How to Grow Citrus in Pots

Lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges and kumquats for patios, balconies and cold-winter regions.

Citrus are one of the most rewarding fruits you can grow in a pot. A single well-fed tree gives you fragrant blossom, glossy evergreen leaves and a steady supply of fruit, all from a container you can set by the back door. Because the roots are confined, a potted citrus stays smaller and comes into fruit quickly, which makes it perfect for patios, balconies, small yards and rentals where you cannot plant in the ground.

Pots also put citrus within reach of cold-winter regions. Citrus dislike hard frost, so the ability to wheel a pot into a sheltered spot, against a warm wall, into a greenhouse or indoors over winter is a real advantage anywhere outside the frost-free South and West. Get the pot size, the mix, the watering and the feeding right and a container citrus will crop happily for many years. Use the helper below to size your pot and set up a feeding routine, then read on for variety picks and care.

Choosing a Tree and Dwarf Rootstock

Almost all citrus sold in the US are grafted, with the fruiting variety joined onto the roots of a tougher, more disease-resistant plant. For pots, ask specifically for a dwarf citrus, a tree grown on a dwarfing rootstock. A common choice is Flying Dragon (a contorted form of Poncirus trifoliata), which holds a tree to roughly half the size of a standard one, keeps it in scale for a container, and often brings it into fruit a year or two sooner.

Buy a healthy, well-grown two to three year old grafted tree from a reputable nursery, and where you live in a citrus-growing state buy certified, disease-free stock (this matters for slowing huanglongbing, covered below). Seed-grown citrus take many years to fruit and are not true to type, so a grafted, named variety is always the better buy for a pot.

The best types for containers are the compact, reliable producers:

• Lemon: Meyer and Improved Meyer (the most pot-friendly and cold-tolerant), and Eureka for a true tart lemon.
• Lime: Bearss (Persian) lime, and the small, ever-bearing Key lime.
• Mandarin: Satsuma (the most cold-hardy) and Clementine are productive and easy to peel.
• Orange: Washington Navel and Valencia, choosing dwarf-grafted forms.
• Kumquat: one of the very best citrus for pots, naturally small, ornamental and easy to crop.

Pot, Mix and Position

Use a pot with plenty of drainage holes and stand it on pot feet so excess water can escape and the base does not sit in a puddle. Fill with a quality free-draining potting mix or a dedicated citrus and palm mix. Never use garden soil or heavy clay in a pot, as it compacts, holds water and suffocates the roots.

Position is everything. Citrus crop best in full sun, a minimum of six to eight hours of direct light a day. Pick the warmest, brightest, most sheltered spot you have and protect young trees from strong wind and frost. A sunny south-facing wall that radiates warmth is ideal, especially in cooler regions.

Watering

Watering is the single biggest cause of problems with potted citrus, in both directions. The aim is consistent moisture without waterlogging. Water when the top 1 to 2 inches of mix feels dry, then soak the pot until water runs freely from the drainage holes. In peak summer heat a pot may need watering every day. Mulch the surface of the mix to slow evaporation and keep the roots cool.

Just as important, never leave the pot standing in a saucer of water. Constant wet feet lead to root rot, which is often the real reason behind sudden yellowing and leaf drop. Young trees need the most consistent moisture while they establish their roots.

Feeding

Citrus are heavy feeders, and potted trees are hungrier still because every watering washes nutrients out of the mix. Feed through the growing season with a citrus-specific fertilizer (higher nitrogen plus micronutrients, looking for added magnesium, iron and zinc). A simple routine is to feed in early spring, again in late spring and again in midsummer, or use a controlled-release citrus food, topped up with a monthly liquid feed. Ease right off through winter when the tree is barely growing.

Match the strength to the tree. Young trees do best on lighter, more frequent diluted feeds, while established trees can take the full rate at each seasonal point. Always water before and after feeding so the roots are never fed when dry.

Pruning and Fruit

Citrus need only light pruning. Shape the tree to keep it open and balanced, remove any dead or crossing branches, and snip back the odd wayward shoot. The one job not to skip is removing rootstock suckers, any vigorous shoots that appear from below the graft union. They are not your fruiting variety and will sap the tree, so rub or cut them off as soon as you see them.

On a very young tree it pays to remove the fruit in the first year and to thin a heavy set in the next year or two. It feels harsh, but it lets the tree put its energy into building a strong framework rather than stalling under a load of fruit it is too small to carry.

Common Problems

Yellow leaves

Yellowing is the most common citrus complaint and the cause is written in the pattern:

• Over-watering or poor drainage: overall dull yellowing with soggy mix. Let the pot dry out more between waterings and check the drainage holes are clear.
• Nitrogen deficiency: even, pale yellowing across older leaves first. Feed with a complete citrus fertilizer.
• Magnesium deficiency: yellowing between the veins on older leaves, with a green inverted V at the base. Common in pots, and corrected with a citrus food containing magnesium or a watering of Epsom salts.
• Iron deficiency: yellowing on the newest leaves while the veins stay green. Usually linked to cold, wet or alkaline conditions, and helped by a chelated iron drench.
• Cold stress: general yellowing and leaf drop after cold snaps. Move the pot to shelter over winter.

Citrus leafminer

Leafminer leaves silvery, squiggly trails inside new leaves, which then curl. It is mostly cosmetic on a mature tree. Tolerate it on established trees and protect only the new flushes on young trees, with horticultural oil applied to the soft new growth.

Asian citrus psyllid and HLB awareness

The Asian citrus psyllid is a small sap-sucking insect that spreads huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, the most serious citrus disease in the US. There is no cure once a tree is infected. Buy only certified, disease-free trees, do not move citrus plants or cuttings across state or quarantine lines, inspect new growth for the tiny psyllids, and report suspected HLB to your local agricultural extension office. Citrus gall wasp, a major pest in some other countries, is only a minor regional issue here.

Scale, sooty mold and aphids

Scale insects suck sap and excrete honeydew, which grows a black sooty mold on the leaves. Aphids cluster on new shoots. Treat all three with a thorough spray of horticultural oil, which smothers scale and clears the way for the mold to wash off.

Collar and root rot

Soggy mix and wet feet cause collar and root rot, seen as gum oozing at the base and a tree in slow decline. Prevention is the cure: free-draining mix, pot feet, and never standing the pot in water.

Winter Care in Cold Areas

This is where pots earn their keep. In cold, frost-prone regions move the pots before the first hard frost to a sheltered, sunny position, against a warm wall, into a greenhouse, or indoors next to a bright south-facing window. Reduce watering over winter, since a cool, barely growing tree needs far less, and stop feeding altogether until spring. Protect the canopy from frost with a frost blanket if a cold night threatens, then move the tree back outside as the weather warms.

Best Citrus Varieties for Pots

Frequently Asked Questions

See also: Lemon in the plant library →

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