western-queensland-gardening-guide.pdf - South West NRM

Caring for your cihus trees in the west region
Citrus trees require special care.
Fertiliser should be applied two times per year: the first application around June/ July
and the second in November/December. Use a general purpose fertiliser such as
Tropic which contains all the essential nutrients. The rate of application depends on
the age of the tree. For each year of age 0.5 kg of fertiliser is applied to each tree. For
example a two year old tree receives 2 x 0.5 kg = 1 kg of fertiliser. A maximum of 3 kg
is used for well-grown trees.
Use a trace element fertiliser designed for citrus once a year. Apply this in
November/December following the directions on the pack. The fertiliser should be
spread in a broad band around the tree. With young trees start about 10 cm from the
base of tree and continue out to about 50 cm past the edge of the canopy. Older trees
have a longer root system and therefore the band should be wider.
Bore water on citrus trees causes the leaves to yellow, become dull and curl up. Later
the margin may die back and turn brown, particularly near the tips. Leaf fall and twig
die-back may be severe. Fruit tends to fall off and to be smaller than normal. To help
with this problem- as with the same problem around the whole garden-the use of
gypsum and sulphur is ideal. Both gypsum and sulphur (in the form of wettable
sulphur or flowers of sulphur) are available at most hardware shops. These should be
applied at the rate of three handfuls of gypsum to one of sulphur per square metre.
Keep all grass away from base of trees and don't pile grass clippings or mulch too
close to the trunk.