Vitax Citrus Feed for Winter Soluble Plant Feeds,

Product Information

If you are leaving your citrus trees outdoors when the weather turns at the end of summer all the way through until the beginning of spring. Even if only for a few months, you want to position them such that they get sunlight all the time and have access to temperatures around 5°C. Still, it’s safer to get them indoors sooner rather than later. Where not to position your citrus tree Both underwatering and overwatering lead to leaf loss and can eventually kill your plant. How much water should I use? High nitrogen feeds are good for foliage plants, helping them produce lots of big, healthy leaves. On the other hand, flowering houseplants need a high potash (potassium) feed which boosts the production of flowers. Specialist feeds are available for many plants, including cacti and succulents, citrus plants and orchids. How to feed houseplants Citrus plants generally like a well-drained, slightly acidic soil but they do grow well in a variety of soils and more dense clay soils taking longer to drain water through than bark based compost.

Citrus trees have been grown in the UK for hundreds of years and in the right spot are easy and really rewarding plants. Kumquats are small trees and make excellent potted plants. They are more often grown for their ornamental value, as the small but bitter fruit offers decoration for months on the tree. Citrus plants need to be periodically repotted to maintain a healthy plant - once a year or once every 2 years for trees up to 6ft in height. For trees over 6ft you can usually just top up the compost once a year and repot every 3 or 4 years. With a proper watering schedule, your lemon tree will thrive. Properly caring for your tree includes incorporating a combination of watering and feeding techniques. Lemon trees require watering regularly. If your tree is starting to lose its flowers, leaves or unripe fruit then the soil is too dry.Cool or fluctuating temperatures, dry air and cold draughts can cause citrus plants to drop their leaves, fail to flower or not produce fruit. Fruit trees also benefit greatly from the addition of micronutrients. These are found in trace amounts in healthy soil. They also come in many of the high-quality organic citrus tree fertilizer brands out there. A balance between the macro-nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, S, and Mg) and micronutrients ensures a healthy tree and luscious citrus fruits too. The type of citrus tree you have will directly influence how tolerant it is to a cold temperature, but in general, it’s much safer to bring them indoors before the nights start to get cooler. Tender citrus trees Citrus trees love their sunlight and as the sun is now setting earlier and rising later it’s important to get your tree in a bright location where it can still get a good few hours of direct light a day. Citrus plants: Citrus trees are ravenous plants, so feed every two weeks in spring and summer with a high-nitrogen citrus summer fertiliser and a specialised citrus winter feed during the winter months.

TOP TIP You can apply your citrus feed as a foliar feed to help get the nutrients directly to the affected leaves. Simply make it up at half strength and water the solution directly on to the leaves and new shoots. Be sure to do this in the morning or evening so that bright sunlight does not scorch the leaves. Most citrus trees are from tropical or subtropical regions and won’t tolerate frost. But some varieties are hardier than others. Kumquats are the most cold-hardy, followed by ‘Meyer’ lemons. In the south, this is the lemon to grow. It is relatively hardy, although young trees should be protected from frost until established. However, when the weather starts to get a little warmer, it important to switch over to our Summer citrus feed. This feed contains nitrogen based nutrients which is necessary for foliage growth, whereas the winter feed contains more potassium and phosphorus for a healthy crop of fruits.Spent flowers and dead fruits should be removed regularly from both indoor and outdoor plants to keep the tree looking neat and to avoid fungal problems. When your Plants4Presents citrus tree arrives it will be well fertilized and should not need any additional feed for the first 4 weeks. After 4 weeks it is a good idea to start using the relevant citrus feed to keep your plant healthy. Indoors try to keep your plant away from any radiators, under floor heating or draughts and if on a windowsill keep the leaves from touching the glass. There is a lot of conflicting advice on misting v.s. not misting citrus trees. We don't mist our trees in the nursery because it is normally fairly damp. We recommend that you only mist your plants if they are in a very dry warm room or if you find that the flowers are not setting fruits. Should the leaves drop for any reason, do not be immediately discouraged, as the plant will most likely grow a new crop of beautiful glossy leaves in a month or two, and flower soon after.

Ideally, you want to move your plants indoors during the winter. Growing them in pots might make it easier to move them inside when the weather turns, which is why we always recommend growing citrus in containers. This simply affords your citrus tree warmer temperatures, whether it is inside your home or in a greenhouse.If and when you do move your plant outside do be aware that a sudden change in light levels can cause 'sunburn'. To avoid this, place your plant in a partially shaded spot for a few days before moving into full sun or move it outside for a few hours a day until it has adjusted to its new position. Too dramatic a change in light levels can lead to blanching of the leaves and some leaf loss but over time your plant will recover and put on new growth. Normally our trees will be sent in a suitable pot and you won’t need to think about repotting for at least six months. However, if you are not sure, a good rule of thumb is if your citrus plant is more than 2 and a half times the height of the pot, then it is ready to be repotted. Lemon trees and particularly the mature Lemon trees can take cooler temperatures right down to 0 degrees and can go outside as soon as the night time temperature is above freezing. (They will even survive a mild frost if you get caught out). The Organic Materials Review Institute has put its stamp of approval on certain brands of powdered organic fertilizer. The fertilizers with OMRI endorsement have no synthetic chemicals and are generally formulated to be heavy on the potassium and phosphorus side of macronutrient content. Often these powders are specially created for large-scale citrus growers or those who produce a lot of citrus in the growing season. They’re used every couple of months. Citrus Fertilizer Liquids Central heating can be a problem for citrus trees in winter, as they don’t like a dry atmosphere. To increase the humidity level around your tree, stand it on a tray filled with gravel, and top up with water to just below the surface of the gravel. Open greenhouse vents on sunny spring days when temperatures inside can soar.

Citrus trees do not tolerate being left sitting in water; if left too long then the roots will begin to rot. Fruit fall: Fruits should ripen in a period of warm sunny weather, taking almost a year to develop to full size. Most cultivars set too much fruit for the size of the plant. Some of these will be shed, or clusters should be thinned to one fruit each on young plants.

Garden Ready Plugs

You won't have to remember when to feed your citrus, just use each watering. No need to change feeds for Winter and Summer either. By observing the leaves, you can also tell if the plant needs water. If the leaves start to curl upwards at the edges, or loose their normal glossy green colour, then your plant is already showing the first signs of stress and should be watered straight away. Other natural ingredients you can add include feather meal and alfalfa meal. These both provide trees with large amounts of nitrogen needed for foliage production. Feather meal typically provides fertilization at a rate of 12-0-0 and is a great source of food for beneficial fungi in the soil. Alfalfa does the same at a rate of 2.5-1-1. If you use pellets of alfalfa, they will slowly deteriorate adding aeration to the soil, and they’ll provide food for fungus and beneficial microbial content. Overfeeding Generally it is much more common to under rather than other feed so as long as you are following the recommended dose you shouldn’t need to worry about over feeding. In extreme cases using more than the recommended rate of fertilizer can “burn” the roots, but this is rare.