Fruit & Citrus (Copy)

Luscious Lemons

The humble lemon is one of the most productive backyard fruit trees. Choose the right variety for your area and you can soon enjoy fresh home grown lemons. The important requirements for lemons (and most citrus trees) are very well drained soil, a full sun position, regular water and regular applications of Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food.
Grafted trees are best in gardens as the strong root system resists root rot diseases (e.g. phytophthora) and promotes healthy growth and abundant fruiting. Dwarf citrus trees, grafted onto Flying Dragon rootstock which restricts the size of the tree but not the fruit, are ideal for smaller gardens and in large pots. Cutting grown trees such as ‘Lots-a-Lemons’ are best suited to large pots which provide adequate drainage for these dwarf multi-stemmed plants.

Best home garden lemon varieties include:

Eureka Lemon – very productive, fruits nearly all year round, with large medium to thick skinned lemons which are juicy, very acidic and have few seeds. It’s a large upright, cold sensitive tree.

Meyer – a thin skinned, super juicy lemon with a mild acid content, cropping several times a year. The fruit has a deep golden colour when ripe. It’s a wide spreading tree, and is very cold tolerant.

Lisbon – a very cold tolerant variety, large thick skinned fruit, very juicy and acidic with few seeds. A vigorous upright tree which mostly crops in mid to late winter.

Lemonade – a less acidic lemon with a sweeter milder flavour, which is delicious eaten fresh or juiced. It’s a vigorous tree and thrives in warm climates.

If you missed feeding your home grown citrus in August, there’s still time to boost hungry trees (and all fruiting plants) with applications of Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food. This complete fertiliser contains fast acting nutrients to help boost growth and produce more abundant fruit.

Berry delightful – tie up the long canes of raspberry as they grow, and net crops as the fruit develops, to protect the fruit from birds.

To encourage healthy foliage growth and lots of raspberries, feed regularly with Yates Thrive Soluble Flower & Fruit.

Blueberries prefer an acidic well drained soil, so growing them in large pots (Yates Tuscan 400 mm pots are ideal) filled with quality potting mix makes good sense. To lower soil pH, treat the soil with Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur every 4 weeks until the correct pH is achieved and fertilise in spring using Yates Acticote Fruit, Citrus, Trees and Shrubs which feeds continually for up to 12 months.

When choosing blueberry varieties, Northern Highbush is suited to cooler areas as they require lots of ‘chilling’ hours and Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush prefer warmer areas.

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