here's a excellent link that I found on the Trees forum.

If I were planting in clay soil, I would add some gypsum to improve water uptake; and if the pH is over 7 I would add some phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid...or vinegar if you are organically inclined to lower the pH; citrus do best a pH of 5.5-6.5.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Plant a Tree

Thank you for the great link.

I did a drainage test today with a 12-inch deep hole filled with water. 5 hours later, it was about 1/2 empty. :-( This is a spot that's been trampled on for years before we finally created some garden beds. We're planning to keep the lemon in a pot for another season and make room elsewhere for it later this year, in a spot that's been cultivated and drains well.

Citus need to be planted in the soil that they are going to stay in with no amendments, In clay dig the smallest hole that your tree rootball will fit in. Loosen the sides and bottom of the hole and back fill with what came out of the hole. The reason for this is that with clay if you dig a big hole and fill it with great soil what you have done is make a large underground clay pot that will fill with water and will not drain and will drown and kill your plant. Do not let any fruit set for the first 2 years 3 is better let all energy go into root growth and no fertilizer for the first 2 or 3 months then you can give it some nitrogen mix with lots of minors and some epsom salt. I just put a grapefruit in solid clay in April and hit it with some fertilizer in late June and July and it doubled in size. Oh btw make sure you water it slowly a couple of times a week for the first month then once a week unless it rains.

Thank you, redrac.

I filled the hole again a couple of days later .... after 36+ hours there was still standing water in the bottom. :-( Is there hope for the lemon? It's a dwarf meyer and we don't have any other space available for the mature size of this plant. We don't want to grow it forever in a pot.

We live on former citrus groves and have a large thriving mature tangerine on our property. If we plant it in this hole, we'll plant it high.

I would plant the tree in your hole; but first I would dig it down to 3 feet; you might find that your subsoil is not such compacted clay. Then I would make your hole at least 3 feet in diameter, add gypsum and some perlite and maybe a little peat moss to help with the pH...not too much, as peat tends to hold a lot of water. If you do all this, then at worst you will have created a "pot" 3 feet deep by 3 feet diameter, which is enough to produce a good size tree. Remember that citrus get 85% of their nutrients from the first 18 inches of soil; and in ground you should fertilize 3 times per year. In SoCal I would recommend January, May, and September; but do not fertilize when you plant the tree; wait about 3 weeks, as the initial lack of fertility encourages the roots to grow in search of food; and after the roots grow, leaves and branches will grow and they need food.

Jenn, you'll want to dig a hole that is the depth of your potted tree and about 3 times as wide (I know, I know, you're going to need a pick ax or impact shovel, I own both). Fill it with water. Let it drain. Do it again. If your soil is not draining well, plant your tree about an inch or so above the soil line, but not TOO high, or the top roots will be exposed. Backfill with your native soil. Do not amend. It is not recommended here in S. California to amend the soil. Your commercial citrus growers didn't, and you can see that the trees are growing quite successfully. Redrac is correct in that you'll just be creating a "pot in the ground" if you do. Our soils here are not that alkaline and really don't need any adjusting for pH for citrus (or we'd never be the #2 citrus producer in the country.) Top dress with compost (and put compost in your well at least once a year to help improve your organic matter) and a little chicken manure (VERY little, as it is quite high in Nitrogen). Refrain from fertilizing for a month or so, to give the roots some time to grow and support new vegetative growth. Then you can fertilize. Be sure you've dug a nice large well that slopes down to the drip line, so your water will collect along the outer ring of the well, where the feeder roots will be (edge of the canopy). John is correct in the concept of how roots collect nutrients. It is important to fertilize along that outer ring, where the feeder roots are. For us here in California, if you've got sparse soil that has small amounts of organic matter (as in clay soils or DG soils like I have), you may find you'll need to fertilize a little more frequently - every 2 to 3 months - and then hit your tree in the winter with a micronutrient foliar spray or root soak, if we get lots of cold rains (like we did last year, not really so much this year) if you notice your trees getting chlorotic. I prefer to use Grow Power Citrus & Avocado Food for my fertilizer, as it has humic acid in it, which is very helpful for us here in S. California. For my micronutrient foliar spray/root soak, I like to use Grow More Citrus Grower's Blend: http://www.amazon.com/Grow-Citrus-Grower-Blend-Fertilizer/dp/B004AGTEQ6

It most likely is not an iron deficiency for us here in S. California that causes the chlorosis, but more often a magnesium/manganese deficiency. Once your trees are well established, that chlorosis in the winter will be much less pronounced.

If you're interested, and close enough to go, UC Riverside Extension is offering an excellent 2-day course for citrus growing this coming February:

UC Riverside Extension: Citrus Trees in the Garden

Well worth the $65.00 fee. I will be attending, and so are several of the Citrus Growers Forum folks: http://citrus.forumup.org/

Lastly, I've included a great Internet resource for us in S. California - UC Davis Home Orchard link. They have some info about citrus growing, as well as lots of great information about growing any other producing trees, bushes, vines, etc. Definitely will want to bookmark this site.

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: UD Davis Home Orchard: Citrus