I am a newbie. Snagged a couple o trees from Stan the citrus man. Very excited about the future, etc. etc. etc.

I have run a couple of searches on topics like citrus 101, Newbie, etc. hoping not to have to post this question. I have Stan's instruction sheet, but am wondering if there are any other basics that I need to know.

Obviously once one is familiar with a BB & the topic, searches become easier. Are there some key words I should search for? Are there any links you could point me to? What should I know as I start growing citrus?

Already enjoying the board, and am blown away by the knowledge & passion present.

Campbell
aka mikanme

Welcome to the forum. First rule is to stay away from Stan, he will turn you into a citruholic in no time (Have you ever seen the cowboy hat poncirus he grows ?)

Being you are up in MB you will need more protection or grow the hardier varieties. If you have any questions just ask.

Laaz

Stan won't have to work too hard to turn me into a citruholic. I was probably to over excited before meeting him. I got to see his cool grove & the awesome 007 micro-spray freeze protection irrigation system. He let me taste his Kimbrough, his sanbokan (maybe my next purchase?), & his mystery satsuma/tangerine (which may be one of the prettiest trees I have seen. Hard to believe that he did no pruning on that tree). The mystery tree was definitely the best of the fruit (I bought a dozen).

I bought an owari & a limequat (I am addicted to limes & looking for a good substitute). I have room on the east side of my house just off of the house. If I move a chaste tree & a weeping yaupon, I will have room on the south side up against the house.

My biggest concern is about the soil & watering. The soil in my neighborhood is a nasty gumbo clay mix. I have amended & amended. I can grow some things pretty well in my yard (roses, tomatoes, jalapenos & cayenne, chaste tree, etc.) I will raise the bed where I plant to improve drainage. I will keep both plants in containers through the winter, & bring them in the garage as temps approach freezing. I will probably run Christmas lights on the trees when they are in the ground.

Thanks for any insight or helpful hints.

Campbell
aka mikanme

Lazz is right....Stan is trouble

We drove 540 miles (one way) to spend a few days with him, a few yrs ago....took his crash course on budding...then we went down to Ned's place......

Long story short...we left Ned's place with 16 rootstocks....Stan's place with six 3 gal. trees.... (and various other items, not including COLLARDS)....got one mail order as soon as we got back...bought one a local K-Mart shortly there after...picked up 2 more at the Expo a few weeks ago....

Addiction can be contagious

Hi Campbell-- just a couple points-- in most cases it is best not to add any amendments to the soil when you plant a citrus tree-- you are just creating a bigger hole that hold water. If your soil really hold water, it could be a problem even putting the original root ball in a hole just big enough for it, so you may have to plant it on a raised mound to get it started and just let it eventually put roots into the clay (which it will do in a way that it is more likely to survive).

Second point, if you are going to keep any of these in containers, you sholuld learn about winter leaf drop and the soil temperature/light requirements.

I am searching leaf drop, but the results aren't very applicable right now. I guess I need to hit a store & pick up a book on growing citrus. Any suggestions?

Also trying to find all posts on soil temp & light req. Is it possible to give citrus too much light? Don't think that is an issue. Right now they are on the se. corner of my house. They get sun all day long.

i did see the post from Joereal about not babying citrus too much, but instead letting them take some cold to make them more cold hardy. Obviously, young & in container is going to be a little bit different.

About the amending the soild... 5 years ago, before planting my lawn or any of our beds, I tilled in something like 3500 lbs of manure, pine bark, & (unfortunately) some peat moss. When I planted the rose bed, I dug it out 18 - 24" deep. then I started working the soil & top soil, & other amendments back into the bed. I didn't go quite as far as I had planned, because some garden center person laughed at what I was doing & told me that all of my work was for nothing, & I should just throw the roses in the ground & they will do fine.


If I work the bed (not just the hole) where the Owari is going, plant it on a swell above the rest of the bed, do you still think I will be creating pools? The reason I ask is 3 years ago I went to the best nursery in Pawley's Island & bought a prairie fire crabapple. The guy there told me not to work around the tree, just dig the hole 2X root ball & put it in the ground (it's a specimen tree, not in a bed). I did. I pulled roots away from the ball, did the little cone of soil in the bottom of the hole, filled & watered as instructed. That poor tree is root bound, & has never completely leafed out. As a result, I am highly skeptical of not working the soil around anything in our yard.

If you have a large bed and mound the citrus tree you may be OK, but after the first few rains, I think I would check to see how wet the soil is at the bottom of the amended area-- you may be surprised at how much water will be there. It might also help to make sure that no water runs into the amended area.

When I lived in NC, my soil was pure red clay--the kind they make bricks or pottery from. I had a similar problem, but I dug a trench across the back of my yard and filled the bottom with crushed corn cobs from used animal bedding-- since the end of the trench came out on the side where it was lower than the rest of the trench and water drained out of that end-- I was able to have a great garden.