Citrus sources?
 

I'm looking for a fairly good-sized satsuma (mandarin orange) tree. Do you know of any good sources for interesting citrus varieties nearby?

Pokeys Citrus Nursery in Zellwood is very good.

There's a plant store a bit North of Market of Marion on the West side of 441 that we like.


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Unfortunately I think you're talking about Porters which apparently has closed. So sad!

try Citrus and Palms Garden north on 441, very nice selection
 

They really have a nice variety to choose from

Believe Citrus and Palms Garden is the one we used also. We wanted a Meyer Lemon Tree - not in stock - they called us about two weeks later and had a nice one set aside for us.

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My husband wants a lemon or orange tree, with the temps that they've been having at night do you have to cover them? Thanks:cold:

It wouldn't hurt - at least for the first few years.


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If they are young trees you have to wrap the graft at the base of the tree - if it freezes the tree will die - we wrap towels around them. If you don't cover the tree then the leaves may fall off but they will grow back - we cover ours but they still small and it is easy to do.

pokey's
 

drove all the way down to pokey's on july 4 as that was advertised as their 'open house' (in the Daily Sun). muddy, rutted long lane back to a swampy, marchy, muddy mess.. several mobile homes on the neglected property, and no one was there. called them several times, left messages, no replies. the trees that i saw were good, but the entire operation looked like it was poorly maintained or maybe even abandoned.

Well, Pokeys is a litttle bit of old Florida and it can be an adventure getting there. I know that if they are taking the kids to school or picking them up then there may be no one there for a while. Sorry to hear you were unable to get your trees. I'm guessing it would be a good idea to call ahead to make sure there is someone there. They do have a wide variety of really good trees - I know Mr Pokey grafts several thousand trees himself every year. Really it was a shame there was no one there to help as they are very knowledgable. Too bad.

I saw where Lowe's has them, when and how do you plant them am going to put some in also.

Got the last Meyer Lemon at Home Depot a couple of months ago, and planted it in a large pot, which we have brought inside on nights when there was a freeze (except last night, which I don't think was predicted). I think it was a light freeze, and everything looks ok. I've also been covering (except for last night) my pepper plants also, which I planted in November (about a month late). They seem to be ok.

I went to the Twice on Tuesday (gardening session put on by Sumter County extension and master gardeners) at Seabreeze a couple of weeks ago, which was very informative. Winter gardening was the topic, I think. Slides and questions and answers.

Lots of people lost lemons and limes last year in the unusually cold winter. Good idea to wheel them inside or into the garage per everyone there. Lemons and limes are less cold tolerant than oranges and grapefruit.

Today we went to the Webster Farmers' Market/flea market - several plant vendors. Also went to Marion Market a couple of weeks ago and bought a camellia, saw some citrus there, at pretty good prices, I thought. The Meyer lemon I saw there was in blossom - mine is not yet. The plant vendor at the Marion market seemed quite knowledgeable, would go back. He also sold orchids and several other shrubs/trees.

Best time to plant citrus is in the spring when there is no chance of any more freezes. It allows the trees the longest time to settle in before next winter. Dig a hole big enough for the root ball and and water it in - try not to wash the root ball soil off the roots. Tread it in hard making sure there is no air left around the roots as airpockets can kill the tree. Don't put too much mulch around the base as it can develop some fungus. Make sure that your yard guy does not get near it with the weedeater as damage to the bark around the base of the tree will quickly kill it. Fertilize 4-6 times a year with citrus fertilizer when they are young.