Growing information for citrus trees...

[Nick]

Below is a bunch of info I put found on this subject since I would like a couple trees in my yard in San Juan Pueblo and wanted to know what it takes to make 'em grow.

Fertilization... Citrus trees with smaller varieties of fruit require less nitrogen. Trees growing in sandy soil in areas with abundant rainfall like Honduras also require more nitrogen than trees in less rainy areas. As for fertilizer choices, citrus tree spikes found at most hardware stores reportedly work well in Honduras. They’re easy to use with no mess. Urea is also very popular in Honduras mainly because it is cheap and readily available, not because it’s the best choice. If using urea on any of your plants you need to make sure you water it in really well when applying since it’s prone to burning. Be very careful not to get urea on leaves and once again, water it in thoroughly! If you’re looking for fertilizer and don’t have a hardware store in your area, check with agriculture suppliers located in most parts of the country since they should have something that will work for you. Of course organic compost would also be a good thing to use on your trees as well. A mix of organic household and garden/yard compost placed on top of the soil around the trunk (not touching the trunk) is good for citrus trees and won’t burn the trees so it’s worth the time if you have compost available. It’s also a good thing to use when initially planting a citrus tree as long as you don’t get carried away with it. Just make a hole larger than you need to accommodate some compost around the root ball. Note also if the tree has a tap root, make sure that the hole is deep enough to accommodate the tap root and make sure the root is extended its full length down into the hole. If a tree has its tap root curled up when planted, the tree won’t do well.

Pruning... For the most part citrus trees don't need pruning except to remove dead or damaged limbs. Basically this is all that any citrus tree needs. If you trim them at the wrong time of year, you will not really hurt the tree but you might risk not having any fruit. If these trees are less than about 5 years old just let them grow. If you do decide to prune them, the optimum time would be right before blooming and/or before fruit-set so that the trees will naturally adjust their fruit production to harvest according to their then modified intake of nutrients. It’s worth noting that commercial growers also cut the tops out of their trees to encourage “bushing” and to keep the trees low enough for the pickers. Commercial groves also "hedge" them when they start getting overcrowded. If considering pruning your tree, this site may be of additional help - http://www.ehow.com/how_3642_prune-citrus-tree.html

For more info on growing citrus, just check out Google since there’s tons of info on the subject!