I have several citrus trees(young) in 25 and 27 cm terracotta pots.Its
heading into winter now here in new zealand and i was wondering,if the
same rule of thumb applies to watering as applies in summer. Eg stick
the thumb down 3 inches and if its dry water the mix.
We get a lot of rain here through winter but i have managed to
place them all where they can get the sun if it comes out but they are
covered by a corrugated roof if it rains.Its also north facing which is best
for all day sun in this neck of the woods.I have read,its best to keep them
on the dry side of moist in winter.Temps wont go lower than 6c in winter
here.Any opinions appreciated,cheers
p.s we get your californian oranges over here and they are the best!
we have similar conditions here,if we left them on the tree i am sure they
would taste nearly as good as yours.

6 degrees Celsius = 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit. What is your normal high temp in the winter ? If your getting up into the 70's durning the day you shouldn't have to change your watering habbits much at all. If the temps keep the tree in active growth year round it will need water.

Just don't apply fertilizers during the winter time, it will just leach out and go pollute the streams.

How much rain do you have during winter? If not a lot, then there would be no need to keep them really dry. We get about 20" during the entire winter here, and that's all the rain we get for the whole year. So I don't bother moving the potted citruses except when there is an arctic blast.

The rule for watering is the same year around. When the top two inches of soil in the container becomes dry, the tree needs to be watered, either by rain or by irrigation. Your trees are growing in small 10 inch containers, so they will need to be watched to insure that they don't become too dry. With the lowest winter temprature in you area only dropping to an occasional 42F (10C) the tree will not go dormant. Sometimes during the winter, fruits dry out on the tree and drop if the tree is stressed too much. So for fruit development and fruit maturity (if any of your trees have fruit on them ), and also because of the higher winter temperatures in your location, your trees will maintain good leaf activity, therefore I would recommend that irrigation with a nutrient solution should be done even in winter. - Millet

Thanks for your relpies. Today,is the first day of winter.It was 6 c in my
house this morning and is now 10 c in my house.We have a high pressure
over us and as i am sure you are all aware,it tends to be sunny but cold
during the winter like that,due to lack of cloud cover.
Over night temps range from 5c to 12 c through the night and day time
beteen 10 to 16 c.
The biggest problem for me in the past is that generally we get a lot of
rain through winter and that makes the pots soggy,hence i am using pots
only 2 or 3 cm larger than what they came in.They were all transplanted
in early autumn and kept in the shade while the roots settled in.I now have them in 6 hours autumn sun,heading into winter sun and keeping them on the dry side of moist.Been doing the three inch finger down thing but you reckon two inches down millet?
They are all showing new growth except for my tangelo which i put in chc
and coir.The leaves look a little pale green but no new growth with about 7 or 8 mature leaves on it.Still alive though.we shall see on that.
All my other trees are in a specialised container mix to which i added
some coarse grit to help with the drainage.I noticed before,that i would
leave to dry out as per the finger test,then water and a leaf would fall the
next day.However,i watered yesterday and they all seem happy.I have
foliar fed the new growth with trace elements too.Cheers

P.s When are you going to pick those bananas in your picture?!!!!!!!!!!
lol. Millet i would love to see some of your citrus trees,how about some
pics please?!!!! thanks for your help.

Laidbackdude, I'm just one person who doesn't believe in putting a finger in soil 2-3 inches & if it feels dry water. I've had plants dry at the top 3 inches and when I put a wooden skewer all the way down in pot...leaving it there for maybe 1/2 hour, the middle & mostly bottom was still wet. Couple plants almost got root rot. If anything, I just drizzle little water to get the top moist & when bottom gets dryer I soak it.

I have this experience to Patty. Sometimes my chcs are really dry at the top, but I jam my finger in a bit further (near the edge of the pot at that,) and it's quite damp below. I've been sticking my finger up the bottom irration hole lately to test it cause I don't want to disrupt roots at all. This is only with my Cal in chc's though. All others which are dry at the top get a good watering.

The 2-3 inch finger test is not a bad method, to keep people from over watering. Of course, the finger test is more reliable the smaller the containers are. The wooden skewer method mentioned by Patty in her above post, seems to be method that would give very accurate results. I am going to try her method today on some of my larger containers. - Millet

You can learn to tell how wet a pot is by it's weight. If it is a large container, simply tilting it can be enough. If it is a pot with a drain hole that is accessible, you can feel the soil through the hole. (Maybe it would pay to drill a hole for this purpose.)

Ned

Yes, in smaller cont'rs the finger test works well..down at LEAST 2 ", but with the tall tree pots (as some of us have...advised by Millet), the skewer or wooden dowel works. And as Ned says, the weight of pot is a good clue too.
I have 2 palm trees in 30-50 gal pots & I just keep a dowel in there. If it's wet at bottom & dry top 4-5 inches, I just give enough water to wet the top.
I learned of this at the old orchid forum. Orchids are very sensitive to dry & over-wet, so they said to take skewer out of pot & roll/slide it over your upper lip/ under cheek, and if it feels moist DON'T water.
Sometimes you can't feel the moisture with your fingers, or see it. If you put that skewer on your upper lip & it feels dry, your soil is BONE dry & you better water real quick!
I had a plant that I lifted & it felt real lite -- it was in CHC mix (4"X14" pot). Was ready to water & I did the skewer thing 1st, & after at least 1/2 hr, the mid & bottom of skewer were still very moist!!! This was a key lime that I was saving from root rot. It looked like a dead stick then & now has new growth. I just lightly watered the top & spritzed stem w/ water, not enough water to get to bottom of pot.
Millet, if you're going to try this, use a 1/4 inch dowel--or any piece of raw wood for your 8 gal's, & skewers(?) on smaller tall tree pots -- all the way to bottom. I'd love to hear your comment .
Isn't it fun to share what we do? I learn so much here - good or bad ideas, we still learn! Trial & Error never stops.