Author Topic: When to Plant in The Ground.  (Read 2790 times)

will2358

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When to Plant in The Ground.
« on: August 10, 2019, 04:26:20 PM »
I have been advised not to plant my 1 gallon plants in the ground until they are larger. What do you find is the best size for a citrus before you plant it in the ground? Also which is the latest time of the year to plant in the ground for zone 8. Also I have grown a few plants from seed this year. I usually put several seed in a cup. How many inches should I let them get before disturbing them for re-potting?







My name is Cindy

Bomand

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2019, 07:59:42 PM »
As for me. I like to plant trees outside in ground when they are about 3 feet tall, have been topped and have a lateral branch structure. I like to plant in November. This gives the tree a chance to develope a better root systen over the winter months. By the time Spring flush arrives they are estabilished and ready to get on with it.

bklyn citrus

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2019, 08:21:08 PM »
When you have bark and limbs in the range of 3/8" thick

Millet

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2019, 10:39:45 AM »
Plant in November...of course only if you live in the portions of the USA where the winters are mild.

Citradia

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2019, 03:15:55 PM »
I plant in spring after last chance of frost, after mother’s day. That way, the plant has a chance to put on more girth before freezing temps return in late October.

lavender87

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2019, 03:22:42 PM »
As for me. I like to plant trees outside in ground when they are about 3 feet tall, have been topped and have a lateral branch structure. I like to plant in November. This gives the tree a chance to develope a better root systen over the winter months. By the time Spring flush arrives they are estabilished and ready to get on with it.

 Even in a tropical area (south Asia) where I used to live, people usually plant their trees in the early spring. In temperate area if our tree is an evergreen we should plant it in late spring to avoid late back frost. As far as I experienced, trees barely grow any new root in the winter; however, if our trees are diciduous then the best time to plant would be in mid to late winter before they leaf out to conserve energy.

 I used to dig up 2 persimmon trees and a few jujube trees in mid-late winter and found nearly no active new roots. Even though the persimmon trees lost 2/3 of their rootsystem, surprisingly, they survived. If you read about persimmon you will see that persimmon cuttings is very hard to root even with root hormone and extremely sensitive to root disturbance. They should have died if I dug and replanted them in Nov.

 Plant an evergreen type of trees in late fall would significantly lower its chance of survival. It might lose all its leaves due to shock and weaken its endurance right before winter.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2019, 03:28:33 PM by lavender87 »

Bomand

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2019, 05:29:28 PM »
Citrus will grow a good rootsystem in winter. Growth of the tree is subdued and the root system grows. From November till first flush gives citrus a much needed acclimating to a new home and a head start in the Spring. In my area (zone9) lots of people plant in the fall/winter and have very good success.

Vlad

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2019, 06:26:01 PM »
What about the more cold hardy ones, like Poncirus trifoliata. When is the best time to plant, fall or spring?

Bomand

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2019, 08:03:49 PM »
Same story. If you are planting.....meaning from a pot to the ground, anytime is good
 Summertime requires that you keep it watered well. If you are transplanting, meaning digging it up and planting somewherd, its best to do it when poncirus is dormant, that means fall/winter.

Millet

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2019, 11:24:53 PM »
Bomand, don't you agree there is a giant different with winter planting between your area (Louisiana) and my area Colorado?  In Colorado winter temperatures get down to -17F, and the ground is frozen hard as a rock 3 feet down.  In northern areas I would plant in spring.  What are your thoughts on the matter?

lavender87

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2019, 11:41:05 PM »
What about the more cold hardy ones, like Poncirus trifoliata. When is the best time to plant, fall or spring?

  All deciduous trees should be best planted in winter before it breaks dormancy. Late fall is okay too but not the best time. I don't think citrus would develop a good root system through winter. The poncirus trifoliata is a type of deciduous trees, so it would be best to plant in mid to late winter right before it leafs out.

Bomand

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2019, 04:08:40 AM »
Yes I would agree Millet. I would never try to install a new tree where the ground is frozen or will freeze. The difference in our climates dictates when to plant. The ground here is never frozen. We only have a few frost/freeze days a year and they are of short duration....so yes planting time for us differs.

Vlad

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #12 on: August 13, 2019, 07:34:24 AM »
Thank you all for your comments. I have learned something, again, from this forum.
I am in zone 6a and the ground here does freeze solid. I will wait to plant my Poncirus trifoliata until spring because I agree that it would be best to let it develop a good root system during the summer.

Bomand

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2019, 08:08:31 AM »
Vlad. In your area I would wait till my last frost/freeze date was close. Then plant my seedlings. If you happen to get a late frost/freeze you can throw a blanket over them and poncirus will survive. Luck to you.

Millet

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2019, 10:28:05 AM »
Last year (2018) I planted a 4-ft, Flying Dragon tree in the ground here in Colorado.  At the time of planting I did not have much hope that the tree would survive a Colorado winter.  It was planted on the south side of one of  my barns, and only one and a half feet from the wall. The tree died on the first very cold night.  Out of respect, I gave the tree a proper funeral.

Bomand

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #15 on: August 13, 2019, 12:07:16 PM »
Good man Millet. Anything that dares to die on me goes into the pestolater to burn with other varmits and scoundrels.😃

hardyvermont

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #16 on: August 13, 2019, 09:45:35 PM »
Southern exposure of Poncirus in zone 5 will cause the plant to adapt poorly to the cold.  The heat from walls will keep it less dormant.  Sun will cause it it dry out, especially in windy areas when the temperatures are below freezing and it cannot take up moisture from the soil.

Millet

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #17 on: August 13, 2019, 10:23:22 PM »
hartyvermont, thanks for your post.  After reasoning your post I can see your reasoning.  What is your planting advise is a area such as Colorado?  Actually I don't see much success in Colorado, plus my location is a 5,440-ft elevation. We really do not cool down slowly.  All of a sudden a cold front comes off the mountains and the temperature drops suddenly.   

hardyvermont

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #18 on: August 15, 2019, 03:15:32 PM »
hartyvermont, thanks for your post.  After reasoning your post I can see your reasoning.  What is your planting advise is a area such as Colorado?  Actually I don't see much success in Colorado, plus my location is a 5,440-ft elevation. We really do not cool down slowly.  All of a sudden a cold front comes off the mountains and the temperature drops suddenly.
Plant them where they do not get direct sun in the winter, out of the wind.  That could be on the north side of a building or the north side of evergreen trees.  Poncirus trees do well as understory, they do not require full sun.  This combination of wind break and shade has worked where other planting situations either died back or were killed. 

As for the sudden temperature drops, it will be a learning experience to see if it works.  There is some evidence that some Poncirus are more deciduous than others, my plants kept some of their leaves, they are also supposed to become more deciduous with age. 

SoCal2warm

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #19 on: August 15, 2019, 09:33:26 PM »
In the Pacific Northwest, I've found it's not good to plant them out in the ground until late May, despite weeks of warm temperatures that may begin much earlier in the year. I've tried transitioning out multiple hardy citrus plants into the ground in mid-March to April and it never ends well, the leaves turn yellowish after a few weeks and do not recover, even sometimes some die-back (despite temperatures always being well above freezing). I'm not sure whether the temperatures just get too cool for the plants to do well, or whether they have difficulty with the sudden transition from going inside a warm grow area to outside that early in the season.

With hardy gardenias on the other hand, I did plant them out in January, before the snow came, and they did just fine, even kept all their leaves. I planted them as soon as they arrived in a box from the mail order nursery. I don't know in what conditions the nursery had kept them. I had a different hardy gardenia that had been growing inside under warm grow conditions and then I moved it out during a warm week in the middle of March and it did not do so well, had a lot of die-back and leaf loss. So maybe it is the temperature transition that is harmful. Or it could have been that this variety was inherently less hardy than the variety of the other ones, so hard to say.

I suspect that as the plant grows, the plant tissue becomes adapted to the temperature conditions it grew in, and that it takes more than a few weeks for the plant tissue to be able to adjust to lower temperatures.

Florian

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Re: When to Plant in The Ground.
« Reply #20 on: August 16, 2019, 03:30:04 AM »
Here, I also plant out citrus in late spring. Before that the soil is still cold and planting out earlier has no advantage.