Cyclones and Citrus-Zones!

Mother Nature is a cruel bitch. 

Cyclone Debbie is currently rampaging through communities along the Queensland coast in Australia, with destructive winds recorded up to 230 km/h. 

My thoughts are with everyone on the East coast, stay safe! 

Meanwhile, on the West coast, I present to you our newest addition to the family. 

* Semi-Dwarf Blood Orange *

The blood orange is a variety of orange (Citrus × sinensis) with crimson, almost blood coloured flesh. Due to the blood oranges' red pigment, anthocyanin, they contain far more antioxidants than other oranges.

To accommodate our new family member, we have the following; 

• Semi-dwarf Blood Orange tree
• RICHGRO all purpose organic compost
• Scott's Osmocote Fruit and Citrus potting mix
• Go-Go Juice
• Max Feed Fertalizer; Fruits and Citrus blend

When it comes to deciding what size pots to house your plants, it's ideal to choose something which is about twice the size of whatever you are planting.

This will allow the plant plenty of room to grow, encouraging a healthy root ball. 

However, be careful not to plant anything in a pot that is too big for the plant. If you do this, the plants roots aren't long enough to reach the water which is draining to the bottom of your pot, causing them to sit near the surface of the pot where water is more readily available. 

That is not a healthy root structure.

This white pot I've gone with is ideal, and is also slightly wider, which will help retain more water and moisture for this healthy young tree,

 

* Shake n' Bake *

We begin by preparing the soil. I went with a 50/50 mix of organic compost, and premium top-soil intended for fruits and citrus. This is ideal for citrus trees; they are heavy feeders and love to soak up as much nutrients as they can; so compost is a necessity. 

Next we carefully remove our citrus tree from it's plastic wrapping, and gently tease the roots. What you want to here is encouraging the roots to shoot of into your pot, instead of remaining tightly wrapped together, bound from the shape of the container they were in.

Now we position the tree central to the pot, and while I'm here I've also provided another stake along the root-ball to provide it with support during establishment and the winds of the upcoming winter. I fill the rest of the pot with my soil mixture until it is flush with the base of the tree.

We now give it a nice, deep watering. 

I've added half a cap-full of the Go-Go juice to the water. This product is a pro-biotic which adds beneficial microbes, breaks down organic matter, and allows easier up-take of nutrient by plant. I've also added the a small amount of citrus fertiliser, not enough a quarter of a tea spoon.

Mulch!

And success!

A consistent supply of water, full-sun and monthly feeding will give this citrus tree the best chance to bear fruit for us, for many years to come. I'll keep you updated monthly on how he goes. 

Feel free to drop a comment below if you have any questions or advice, would love to hear from fellow gardeners. 

Thank you and have a good day folks!