How to Plant an Arizona Citrus Tree

Citrus tree care begins with a trip to the citrus tree nursery to find an easy to grow lemon citrus tree or some other citrus tree. In Arizona citrus trees thrive. But, it is not just the Arizona cactus that has thorns, it is the Arizona citrus tree. Yet, even with the nasty thorns, orange, lemon, grapefruit, and tangelo trees can thrive in the Arizona desert. Of course, first someone has to be the citrus tree planter!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Young citrus tree from nursery
• Shovel
• White latex paint
• paint brush

1. Remove the young citrus tree from the container, and gently allow soil to fall away.

2. Dig a hole that is about the same depth as the root ball of the citrus tree, and is wider than the root ball, by about 3 to 5 times.

3. Score the sides of the citrus tree’s root ball to encourage growth.

4. Place the citrus tree in the hole.

5. Refill hole with the soil you removed, filtering out any rocks as you plant the citrus tree.

6. After the citrus tree is planted, paint the tree trunk with white latex paint to prevent sunburn damage.

7. Fertilize the citrus tree after the first year. Do not fertilize in the first year.

Tips & Warnings

• Pick up fallen fruit to avoid attracting rodents to the citrus tree.
• Soil amendments, composts, mulches, etc. should be avoided.

Resources

• More gardening tips: Making a Rain Barrel