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Autumn Citrus Care

04 May

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

As the autumn season approaches, it’s important to give your citrus plants some extra attention to help them thrive during the cooler months. Here are some tips to keep your citrus trees healthy, protected & well-fed.

Feed your trees

Regularly providing nutrients to your citrus plants is crucial to encourage a bountiful harvest of delicious fruit. Citrus trees have a high demand for nutrients, and insufficient nourishment can cause a decrease in the quality of the fruit they produce.Use a citrus-specific fertilizer or a complete fertilizer with added trace elements. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and avoid over-fertilizing, which can damage the roots.

Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food is a complete plant food that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need. Apply Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food around the root zone of in-ground and potted citrus trees every 1-2 weeks during autumn, while citrus trees are busy maturing their fruit.

Powerfeed Plants Food for Flowers, Fruits & Citrus

Thrive Citrus Liquid Fertiliser

Acticote

Ensure soil moisture is retained

Citrus trees need regular watering, especially during dry spells. Make sure the soil around the roots is kept moist but not waterlogged. It’s best to water deeply and less frequently to encourage the roots to grow deeper.

Spreading a layer of mulch, around the root zone of the tree will help retain soil moisture. Keep the mulch 5-10 cm away from the trunk. This allows for improved airflow & helps reduce the risk of trunk diseases.  

Remove weeds and grasses growing around the base of citrus trees as they steal much needed water, nutrients  and reduce airflow.

Sugar Cane Mulch

Seasol Super Soil Wetter and Conditioner is a wetting agent, soil conditioner and plant health treatment all in one. Seasol Super Soil Wetter and Conditioner is a long lasting, aquatic safe wetting agent boosted with Seasol seaweed concentrate and humic soil conditioners. The soil wetter increases the wettability of hard to wet soils, allowing deeper penetration of water into the root zone. It remains active for many months and makes watering, rainfall and liquid feeding more effective…. Saving water, time and money. The soil conditioner promotes the development of good soil structure and increases water holding capacity. It stimulates the growth of beneficial soil microbes, which enhance the fertility and disease resistance of the soil. It also helps to oxygenate the soil and improve retention and plant uptake of essential nutrients. Added Seasol provides a tonic and health treatment for every plant in your garden. Improves water penetration in all soils. Retains moisture at the root zone and reduces drying of soil. Maximises nutrient uptake. Increases watering efficiency and minimises run-off and water wastage Contains liquid composts which improve and condition the soil. Contains Seasol which promotes strong healthy root growth and overall plant health. How to use it Mix 50mL of Seasol Super Soil Wetter & Conditioner concentrate with 9 litres of water and apply it every 3 to 6 months. For extremely poor soils mix 100mL of Seasol Super Soil Wetter & Conditioner concentrate with 9 litres of water and apply it every 2 weeks until the soil improves. Ensure mixture is washed off plant foliage to avoid burning.

Seasol

Waterwise Water Storage Crystals

Seasol Super Soil Wetter and Conditioner is a wetting agent, soil conditioner and plant health treatment all in one. Improves water penetration in all soils. Retains moisture at the root zone and reduces drying of soil. Maximises nutrient uptake. Increases watering efficiency and minimises run-off and water wastage Contains liquid composts which improve and condition the soil. Contains Seasol which promotes strong healthy root growth and overall plant health. Seasol Super Soil Wetter and Conditioner is a long lasting, aquatic safe wetting agent boosted with Seasol seaweed concentrate and humic soil conditioners.The soil wetter increases the wettability of hard to wet soils, allowing deeper penetration of water into the root zone. It remains active for many months and makes watering, rainfall and liquid feeding more effective…. Saving water, time and money.The soil conditioner promotes the development of good soil structure and increases water holding capacity. It stimulates the growth of beneficial soil microbes, which enhance the fertility and disease resistance of the soil. It also helps to oxygenate the soil and improve retention and plant uptake of essential nutrients. Added Seasol provides a tonic and health treatment for every plant in your garden. How to Use: Mix 50mL of Seasol Super Soil Wetter & Conditioner concentrate with 9 litres of water and apply it every 3 to 6 months. For extremely poor soils mix 100mL of Seasol Super Soil Wetter & Conditioner concentrate with 9 litres of water and apply it every 2 weeks until the soil improves.

Seasol Soil Wetter

Pruning

Prune your citrus trees to remove any dead or damaged branches, as well as any branches that are crossing or rubbing against each other. This will improve air circulation and light penetration, which can help prevent fungal diseases.

Watch for signs of root rot

In areas with heavy or poorly drained soil, or during extended periods of wet weather, citrus trees may be susceptible to root rot. The initial symptoms of Root and Collar Rot diseases include wilting leaves and dying shoot tips. These diseases harm the tree’s root system and ability to transport moisture, and you may observe blackened or dying patches on the lower trunk.

Source: Gardeners Path

Pest Control

Citrus trees are prone to pests such as citrus leafminer, scale insects, and aphids. Inspect your trees regularly and take action if you see any signs of infestation. Use an appropriate insecticide, or try natural remedies such as spraying with neem oil or releasing beneficial insects like ladybugs or lacewings.

Scales & Aphids

Scales appear as raised brown, pink or white coloured bumps on stems, leaves & fruit.

Masses of aphids tend to enjoy new leave and stems, causing leaves to curl under.

Both these pests are sap-sucking and excrete a sweet sticky substance called honeydew

Source: Garden Design

Source: Gardening etc

Pyrethrum Insect Spray

Bug & Fungus Killer

Ants

Following on from scales & aphids, ants are attracted to honeydew. If you spot ants in your citrus tree, you likely have scales & aphids as well.

Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray

Sooty Mould

Appearing as a black film over leaves, sooty mould is another consequence of honeydew. Hence, if you control the honeydew producing pests, sooty mould will disappear.

Use Yates Natures Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray.

Source: Gardeners Path

Citrus Leaf Miner

Citrus leaf miner is a tiny moth whose larvae tunnel through the young leaves of citrus trees, creating serpentine tunnels that are visible on the surface of the leaves. This pest can be a significant problem for citrus trees, as the tunnels can impair the tree’s ability to photosynthesize and can also make the tree more vulnerable to other pests and diseases. Some common signs of citrus leaf miner infestation include curled and distorted leaves, silvery lines or blotches on leaves, and stunted growth.

Source: Bugs For Bugs

Source: Sustainable Macleod

Fruit Flies

Even before the fruit is ripe, citrus trees are very vulnerable to attack by fruit flies. It is important to control the pest before they lay eggs.

Fruit Fly Garden Spray

Fruit Fly Netting is recommended for insect exclusion, fruit-fly protection, crop protection, bird exclusion, garden netting, reduction of evaporation and transpiration, microclimate adjustments, shade and reduction of sunburn. The netting will provide some shade (ideal for small seedlings) and will reduce evaporation, which is ideal for starting off small seedlings. Not only will the netting exclude insects, it can also exclude snails and large slugs. The material is stretchy and requires a supporting structure. - Width: 2M - Shade: Translucent 10% (±2%) - Weight: 103g/m2 ± 5g/m2 - Hole Size: 2-3mm (approx) - Material: HDPE Monofilament - 5 Year Pro Rata U/V Stability

Fruit Fly Netting

Eco-Lure Fruit Fly Trap

Yates Nature’s Way Fruit Fly Control attracts and kills common fruit fly species. For fruit, vegetables & ornamentals.A protein and sugar based bait, Nature's Way Fruit Fly Control works by attracting fruit fly from several metres away and killing them when they ingest the treatment. Spinosad, derived from naturally occurring bacteria, effectively controls common fruit fly. Controlling fruit fly during early stages of life helps break the lifecycle.

Nature's Way Fruit Fly Control

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