The simple pleasure of picking fresh, juicy citrus fruit from your own trees is fantastic and very satisfying! The fruit is rich in vitamin C with evergreen foliage and lusciously scented flowers.
You can grow citrus trees in containers or in a border, in full sun with protection from freezing winter weather. An ideal position is by a west or north facing wall which will help create a warm micro-climate. The soil should be well-drained with plenty of good, homemade compost dug in. If you have heavy clay soil a container would be advisable for the citrus tree to be healthy and thrive.
The soil around citrus trees does need to be kept moist, but not water-logged, while they are flowering and setting fruit. A good mulch around the base will help conserve moisture.
In July, December and March feed with a balanced fertiliser containing nitrogen and potassium.
Container grown citrus trees will be limited in size and dwarf varieties will grow to approximately 2m.
After fruiting , if necessary, prune the trees by removing smaller branches and any other branches to enable light to reach the canopy of the tree.
One of the best citrus fruits to grow in a container is the lemon, which can bear fruit all year round. A reliable popular variety is ‘Eureka’, and the ‘Meyer’ is a delightful, compact, sweet-tasting variety.
Citrus Fruit from your own Garden
Another ideal citrus tree for a container is the Calamondin, which is a cross between a Naartjie and a Kumquat. The fruit ripens throughout the year in warm climates.
The Naartjie variety of citrus fruit are all easy-peelers, such as Clementines, Satsumas and Mandarins.
Navel orange varieties are large and sweet, and the early-ripening varieties are ‘Bahianinha’, which ripens April to June or the ‘Newhall’ and ‘Palmer’, both of which ripen in May and June.
Fabulous citrus trees are a must-have for any garden, whatever the size.
More advice and articles :
We at village gardens have a knowledge of all of your local edible plants here in South Africa. We can happily plant up your garden with edibles of all varieties from Mediterranean herbs and local indigenous edibles. We are surrounded by such stunning hardy indigenous plants, let’s get back to nature and have our own garden of local goodness.
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