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Winter care for potted citrus

12:00 AM CST on Thursday, January 28, 2010
garden@dallasnews.com

My husband recently brought three citrus trees planted in large pots into the house for the winter. One tree is a Satsuma, one is a lime, and I'm not sure about the third. Gnats are nesting in the potting soil. Since my husband is an organic gardener, how should I organically kill the pests?

D.G., Fort Worth

Drench the potting soil one time and spray the foliage weekly or as needed with the following mix: Garrett Juice plus 2 ounces of orange oil and 1 ounce of Bio-Wash by 1st Enviro Safety Inc. per gallon of liquid.

Since the trees are indoors, reduce the amount of water you give them by at least half. The soil surface should feel dry before you add water.


FILE/Staff photo
Cut water in half for potted citrus spending the winter indoors.

A medium that is infested with fungus gnats is quite easy to control if the tree is growing in a RAPID draining medium, such as CHC or bark. Completely submerge the entire container over night in a large bucket of water. The gnats die by drowning. I would not do this procedure with slow draining, compacted potting soils (but then a citrus tree should not be growing in such mediums). - Millet (1,083-)