Wilko Citrus Trees

[bluemoon]

I've always fancied growing citrus trees, but never have due to the cost. - it seems an awful lot of money for something which I might kill - but yesterday I was in Wilko and they were selling very small ones, little more than a seedling really, for £4, so I bought a couple. The root-ball is in a plastic bag so obviously they need potting on very soon. What do I do now? Do they need a specialist compost? And what about feeding and temperature? Will they be OK outdoors in an average summer? Is it all going to be worth the hassle?

[Two_Sheds]

You should really move to the South Coast with your citrus
see this for tips: Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Citrus Cultivation

[bluemoon]

Thank you, Two Sheds, that was really helpful. I think I can keep them going in the greenhouse overwinter - I'm having a new one for the lottie and the 6x8 is coming home so that heating it is easier - and the general care advice was good too.

[drichard12]

Myself I enjoy testing citrus in cold zones. as we can grow and produce eatable fruit. A low cost way of testing and learning your citrus growing skills is to plant a fresh citrus seed of any type. It's a great low cost way of learning a new hobby of citrus growing for beginners.

[pickledtink]

I successfully grew a little lemon tree outdoors for several years which produced a lemon from time to time. The most important 3 thing was the right soil, giving it a good soaking then letting it almost dry out when watering and keeping the roots fairly tight in the pot. If you don;'t you get lots of leaf but no fruit.

[janeyo]

Hi I got mine form Wilkos about 3 weeks ago - but it was not spindly, quite a good size I thought, about 12 inches or so and lots of leaves. I potted on to a slightly bigger pot with citrus compost and it is at the mo on my kitchen window. It will go in the greenhouse when it goes up and I will keep a careful eye on it.

For the price of them you've nothing to lose!

janeyo

[smallblueplanet]

I bought one from Lidl and its growing away quite impressively. I would suggest you invest in some citrus summer (& winter) feed, it really does make a difference.

Here's a thread I started on the very subject:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...eed_13376.html