Growing Healthy Citrus Trees

Top Tips for Growing Citrus Trees

1. Prepare- Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Dig in some Plants Plus Groganic soil improver. Dig gypsum into clay soils and create a raised bed.

Dwarf citrus are ideal planted into pots.

2. Feed- Citrus are hungry plants and require feeding twice a year, in early spring and late summer. Well fed citrus aren't often troubled by pest and diseases.

3. Harvest- Taste test citrus to check and see if they are ready to eat. thinning excess fruit when they re small will encourage larger fruit to develop.

Pests that may occur:

Citrus Leaf Miner

Citrus Leaf Miner is the larvae of a silvery white moth. The moths lay their eggs of the leaf surface. Once hatched the larvae tunnel into the leaf leaving a silver trail.

Symptoms: Curling and distortion of mainly new growth, plus silvery trails on the leaf surface.

How to prevent: Use Yates PestOil as a low toxic protection against citrus leaf miner. Once a citrus has leaf miner it is difficult to control however using Pest Oil and removing infected branches will help.

Seeing Red

It's that time of year when ornamental deciduous trees are at there best. With brilliant autumn colours of scarlet red and orange tones like my Manchurian Pear tree. It is the last time to enjoy your ornamental trees before they shed their leaves.

Tea cup planters

Think outside the square when looking for pots to grow plants in. Any containers like these teacups make a quirky display. If you are grow succulents like string of pearls (pictured) place gravel on the bottom of the teacup to allow water to drain away from the roots, as succulents don't like soggy feet.

Photo by Jasmine Fitzwilliam

A few of our favourite things

Three Things we Love in the Garden this week:

1. Espaliered fruit trees and white painted brick walls as a back drop.

2. Weathered Terracotta Pots, perfect for planting your bulbs in.

3. Potting Sheds decked out with all of your favourite things to help beatify your garden.

First Image Via: Beautiful simple Things

Second Image Via: House of Bliss

Third Image Via: Solid Frog

Play with Scale

Formal gardens always inspire me. The large scale topiary balls compliment the vast space on the roof top of this old building or castle? Topiary is a great opportunity in the garden to add shapes that suit the environment. In this case the rounded sculpted forms contrast well with the angular lines of the building.

Grow your own Spuds

We have a big range of potato seeds instore now. From creamy mashing varieties, the best potatoes to roast and superb varieties to make your own chips and wedges. You have to try growing your own , they are alot tastier than the store bought ones.

How To:

Potatoes grow in a wide range of soils, the ideal being sandy with a high humus content ( Try our Groganic Soil Improver which is rich in humus). They require nitrogen so it is important to add manure and garden compost to the soil before planting. New shoots will appear in 2-3 weeks and require mounding to encourage formation of the new tubers. It also ensures they are not exposed to the sun. Straw mulch can be used to achieve this mounding and also to assist water retention. Lift potatoes when vines wilt and begin to die. Leave freshly dug tubers in the sun for a day to prevent bruising. Store spores in the dark in cool temperatures.

Serenity Nursery's Top Tip: Once potatoes start growing use Sugar Cane Mulch to build and cover ppotatoes. Too much fertiliser reduces the crop's flavour. It's better to give them mulch than food.

Plant: 10cm deep 30cm apart in full sun.
Harvest: 16-18 weeks

Dine Alfresco

This Mother's Day Spoil your Mum with breakfast or lunch outdoors in the fresh air. Set up a table in the sunshine and cook her favourite food for extra brownie points.

Top and bottom image via Pretty Stuff. Middle Image via Kreative Kottage