I have kumquat, satsuma and lemon trees in the ground. Even though my well water is acidic, measuring less than 5.0 on the ph scale, I use it to water all my plants, including the citrus. Even with the acidic well water the citrus have always done quite well in both production and fruit quality. This post was edited by sharona1949 on Mon, Mar 31, 14 at 15:45

Some good advice to try. I'm a citrus novice, growing in pots in central North Carolina; where we have very hot and humid summers but cool-to-cold winters. I've mostly started with seedlings, and got a lot of very different kinds of advice, so I started with several tangelo and lemon seedlings, with the intent of treating them a little differently (with some sacrifice seedlings in the mix) to see what would work best within the indoor / outdoor climate here. The tangelos have all struggled a bit. I have a few lemon seedlings that have been slow in growth, but steady, and lush - even though they are small, they are quite leafy and healthy looking. I'm still trying to get it right - I haven't run into many pests here, but I've found Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint soap (which is all natural) seems to be very effective with everything but slugs, which I've taken care of with bait. I was advised against coffee grounds, but they seemed to help the seeds to get off to a very vigorous start once sprouted. Coffee is acidic, and heavy on trace minerals, which might be why it seemed to agree with the plants. I only used coffee grounds as mulch to start the seedlings, and did not reapply it, and once about an inch tall, the growth slowed down, so I may try sporadic reapplications of it, on a few of the seedlings to see how they do. I also have two nursery plants, both of which are about a foot tall. I've treated them exactly the same, and have been more meticulous. One - a calamondin - is doing very well - very lush and beautiful now that the slug issue has been taken care of. The yuzu is looking a bit sad however, and I wonder if the yuzu is a bit more sensitive - it has been a hot summer, and the precip level has fluctuated from near drought to thunderstormy stretches. The calamondin seems to be able to handle anything, but the yuzu isn't looking very happy...

I think your plan is sound but not sure how much it will really help. I know what I'd do, cover it on cold nights and put a small light bulb under the cover if necessary. I haven't used the floating row cover material but if thick or several layers it is supposed to provide frost protection. I have more faith in a blanket or poly and a heat source. Your location does sound like about as well as you can do for the future production of the tree. Good luck!! The Fruitnut

Don't fertilize until the tree establishes a sturdy root system in its new site. Why do you want to you want to use hydroponic fert in the ground? Better to obtain a "garden" fert.