PAGE TWO 
SELECT YOUR CITRUS FOR A 
YEAR-ROUND SUPPLY! 
For your citrus planting you will want to use varieties which 
ripen at different times during the year, so that a constant 
supply of fruit is available. This will prevent any waste of 
fruit, as well as insure your family citrus to keep them pro- 
vided with the vitamins and minerals which only citrus fruits 
can provide and which are so important to good health. 
Here are some of the varieties recommended for family use. 
Note the variation in time of ripening, and that some varie- 
ties will hold on the tree for a longer period after the fruit 
ripens. All of these factors, as well as taste preference, 
should be taken into consideration when making a citrus 
planting. 
GRAPEFRUIT 
MARSH SEEDLESS. Late. Smooth yellow skin. Seedless. 
RUBY PINK. Early. One of the best. Ruby-pink color, often 
showing through the smooth skin. Seedless and very prolific. Fine 
flavor. 
DUNCAN. Early. Fine quality fruit. Will hold on trees ’til May. 
LIME 
KEY. Small, very acid, juicy fruit. 
LAKELAND. Smooth-skinned, medium-sized fruit. Acid. 
TAHITI or PERSIAN. Everbearing, with large fruit. 
LEMON 
MEYER. Dwarf, with large fruit. Everbearing. 
PONDEROSA. Giant Lemon of fine quality. Novelty. 
ORANGES 
HAMLIN.—Early. Medium to large fruit of fine quality. Juicy. 
KING. Midseason to late. Heavy skin but peels easily. Good flavor. 
PARSON BROWN. Early. A favorite for commercial plantings. 
PINEAPPLE. Midseason. Deep red fruit with a distinctive pine- 
apple fragrance and flavor. A heavy producer. 
SATSUMA. Very early. Smooth skin which parts freely from the 
pulp. Sweet and highly flavored. 
SUMMERFIELD NAVEL. Early. Fine flavor. Best quality. 
TANGERINE. A “kid glove” Orange of medium size. 
flavor. Deep orange in color. 
TEMPLE. Late. Best of all Oranges. Very juicy and delicious, 
VALENCIA. Late. Medium to large; good color. Finest quality. 
Rich spicy 
KUMQUAT 
MARUMI. Round fruit 1 inch in diameter. 
rind, sweet, with pleasantly acid pulp. 
MEIWA. Round, slightly larger than Marumi. 
ripe. 
NAGAMI. Oblong, 1% to 2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. 
Sweet golden yellow rind; acid pulp. 
Bright golden yellow 
Sweet when fully 
OTHER CITRUS 
CALAMONDIN. Orange-red, 2 inches in diameter. Thin skin, easily 
removed. Clear, acid juice. 
TANGELO. A cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit. Easy to 
peel; smaller than grapefruit but similar in growth. Tops in flavor. 
FLORIDA NURSERY GARDEN NEWS 
OCTOBER, 1954 
HELPFUL HINTS ON CITRUS GROWING 
1. PLANTING TIME. While commercial plantings are usually 
made during December, January and February, home plantings may 
be made at any time during the year. This is because the container 
grown citrus may be moved at any time without any damage to the 
root system and growing is not hampered or slowed down. 
2. SOIL REQUIREMENTS. Any well drained soil will grow a 
citrus tree, for it is able to adapt itself to a wide range of soil condi- 
tions. It is best, however, to avoid either a stiff clay or an excessively 
sandy soil. Clay is too difficult to cultivate and sandy soils do not 
retain enough plant food. 
3. PREPARATION AND PLANTING. Prepare location well before 
transplanting. Dig hole twice the size of the container or ball of earth 
around the roots. Pulverize the top soil well, and add about three 
pounds of good organic fertilizer to the soil and mix thoroughly. 
Remove the container from around the ball of earth and place tree in 
hole to same depth it originally grew. Fill in around the tree with 
soil mix and water well to prevent air pockets. 
the tree to help hold moisture; a good mulch of oak leaves will also 
help. 
Leave saucer about 
4. SPACING. When planted in groves or larger areas, citrus should 
be spaced about 25 by 25 feet for oranges and 30 by 30 feet for 
This distance allows good cultivation by mechanical 
methods. However, for home plantings, usually on small properties, 
grapefruit. 
this distance may be cut down considerably, allowing about 20 feet 
for larger growing citrus and even smaller space for lemons, limes, 
kumquats, etc. 
5. FERTILIZATION. Citrus trees are usually fertilized three times 
each year—in the early spring, midsummer, and late fall. A safe rule 
of application to follow is one pound of fertilizer for each year of age 
of the tree. The fertilizer should contain certain of the minor elements 
so important in citrus growth, including manganese, copper and 
soluble magnesium. For example, if you want to use a 4-7-5 formula 
of fertilizer it should have 2-3% soluble magnesium, 1% manganese, 
and 1% copper. 
6. PRUNING. Citrus trees require very little pruning. However, 
they should be trimmed to keep the heads as low and spreading as 
possible for several reasons; first, fruit is easier to gather; second, there 
is less damage from wind; third, the low trees better shade their own 
root systems from the hot summer sun. Of course it is necessary to 
keep any shoots coming from below the graft trimmed off as they 
appear. 
7. SPRAYING. Citrus trees occasionally become infested with 
insects, scales and fungi, and at such times they should be sprayed to 
clean up these conditions before extreme damage is done. Lack of 
space prevents a more lengthy discussion of sprays, but if you will 
bring in a branch or fruit which shows damage, our experts will 
gladly recommend the proper sprays. 
8. CULTURE. Stirring the soil is beneficial because it loosens the 
surface soil and allows the air to penetrate deeper into the ground. 
The pulverization helps to conserve soil moisture also. Weeds and 
grass utilize a great part of the fertilizer if they are permitted to grow 
close to the citrus tree, so they should be kept removed. If you are 
growing a tree as specimen in your lawn, it is important to keep the 
lawn grass removed in a large circle in order to give the tree every 
opportunity to do its best. 
Contact Us Jf You Have Other Citrus Problems 
