There is scarcely a yard across South Australia without a lemon, orange, lime, mandarine, or other citrus tree filling a spot or a pot. Not only are citrus wonderfully productive, they are also evergreen beauties.

Words Kim Syrus

If you had to choose just one fruit type to grow, citrus would be top of the pops. Winter gardens are currently filled with laden citrus trees providing the perfect home-grown vitamin C and flavoursome way to ward off coughs and sniffles.

Lemons
Lemon varieties to choose include “Lisbon”, which produces loads of thin-skinned fruit and is a plant of choice in colder places, the winter/spring crop being heavier than summer/autumn. “Eureka”, a popular choice in milder climates, is a thornless tree that bears fruit year-round, although its yield is much heavier in spring and summer. “Meyer” has its heaviest crop over winter, so enjoy the less acidic flavour of this lemon.

Oranges
Oranges on the go include the “Washington Navel”, the best-known orange, loved for its easy-to-peel skin, seedless flesh and sweet flavour. If you love making marmalade, then get ready to pick buckets of “Rough Seville” oranges. The fruit is medium-sized with pebbly rough skin.

Mandarines
Mandarines are the perfect snack and “Imperial” mandarine trees are currently groaning under the weight of the fruit they’re carrying. An early cropper, “Imperial” are thin skinned, easy to peel and carry few seeds. If you like your mandies a little larger, then “Emperor” will be at their pickable best mid-winter.

Limes
“Tahitian”, smaller “West Indian”, and the cold-tolerant “Rangpur” limes are all ripening and ready for a kitchen or cocktail near you. Australian “Finger Lime”, with its zest-filled caviar is also ready for harvest.

Others
Grapefruit, tangelos, cumquats, limequats and fingered citron (known as Buddha’s hand) are waiting patiently too.

Tips and hints:
Twist as you pick any citrus. Ripe fruit generally comes aways with little resistance. Avoid pulling, because this can tear the skin and reduce shelf life.  Apart from mandarines, the longer you leave citrus hanging, the sweeter most fruit will become. Mandarines are best picked once they are on the turn to orange, if left too long on the tree, flavour deteriorates and flesh dries.

Of course, there is always a limit to how many fresh citrus one household can reasonably consume. When you have a largesse, look at giving away excess to friends and neighbours or leave a box out the front of your house with the sign “please take”. Marmalade-making turns a mountain of fruit into loads of flavoursome conserve. Squeezing and freezing the juice also reduces numbers and adds a welcome citrus zing to cooking or beverages down the track.

Citrus are easy to grow, although if you listen to garden radio programs with the stream of citrus-related questions being asked, you’d think otherwise. When it comes to successful citrus planting in late spring, there are a few key things to consider.

Citrus need a bright location to fruit, so picking one that gets at least six hours sun is a top start.

Trunks and exposed lower branches can be prone to sunburn, which is detrimental to the flow of water and feed. Shading from late afternoon summer rays goes a long way in reducing potential sun damage, as does painting the base and lower branches with a white, water-based interior paint or whitewash. Protecting new plants from strong, drying wind helps them establish better too.

Waterlogging is kryptonite for citrus, so if you are looking to plant inground, drainage is critical. Avoid areas where water pools or remains boggy over winter. Air pockets in this soil become moisture-filled and drown roots, causing them to rot which affects top growth vigour and fruit production.

The ideal growing soil is well-drained, sandy ground which is why our Riverland is such a productive citrus region.

As most home gardens across this state are not blessed with Riverland soil, a little work is often needed to make ground citrus friendly.

Sandy regions have drainage nailed, no problems with waterlogging there, instead it’s holding moisture that’s the issue. Working into the soil plenty of well-aged compost or manures does wonders. This organic matter acts like a sponge holding water and nutrients around plant rootzones.

Clay soil is often given a bad draining rap, especially heavier clays like “Bay of Biscay”, which swells and shrinks with the seasons. Though highly reactive, suburbs such as Kensington, Hindmarsh, Holden Hill and many others grow magnificent citrus specimens. Ground preparation in clay focuses on adding well-aged organics and gypsum to open the soil and allow water to move through.

High pH limestone (calcareous) soil makes growing inground a problem. The alkalinity locks in certain elements – especially iron, zinc and manganese – making them unavailable to plants. Commonly seen as yellowing veins and leaves, any citrus plants lacking these important micronutrients struggle to grow and fruit effectively. If growing is an issue in this soil, plant in containers or raised beds filled with an organic growing mix.

Container-grown citrus also work well in small garden spaces such as balconies and courtyards – just remember the sun. A pot that holds at least two bags of premium potting mix will happily grow a tree for years (although, the bigger the pot you can fit and fill, the better).

Selecting the right citrus for your garden starts with the rootstock. Being the engine room of the plant, whatever is top grafted on to it relies on the rootstock’s ability to source water and nutrients and effectively transport this to the variety above. Some rootstocks do better in clay ground, while others are sandy soil lovers, and then there are lower vigoured types perfect for reducing canopy growth. These are becoming increasingly popular with more and more gardeners looking for dwarfing varieties. Enquire at your local garden centre about the rootstocks their citrus is grown on and its suitability for your garden.

Wait until late spring when soil temperature has risen to at least 16 degrees before planting to ensure roots get moving.

Increasingly, the preferred method of planting citrus is to remove the potted plant and soak the base in a bucket of seaweed solution, like Seasol or Eco Seaweed, for 15 minutes. Gently wash off the potting mix and spread the exposed roots evenly in the planting hole. Backfill and water to help roots and soil bind.

 

This article first appeared in the Winter 2023 issue of SALIFE Gardens & Outdoor Living magazine.