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Cornucopia - Australia

lemon trees

21 years ago

Hi there,

I have at last (after 30 something years) decided to plant a lemon tree.

I have purchased a Eureka lemon tree. Now I need to know the basics of planting and caring for it:

Is there any special preparation for the soil (clay type) before I plant it? Should I add fertiliser or compost or maybe animal manure? If I do should I let it rest for a while before planting? If so how long?

Should I prune now or later?

What is the best way to feed it later?

How long before I should let it fruit?

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Dee.

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Comments (5)

pepino
21 years ago
Hi Dee
All citrus prefer light soil so I would recommend you add as much organic matter as possible. If your ground is clay I would plant it above the soil. You can almost sit it on the existing ground and build up around it. For mine I dug the soil well and added heaps of well composted stable manure and simply watered. I'm not sure if it is a good idea to fertilise straight away. You can add gypsum to break the clay if needed. DO NOT ADD LIME! Lime is alkaline and citrus like it neutral to acid.

If your animal manure is fresh you need it to ferment. The best way is to heap it and after a week turn it over and leave it another week. Should be ok to go them.

Unless you have branches that obviously need pruning I would leave it for now.

Re allowing it to fruit I have heard people who pick the flower buds for the first two years not allowing it to fruit. I pick mine off the first year.
User
Original Author
21 years ago
Hi Pepino,
Thanks for your help again!
Pretty much what I figured, but I've never grown citrus before and I wanted to make sure I did the right things.
I can't wait to have my own lemons!
Cheers,
Dee.
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finbar
21 years ago
All good advice from Pep. As always! The key is to have the tree growing in well-drained soil. Citrus hate wet feet. You can fertilise a young tree with a commercial citrus food starting a couple of weeks after transplant. Don't overdose - small amounts about every five or six weeks. I knock off all the flowers in the first year and about half in the second year. You'll get a limited supply of fruit in the second year without hurting the tree. The third year is when you should be rolling in lemons!

One other tip. Young leaves are really vulnerable to critters like leaf miner. Get yourself a supply of White Oil or a version of same.
User
Original Author
21 years ago
Hi Graeme,
All advice is eagerly taken on board. After waiting this long to finally plant a lemon tree, I would like it to take off as quickly and successfully as possible. I will try and do everything as suggested by both you and Pepino.
Thankyou both,
Dee.
finbar
21 years ago
Goodoh, Dee. Don't forget to stick it where it will get as much sun as possible.

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