Fruit

Before getting into growing citrus and tropical fruit trees, I admit that I thought it would be a much easier undertaking.

Yes, I know that growing tropicals in pots in Zone 6b/7 is sometimes a lesson in futility. And, yes, I knew I would deal with some struggles, particularly around bringing the plants inside during the winter.

Three things I did not expect, however, were how much these trees consume nutrients, how bad pests (in our area at least) could be, and associated disease pressures that would still need to be managed.

So over time I built up a nice little collection of fertilizers (both macro and single nutrient) as well as insecticides to help keep my trees as vibrant and healthy as they can be. So in this one, I thought I'd talk about each and why they will likely be needed at some point in your future.

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After keeping potted citrus trees for several years now, with most starting to reach mature production (and a few others just starting to set fruit), we certainly have seen it all.

Overwatering? Yep. Underwatering our citrus tree? You know it. Citrus pests? Every single year. Rootstock attempting to overtake the grafted tree? That too.

Just when it started to feel like we got a handle on all of these issues, we ran into another one once our trees started to flower- our pruning schedule became more important than ever!

So in this one, we wanted to talk more about all the ways we prune citrus trees in pots, and highlight one very important detail that you should not overlook- do not prune new growth if you want fruit!

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Oh, fruit tree pests, sometimes you're the bane of my existence.

For a few years, I tried treating my fruit tree pests with spray bottles of Neem, insecticidal soap, and horticultural oil, with mixed results. I'd spray, see a slight reduction in pests (notably aphids, mealybugs, and scale). But wait a short period of time, and the bugs would come back with a vengeance, causing particular damage when my citrus trees were brought inside during the winter months.

After going through bottle after bottle of the sprays, which can run north of $10 per bottle for a pre-mixed solution, I went apoplectic on one plant one day that had a mealybug infestation. Squirt after squirt (after squirt), I sprayed them as much as I possibly could, using most of a single bottle, and something interesting happened- I noticed a bigger reduction in the pests than I had before.

It was here that I had a lightbulb moment- it wasn't the sprays themselves that were the problem, but rather that I was likely not applying them nearly liberally enough (or possibly even frequently enough) to make a dent on the pests.

So I tossed the squirt bottles aside, upgraded to an industrial pump sprayer, bought some Neem and horticulture oil concentrates, and really blasted my trees with a good dousing.

The pest population dropped dramatically.

So in this one, let's talk about why squirt bottles may not be getting you all the way there and why upgrading to a proper sprayer is a better option- both for effectiveness and cost.

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Ever since buying a number of tropical and citrus fruit trees to grow in pots, I've struggled with figuring out an ideal watering frequency. Part of this is because they live indoors half the year and outside half the year, meaning they experience an array of conditions, but also because I have found that conventional advice may end one step too soon.

Sometimes I water my trees per recommended standards, and they hold water for a long time. Other times, they dry out almost immediately and start showing underwatering conditions. It wasn't until I really started to pay attention that I made a few more crucial observations that helped me get my watering frequency under control.

Before diving into this one, I want to make two important caveats. First, the following is based only on observations for my own potted tropical fruit trees, which include several types of lemon, lime, mango, longan, guava, blood orange, kumquat, and more. They spend half the year indoors under grow lights and south-facing windows, and half the year outdoors. Second, commentary here is just a theory based on what I've noticed with my trees. Your mileage will vary.

So, with that in mind, let's jump into some observations we've seen over the years!

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If you're getting into container gardening, at some point you'll have to deal with a pest infestation. If you've landed on this article, then the odds are good you are already experiencing an issue.

Pests in your garden, particularly in citrus trees grown in containers, can be incredibly tricky to deal with. When the trees are outside, you have numerous options such as waiting for a good soaking from the rain, strong winds, a hot day to dry the soil out, or even the ability to apply large-scale insecticide applications.

Indoors, not so much.

Over the years, we've had numerous infestations of our plants once we brought them indoors including gnats, spider mites, mealy bugs, and other soil-based insects. So in this one, we thought we'd share some of the things we have tried to manage each of the populations, and identify which ones we think have (so far at least) worked the best!

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Whenever we have a good piece of fruit, I often stop and wonder if I should collect the seeds to try and grow them in future seasons.

That curiosity got the better of me, and I did just that- taking seeds from all manner of fruit (namely fruit grown on trees), saving them in our fridge for cold dormancy, and planting them the following season. Some have been a success (so far), many have failed outright, and the experiment into growing fruit from seed is, admittedly, still ongoing.

But before doing this yourself, you need to stop and think about your plan here, because there are some very good reasons why you shouldn't grow fruit from seed and others why you should.

So if you're okay doing some careful research, finding the right type, and being patient, you may be able to make it all work. So let's break down the pros and cons in this one!

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I certainly don't like to make my life easy, and this is especially true with my fruit tree collection.

Despite living in a decently warm Zone 6b, where common fruits like apples, peaches, cherry, and others reign supreme, my fruit tree goals look to warmer climates. When I realized that my south facing house was plenty bright indoors in the winter months, making our bedroom a defacto greenhouse, I knew I wanted to try and grow as many tropical fruit trees and other plants in pots and try my luck at having a harvest.

Now that we're a few years into the effort, I thought I'd provide a quick snapshot of how all my trees are doing, and try to identify which ones may be on the easier side to grow in a less-than-ideal climate and others that have been much more difficult.

While a lot of this one is based on my own personal circumstances, including dealing with our local weather, overwintering concerns, and my own habits of watering/fertilizing/etc., this may provide some insight for others looking to do the same!

Please note: This article only features exotic fruit trees and plants we are personally growing or have tried to grow. This article does not feature trees we are not familiar with. So if it is not featured below, we haven't planted it. For reference, we are located in Zone 6b and when plants are brought indoors for the winter. We are fortunate to have robust south/west facing windows plus additional grow lights. Our trees were purchased between 2021 and 2024, and those that have fruited will be noted.

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For our tropical fruit trees in pots, getting watering right is critical. Water too much and you may trigger root rot and kill the plant. Water too little and you may lose fruit or, in extreme cases, kill the plant. When in doubt, I'd almost always go too dry as most of our trees can manage that scenario far better than being too wet. 

So, that begs the question, when is the right time to water?

Most articles I had read on this topic simply offered a set watering frequency for each specific plant and left it at that. However, general watering intervals are often not good enough due to the many variables that impact our plants. Are your plants indoors or outdoors? Is the humidity high or low? Is it warm or cold? Is the plant big or small? Is it growing vegetatively or producing fruit? All of these can significantly influence how much water they will need.

To get a handle on your trees, you'll need to do some checks!

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As a collector of unusual tropical fruit trees, I decided to go on a hunt for some rather unique species that are hard to come by.

This search led me to the company Fast Growing Trees, a large online plant store that had, well, seemingly everything available for purchase.

After placing two orders, with five unique trees and/or cacti, I have to say that I have been quite pleased with the company all around!

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When we bought our Meyer lemon tree, we thought it looked odd. We couldn't quite place our fingers on why, but it amounted to the fact that some leaves and branches seemed different.

One set of leaves had a single lobe, while other sets had three lobes similar to those of a very large clover.

It wasn't until the tree started producing flowers that we realized only specific branches were budding (only the branches with single-lobed leaves), and we investigated further.

As it turns out, we had a huge issue– fruit trees should not have two unique sets of leaves and the rootstock was growing a bit out of control!

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