Comments on: Citrus Growing Mistakes: How to Avoid Them

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 04:20:28 +0000

In reply to Harny. Flood irrigation should be enough for your garden. Flood irrigation goes nice and deep. I wouldn't worry about adding the stakes.

By: Harny

Harny — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:57:35 +0000

Hi Angie, I am looking for help on if I should use those watering stakes. I’m in central Phoenix and I currently water my citrus trees with flood irrigation and a hose for in between. What are your thoughts on using those watering stakes like the ones from Deep Drip

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 23:41:25 +0000

In reply to Greg Rob. You can but it will be the root stock. Typically a sour orange or another type not grown for the fruit.

By: Greg Rob

Greg Rob — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:15:50 +0000

Can a fruiting citrus tree be made from a sucker portion of the orange tree. In other words will a sucker branch ever make a regular fruiting tree.

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 04:54:29 +0000

In reply to Helen. Hi Helen, Deep watering is best. If you have flood irrigation that is ideal. Otherwise you can use bubblers or drip irrigation to water. Whichever method you use, run it long enough to water to a depth of 2-3 feet.

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 07 Oct 2023 21:31:38 +0000

This is a great, helpful article. The only thing I was left wondering is what kind of surface irrigation hoses should we use for our newly-planted citrus trees. We live near Florence, AZ.

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 01:59:39 +0000

In reply to K. A. W.. Thank you for taking the time to leave this very informative comment. I appreciate the additional insight. I was taught not to skirt trees in my Arizona master gardener courses through the University Extension Office. Your reasoning and experience make sense. Thanks for sharing.

By: K. A. W.

K. A. W. — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 20:42:29 +0000

Unfortunately the advice not to skirt orange trees is bad. There is a growing number of deadly/damaging fungi that produces spores that hang around the soil under and around the canopies of orange trees. The only way they can access the fruit is through spores transferring from the soil to the leaves, branches and directly onto the fruit. Who knows what else is lurking on the ground that can introduce invasive species to the tree. Low hanging fruit or even fruit touching the soil provides an expressway of unwanted “life” to take up residence in the tree that wouldn’t be able to access it via the trunk such as ants which facilitate the breeding and feeding of the deadly Asian Citrus Psyllid carrying HLB that is a death sentence to citrus (why Florida was devastated). Ants make it possible for the ACP to attack the phloem producing honeydew and interfering with the flow of sap (sweetness) to the fruit which is what causes the terrible flavor in fruit while it’s slowly dying (within approx. 3 years). There is plenty of reason to absolutely skirt preferably to 2 feet above the ground. The soil does not benefit from low hanging branches and fruit. That is done with good mulch. Low hanging fruit is also likely to be substandard in appearance and in flavor because it’s nutrients and water comes from the core of the tree, not the ground. Too far to travel. The watering system can cause splashing of the water-laden soil which splashes the mold spores onto the tree parts. There is not much we can do to control rain splash, but at least we can help with the skirting. I have lived and observed and learned on our grove for 50 years. We are a Commercial Orange Grower in CA battling costly damage of fruit that is not noticed until after reaching the marketplace which is what happens with brown rot. Furthermore, spores causing blue and green mold, black mold and various other serious attacks on our fruit also gain access through touching the soil or water splash. Failing to skirt up to 2 feet is a significant cause of this. The fruit will appear aesthetically pleasing on the outside, but after harvest the rot that begins inside the fruit will make its way out and affect all the other fruit in the containers. Horrible loss all around. You can confirm this information just about anywhere citrus organization post information. The only argument among scientists and scholars to this is how high to skirt. Other arguments are pretty much gardeners who have a handful of trees. That’s fine, but it is a serious duty to skirt, and if you see groves with low hanging fruit/branches, you can be sure they don’t research enough to protect their trees. Skirting also relieves pressure on the supporting branches so they can support more of the quality fruit that grows from stronger branches. Oranges dangling from those long single scraggly strands of water sprout growths are using up vital nutrients and water for nothing good in return and should be removed. These are my conclusions based on my knowledge and experience to confirm it, but I am not recognized as an expert. I hope you find this to be a fascinating way to look at reasons for skirting. Thanks. Love those oranges to death!

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 11:36:00 +0000

I love citrus. And thanks for letting us know some mistakes when planting citrus. I want to plant it in my garden soon. Keep sharing more tips and advice like this.

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 14:00:04 +0000

In reply to Dee. You should probably add September to that as well, wishful thinking on my part not to add it. Best of luck to you!

By: Dee

Dee — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:39:49 +0000

Thank you so much! A citrus in container post would be great I have one more question related to your comment. Would the hottest months be June through August, or does September count too? Or maybe I should just ask which months you consider the hottest and coldest? And thank you for all this information you share. I love Arizona but it’s definitely different to garden here. So it’s nice to have a site where I can reference stuff that is actually applicable to our growing situation!!

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 16:56:31 +0000

In reply to Dee. Good question. I need to do a citrus in containers post. The best way to fertilize citrus in containers is to fertilize them about once a month while they are actively growing. Because you are fertilizing more frequently, use a little less each time. I wouldn't fertilize during the hottest or coldest months of the year.

By: Dee

Dee — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 07:14:53 +0000

Would you fertilize citrus grown in pots on those same dates? Or do you do something different for them?

By: Angela Judd

Angela Judd — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 22:01:03 +0000

In reply to Arnie Serota. Great tip! I hadn't heard that before, but of course that makes sense. Thanks for sharing.

By: Arnie Serota

Arnie Serota — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 21:04:40 +0000

Hi Angie: I may have missed it but in your 10 citrus mistake article you left out
#10 1/2 and that is, when planting citrus, face the graft site away from where the sun will be in the summer time, in a north facing position. we used to live in the Phoenix area and this was very important in the low desert.