Author Topic: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress  (Read 1838 times)

skhan

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Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« on: January 20, 2021, 04:17:53 PM »
I know the common thread amongst growers down in South Florida is to basically give up on citrus.

I'm just curious if anyone is still pursuing them, at least for homeowners?
Looking for some tips or tricks that might have been discovered recently.
Citrus seems to cover the Winter/Spring season pretty well.

I figured planting on a mound and apply sulfur every year would be a start.



Citradia

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2021, 08:11:19 PM »
Do you know why “they “ say to give up on citrus in FL? Maybe because of greening? How is planting on a mound and sulfur going to help for which problem?

Millet

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2021, 08:14:47 PM »
HLB (Citrus Greening) is no respecter of mounds, nor sulfur.   If I as going to plant a citrus tree in So. Florida, I would plant a Sugar Belle.  Sugar Belle has shown some resistance to HLB.
« Last Edit: January 20, 2021, 09:47:20 PM by Millet »

Galatians522

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2021, 10:01:55 PM »
The University of Florida came out with a list of recommended varieties for Florida door yard citrus that are supposed to be more tollerent of greening. Sugarbelle was at the top of the list, but Persian Limes, Lemons, a California Manderin (Gold Nugget if my memory serves me), the "Jackson Hybrid" (a grapefruit type citrus), and Sundragon an orange hybrid with a "spicy" flavor that includes some  poncirus genetics in its heritage also made the cut. They claim that with adequate fertilization and care, theses varieties can still be productive for the home owner in the face of greening. However, I have yet to see some of these offered for sale anywhere in Florida. Frequent compost applications and regular watering are also helpful from what I have seen. I can spot the groves using compost up here just by how the trees look most of the time.

FruitGrower

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2021, 10:55:38 PM »
I have about a dozen citrus trees in containers that are doing really well so far covered with a protective screen. It’s only been about a year but everything is healthy and growing well. I think as long as you can keep them free of HLB, any soil/ nutrient deficiencies would be fixable.

tedburn

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2021, 12:28:44 AM »
Hello from Germany, I' m just storing and eating a few star ruby grapefruits from Florida. They are quite good and I enjoy them. Due to loving citrus plants I also germinated some seeds of them and have a few nice sprouts. But I also asked me the question if I could get HLB over the fruits or over the seeds. I treated the seeds a while in Chinosol and peeled them before planting them, but I don' t know if this would help if there would be a potential risk of infection with HLB or would it either be a too cold climate in Germany for HLB in zone 7 ( 8 in few regions) ? Does everyone know ?
best regards Frank

Millet

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2021, 11:28:57 AM »
CLas may infect the citrus seeds, the results of this study do not support the vertical transmission of viable cells of CLas from seeds to seedlings.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00024/full
« Last Edit: January 21, 2021, 11:31:50 AM by Millet »

tedburn

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2021, 01:48:30 PM »
Thank you millet, so I hope my seedlngs will be safe 😀

skhan

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2021, 10:51:52 AM »
Do you know why “they “ say to give up on citrus in FL? Maybe because of greening? How is planting on a mound and sulfur going to help for which problem?

Clearly, greening is an issue, as is canker and all the other issues citrus has.
I can't do much else for those issues other than spray to my heart's content or experiment with other horticultural techniques.

Mounds and will help with the saturated soils in South Florida during the rainy season.
Sulfur to help neutralize the alkaline soils that is common south of WPB

skhan

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2021, 10:53:56 AM »
HLB (Citrus Greening) is no respecter of mounds, nor sulfur.   If I as going to plant a citrus tree in So. Florida, I would plant a Sugar Belle.  Sugar Belle has shown some resistance to HLB.

I'm been considering Sugar Bell, at least that helps the HLB part of the equation

skhan

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2021, 10:57:34 AM »
I have about a dozen citrus trees in containers that are doing really well so far covered with a protective screen. It’s only been about a year but everything is healthy and growing well. I think as long as you can keep them free of HLB, any soil/ nutrient deficiencies would be fixable.

I've grown them in pots down here and it seems a bit easier since I can control the water and soil. I might have to give it another shot.

Once the imidacloprid drench wheres off it usually goes downhill pretty fast

skhan

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2021, 10:58:42 AM »
The University of Florida came out with a list of recommended varieties for Florida door yard citrus that are supposed to be more tollerent of greening. Sugarbelle was at the top of the list, but Persian Limes, Lemons, a California Manderin (Gold Nugget if my memory serves me), the "Jackson Hybrid" (a grapefruit type citrus), and Sundragon an orange hybrid with a "spicy" flavor that includes some  poncirus genetics in its heritage also made the cut. They claim that with adequate fertilization and care, theses varieties can still be productive for the home owner in the face of greening. However, I have yet to see some of these offered for sale anywhere in Florida. Frequent compost applications and regular watering are also helpful from what I have seen. I can spot the groves using compost up here just by how the trees look most of the time.

Thanks, I only new about Sugar bell, but it makes sense that there are ongoing efforts to work around the problems

Oncorhynchus

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2021, 02:13:01 PM »
I’ve been attempting citrus. All my trees are pretty young so I can say I’ve been successful or a failure other then a lemon tree that died from what I think was some kind of root problem. I’ve been growing them in partial shade, mulching them with oak leaves and spraying them with oak tea to try and ward off greening.  My biggest challenges right now are bugs and fertilizing correctly. Between leaf miner and Sri Lankan weevils I’m down about 40% of the canopy on some of my smaller trees. I’ve been under fertilizing out of fear of burning them but I think they are much heavier feeders than I’ve been giving them credit and starved. I sprayed them with urea and micros and I think that helped so I’m going to give them another dose this weekend.

Millet

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2021, 03:24:12 PM »
Oncorhynchus, you should contact IFAS-Extension Bookstore  UF/IFAS Communication Service PO Box 110011 Gainesville, FL 32611-0011 352-392-2411 and purchase the booklet  "Florida Your Dooryard Citrus Guide" written by Jim Ferguson,   It is a 40 page pamphlet  with color pages  It will tell you everything about growing home Florida citrus.  Very easy reading.

skhan

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #14 on: January 22, 2021, 04:42:07 PM »
Oncorhynchus, you should contact IFAS-Extension Bookstore  UF/IFAS Communication Service PO Box 110011 Gainesville, FL 32611-0011 352-392-2411 and purchase the booklet  "Florida Your Dooryard Citrus Guide" written by Jim Ferguson,   It is a 40 page pamphlet  with color pages  It will tell you everything about growing home Florida citrus.  Very easy reading.

o nice I'll give that a read.

skhan

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #15 on: January 22, 2021, 04:42:49 PM »
I’ve been attempting citrus. All my trees are pretty young so I can say I’ve been successful or a failure other then a lemon tree that died from what I think was some kind of root problem. I’ve been growing them in partial shade, mulching them with oak leaves and spraying them with oak tea to try and ward off greening.  My biggest challenges right now are bugs and fertilizing correctly. Between leaf miner and Sri Lankan weevils I’m down about 40% of the canopy on some of my smaller trees. I’ve been under fertilizing out of fear of burning them but I think they are much heavier feeders than I’ve been giving them credit and starved. I sprayed them with urea and micros and I think that helped so I’m going to give them another dose this weekend.

I wish you all the best, Please update keep us updated

FruitGrower

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #16 on: January 23, 2021, 03:41:08 PM »
I have about a dozen citrus trees in containers that are doing really well so far covered with a protective screen. It’s only been about a year but everything is healthy and growing well. I think as long as you can keep them free of HLB, any soil/ nutrient deficiencies would be fixable.

I've grown them in pots down here and it seems a bit easier since I can control the water and soil. I might have to give it another shot.

Once the imidacloprid drench wheres off it usually goes downhill pretty fast

That’s been my experience too and I lost all my citrus back in 2017, even though they were in containers. I think the key is the protective screen, which keeps the psylids from infecting your tree. Actually, from what I’ve seen, most insects excepts ants are kept off the tree. I don’t even apply any imidacloprid and they look green and healthy. I can take some pics later if you want. My only concern is the inconvenience come harvest time, which I hope to experience this year.

Julie

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #17 on: January 31, 2021, 12:18:50 PM »
I have about a dozen citrus trees in containers that are doing really well so far covered with a protective screen. It’s only been about a year but everything is healthy and growing well. I think as long as you can keep them free of HLB, any soil/ nutrient deficiencies would be fixable.

I've grown them in pots down here and it seems a bit easier since I can control the water and soil. I might have to give it another shot.

Once the imidacloprid drench wheres off it usually goes downhill pretty fast

That’s been my experience too and I lost all my citrus back in 2017, even though they were in containers. I think the key is the protective screen, which keeps the psylids from infecting your tree. Actually, from what I’ve seen, most insects excepts ants are kept off the tree. I don’t even apply any imidacloprid and they look green and healthy. I can take some pics later if you want. My only concern is the inconvenience come harvest time, which I hope to experience this year.

Can you post some pictures of your trees under protective screening? Do you need to do hand pollination? I cook a lot so a lime tree is something I want but not if it’s going to get sick.

FruitGrower

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #18 on: January 31, 2021, 02:34:13 PM »
I have about a dozen citrus trees in containers that are doing really well so far covered with a protective screen. It’s only been about a year but everything is healthy and growing well. I think as long as you can keep them free of HLB, any soil/ nutrient deficiencies would be fixable.

I've grown them in pots down here and it seems a bit easier since I can control the water and soil. I might have to give it another shot.

Once the imidacloprid drench wheres off it usually goes downhill pretty fast

That’s been my experience too and I lost all my citrus back in 2017, even though they were in containers. I think the key is the protective screen, which keeps the psylids from infecting your tree. Actually, from what I’ve seen, most insects excepts ants are kept off the tree. I don’t even apply any imidacloprid and they look green and healthy. I can take some pics later if you want. My only concern is the inconvenience come harvest time, which I hope to experience this year.

Can you post some pictures of your trees under protective screening? Do you need to do hand pollination? I cook a lot so a lime tree is something I want but not if it’s going to get sick.












Of the 13 varieties I grow
- Dancy Mandarin
- Eureka Lemon
- Finger Lime
- Glen Navel
- Key Lime
- Meyer Lemon
- Minneola Tangelo
- Murcott Mandarin
- Ponkan Mandarin
- Red Lime
- Sugarbelle Mandarin
- Valencia Orange
- Xie Shan Mandarin

Only the Murcott mandarin and Red Lime have little fruitlets on them now, this was without hand pollination.  The Glen Navel just started flowering but hasn’t set fruit yet. The rest of the trees have yet to flower, but they are all young, having been planted less than a year ago from 16” tall Stuewe pots (except the Murcott, which was a 3 gal). I would say go for it, especially if you only want one tree. I’ve found it easy to care for them with the screen, we’ll see how harvesting goes with it.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2021, 02:40:23 PM by FruitGrower »

Galatians522

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #19 on: January 31, 2021, 02:54:25 PM »
That is an excellent report, thank you. Where did you obtain the screen? Also, I believe that any of the varieties that are typically seedless will fruit fine under screen without pollinators. It is my understanding that some tangerine groves in California actually exclude bees so that the fruit will be seedless. The others may fruit, just not as heavily as with pollination. Our Minneola (which is often said to need a pollinator) fruited ok last year without cross pollination as far as we can tell. At any rate, most of our other citrus is gone and almost all the fruits were seedless (which was never the case before). Also, less than a full crop on a healthy tree may still be way more then a full crop on a sick one.

FruitGrower

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #20 on: January 31, 2021, 04:06:28 PM »
That is an excellent report, thank you. Where did you obtain the screen? Also, I believe that any of the varieties that are typically seedless will fruit fine under screen without pollinators. It is my understanding that some tangerine groves in California actually exclude bees so that the fruit will be seedless. The others may fruit, just not as heavily as with pollination. Our Minneola (which is often said to need a pollinator) fruited ok last year without cross pollination as far as we can tell. At any rate, most of our other citrus is gone and almost all the fruits were seedless (which was never the case before). Also, less than a full crop on a healthy tree may still be way more then a full crop on a sick one.

I got the screen from Amazon (Agfabric Bird Netting Insect Barrier Garden Plant Cover 120" H x 120" W in-Shape Bag with Rope, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7N8BJC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_DGAB6F92W4TX5AJFSSET)

I had similar thinking to yours. I prefer to have less quantity of seedless fruit anyways.

Julie

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Re: Growing Citrus in ground in Soflo...Progress
« Reply #21 on: January 31, 2021, 04:11:12 PM »
That is an excellent report, thank you. Where did you obtain the screen? Also, I believe that any of the varieties that are typically seedless will fruit fine under screen without pollinators. It is my understanding that some tangerine groves in California actually exclude bees so that the fruit will be seedless. The others may fruit, just not as heavily as with pollination. Our Minneola (which is often said to need a pollinator) fruited ok last year without cross pollination as far as we can tell. At any rate, most of our other citrus is gone and almost all the fruits were seedless (which was never the case before). Also, less than a full crop on a healthy tree may still be way more then a full crop on a sick one.

Sorry what I was asking is why use containers instead of plant in the ground with screening?
Wow thank you this is awesome. Glad to know I could just buy this instead of have a whole tent built. Why are you doing containers instead of in ground?
I got the screen from Amazon (Agfabric Bird Netting Insect Barrier Garden Plant Cover 120" H x 120" W in-Shape Bag with Rope, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7N8BJC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_DGAB6F92W4TX5AJFSSET)

I had similar thinking to yours. I prefer to have less quantity of seedless fruit anyways.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2021, 05:17:14 PM by Julie »