithy material left after coir fiber is extracted from coconut husks. It is produced in places like Sir Lanka and Malaysia. The husks must be soaked in water before fiber extraction, so the residual pith is produced in a wet state. It is dried and often compressed into blocks before being exported. Coir and CoCo peat have excellent physical properties. They do not suffer from the water repellency problems of other organic materials, such as peat. Coir's water holding characteristics are better than those of most peats, because of its finer pore structure. However, most coir dust are too fine to make up the majority of a mix. Coir's main potential use is in increasing the water holding capacity of barks without unacceptable reduction in air filled porosity. Their pH is generally close to 6. Also, Coconut products do not shrink when dry, as does peat. - Millet (289 B)-)

Well I do wonder if coco fibers are better on the environment than extracting all the peat.

A couple words about Miracle Grow. In my estimation the main problem with Miracle Grow, is that it compacts very quickly. That said, I use Miracle Grow, but only when I greatly amend it using either of two methods: by blending in scoria and perlite, or CHC and perlite. When Miracle Grow is used straight, as 100 percent of the container medium I think it is really really really terrible. - Millet

Thanks for the tip Millet. I bought some perlite last night but can't find CHC or scoria . boo!

I guess to the internet I go.

But again, Thank You for the info

The Miracle Grow Orchid Mix is terrible for orchids too. It might suite citrus better.

I have used a mix of miracle grow citrus and the orchid. I have added cedar chips/shavings to this also. It seems to work for mine. I am positive there are better mediums but being fairly new to citrus this is what is "working" at this time

lnewporttx, the fertilizer with the ratio 5-1-3 w/trace minerals is sold by Jack's Professional Fertilizers, a division of J.R. Peters, Inc. of Allentown PA. Unfortunately, Jack's Professional Fertilizers sells their 5-1-3 ratio fertilizer only as a professional grade commercial fertilizer for professional greenhouses and nurseries. Therefore, it is sold only in 25-lb. bags. Anyone can purchase the product from one of Jack's wholesale dealers, if they buy 25-lbs. at a time. I normally purchase 50-lbs. (2 X 25-lb. bags) at each purchase. The actual name of the product is 25-5-15 HPF and is Jack's product number 77900. For CONTAINER citrus trees, it is an outstanding product giving excellent results, as it replaces the exact ratio of nutrients that a citrus tree absorbs through it roots. - Millet (244 BO-)

What you think about pumice and vermiculite ?

I read somewhere that there are small differences between Europe and USA regarding the way the NPK is calculated

It is saying that in one part they use percentage and in the other part they use other recipe....

Does anybody know something about that ?

From Wiki:

The labeling of fertilizers varies. In most countries the macronutrients are labeled with an NPK analysis (in Australia, "N-P-K-S" adding sulfur).[8]

The three numbers on the fertilizer label represent an analysis of the composition by weight. These three numbers correspond to nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) and always appear in that specific order. When a 4th number is included, it indicates the sulfur content (N-P-K-S).

While the number for "N" represents the percentage weight of nitrogen, in some European countries, the other two components are not for the analysis of the element, but rather, the analysis of the "available" or "soluble" form of the element. In traditional chemical analysis, the tests used treated the sample so as to measure the equivalent P2O5 and K2O. For instance, some potassium-bearing rocks do not count as having available potassium.

Similarly the number for "P" in some countries is actually the weight of an equivalent quantity of P2O5 whereas in others (including Australia) it refers to elemental phosphorus. In order to calculate the weight of P in the formulation, the weight of P2O5 can be multiplied by 0.44 to compensate for the weight of the oxygen in the molecule. For example, a bag of 10-10-10 has 10 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of P2O5, but only 4.4 pounds of P.

Likewise, the number for "K" in Europe can refer to the weight of an equivalent quantity of K2O, whereas in Australia it refers to elemental potassium. In order to calculate the weight of K in the formulation, the weight of K2O can be multiplied by 0.83 to compensate for the weight of the oxygen in the molecule. For example, a bag of 10-10-10 has 10 pounds of K2O, but only 8.3 pounds of K.

As an example, the fertilizer potash (in modern times, muriate of potash or potassium chloride) is composed of 52% potassium and 48% chlorine by weight; chemical analysis of 100g of potassium chloride (KCl), would show 63g of equivalent potassium oxide (K2O) when done in the manner of fertilizer analysis. The percentage yield of K2O from the original 100g of fertilizer is the number shown on the label. A potash fertilizer would thus be labeled 0-0-63, and not' (except in Australia and some other countries) ' 0-0-52.