The general rule of thumb is to give the tree at least 1" of water each week when active. Multiply the diameter of the tree at the drip line.

What inulover said. I would add that in our climate (I live in The Bahamas 60 miles east of West Palm Beach) with our sandy soils mulch is a highly underutilized benefit to fruiting trees. I would recommend you apply a mulch a few inches thick to all the area that has no grass on it, leaving it an inch or two away from the trunk. This will greatly increase the moisture retention of the soil and hopefully increase the number of fruits it holds. I started mulching my sapodilla last year and have had a good response from it. Best of all, it'll reduce the frequency you need to water! :)

(Pine needle mulch, depending on your local fauna, is free and cheap)

I mulch ALL my fruit trees except Citrus...I've read so many articles that Citrus is not suppose to be mulched...I have no idea what to is correct,lol...I see all the Orchards around me ( I have Citrus orchards all over Highlands County) and there is NO mulch in any of them. So it is very confusing which is the right way when it comes to Citrus?

Thanks for the replies...

Fair point; this is a nice thread about the subject of mulching citrus (which also addresses those claims that they shouldn't be mulched). Most of the similar threads I have found boast replies from persons who regularly mulch their citrus with great success. I think one of biggest reasons people exhort others to not mulch them is the fear of keeping the soil too moist and giving place to the development of foot rot and other diseases. However with our sandy (good-draining) soils overmoisture is usually not an issue, and as I previously mentioned keeping the mulch away from direct contact with the trunk itself should serve to additionally discourage any foot root etc. I can only speak from my personal experience and what I have noticed with others who mulch their citrus on here and it works for them....as to the orchards perhaps they use drip irrigation or the trees are so far along that they can get by on rainfall? Growing in an orchard can be very different than growing at home, and some orchards mulch while some do not. :)

Thread about mulching citrus

Also a good mulching citrus thread

*I should also add that this may depend on how often you water? If your citrus is regularly watered (say a couple times a week) it may not need any mulch at all. If you are trying to conserve water/reduce irrigation intervals, mulching may be in order.

What did you decide? :)

Agree with B-Dan's comments. I see no intrinsic reason why mulch would not be appropriate with citrus. I suspect for the big orchards, it's just logistics....how would an operator mulch thousands of trees? That said, I don't even live down there, let alone profess to be a citrus expert.

But one more point; If in doubt, there is a very high-tech instrument that can be used to assess soil moisture. That instrument is your fingers, inserted into the soil! I'm not being a smart-aleck here-this really should be done on occasion, so that one knows they are in the ballpark. I agree-all over this country-that an inch of water, whether supplied by man or by Ma Nature-is a good starting point. But if it's been 95 degrees F and windy, that still might not be adequate. So a little direct observation can go a long way.

+oM