Grow your own Citrus paradisi tree with these essential peak .
An well-off - maintenance and long - lived backyard Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , a Citrus paradisi tree(Citrusxparadisi)is prized for its productivity . A fledged tree — Citrus paradisi Tree usually reach matureness at about five years of long time — potentially produces more than 200 pounds of juicy , odorous - woman of the street , crimson fruit . Ripening in October through January , grapefruit becomes sweeter as it remains on the tree .
Here ’s how to plant and grow your own grapefruit tree .
Credit:Doug Hetherington
Doug Hetherington
Always purchase grapefruit trees ( like all citrous fruit tree ) from a certified baby’s room that has been inspected by state or federal examiner to ensure disease - free stock . Citrus is blight by a widespread and incurable bacterial disease called Huanglongbing ( HLB ) , or citrus greening . Disease - liberal flora textile is essential for fruit yield .
Where to Plant a Grapefruit Tree
Grapefruit grows good in full sun . lineal sunlight is essentialfor yield circle . Choose a planting location that has at least eight 60 minutes of direct sunlight a day . avert planting near the magnetic north or east side of buildings or tree that could vomit a shadow on the grapefruit tree . If a clean freezing might hap in your area , take a position on the south side of a construction for some protection . Choose a planting fix that will accommodate the matured size of it of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , 10 to 15 feet wide and 20 to 25 feet tall .
How and When to Plant a Grapefruit Tree
It is possible to plant container - grown grapefruit tree any metre of the twelvemonth , but spring and downfall are preferred due to the prevailing moderate temperature .
Bare - source treesshould be planted in February or March .
Dig a planting holeas tumid as the young antecedent ball of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . When placed in the planting fix , the tree diagram ’s root dash , and the swollen domain where the roots emerge from the trunk , should be somewhat above the soil bank line . Gently take out some soil from the forbidden edges of the rootball to expose root , encouraging them to expand into the aboriginal grime . Backfill the planting maw with aboriginal soil .
After establish , if the soil drains freely , build a 5 - inch - magniloquent grease basin around the edge of the rootball arena . This basin will enamour water when the tree is young and surrender it to the plant ’s root geographical zone . water system a fresh planted Citrus paradisi tree regularly for about two calendar month .
Grapefruit Tree Care Tips
Light
Grapefruit tree diagram grow well when they receive at least eight hours of verbatim sunlight a mean solar day . Grapefruit trees grow in part shade , but fruiting is repress significantly .
Soil and Water
Citrus paradisi trees thrive in free , well - drained soil . They languish in heavy soil , such as mud . The best soil for grapefruit trees is somewhat sandlike in texture and with the power to clump when moist . Choose a planting stain with tight - draining grunge for a long - survive tree .
design to irrigate a newly establish Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree every few days , slow delivering about five gallons of water to the root zone . Keep up the regular wateringfor about two months , at which time the young tree diagram should be established . body of water during extensive dry while as call for . matured Citrus paradisi tree seldom need supplemental watering .
Temperature and Humidity
Hardy inZones 9 to 11 , Citrus paradisi tree diagram are sensitive to freezing temperatures . A halt in all probability eliminates yield bud for the following season and kills full branches of the tree .
If a freeze is predicted , cross a new tree diagram with a blanket or tarp , securing the edges of the cover to the primer . ripe trees are about impossible to protect from a freezing .
A healthy grapefruit tree thrives with humidity at a minimum of 50 % .
Fertilizer
new grapefruit tree benefit from dressing , but it is not substantive . Most grapefruit trees plant in the nursing home landscape source their nutrient need from the palisade dirt .
Pruning
Easy - forethought grapefruit trees do not require regular pruning . Only prune to remove crushed , hybridization , or morbid branches as soon as you notice them .
Potting and Repotting
pocket-sized Citrus paradisi kind are suitable to be maturate in big container , render they offer excellent drainage and are filled with well - draining , sandy potting land or a special citrous fruit tree diagram potting intermixture .
expect for dwarf or semi - dwarf grapefruit tree diagram variety that mature at only 10 foot in the primer and 6 to 8 feet in can , such as ' Cocktail ' , ' Oroblanco ' , ' Redblush ' , ' Rio Red ' , or ' Star Ruby ' .
The container should be at least twice the tallness and width of the tree ’s rootball . Position the container out of doors in full Sunday and water it on a regular basis .
Repotting of the tree only becomes necessary when the tree outgrow its container in about four to five years . transplanting the tree into a container about 2 inches larger than the current one . Fill it with fresh potting filth .
Pests and Problems
The most significant threat to Citrus paradisi trees — and all citrus trees — is Huanglongbing ( HLB ) . An incurable bacterial disease , HLB has been responsible for the dying of millions of citrus tree Tree since 2005 . The best defence is to buy disease - free plants from a reputable baby’s room .
Manyfamiliar garden pestsare also attracted to grapefruit trees , including aphid , whitefly , scale , mites , and thripid , as well as the less - familiar citrus leaf miner . Most of these are control with insecticidal soap or neem oil .
How to Propagate a Grapefruit Tree
Most Citrus paradisi trees are propagate by base cuttings that are grafted onto stalwart rhizome , which is not available to home gardener in small measure .
It is potential to takestem cuttingsfrom a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and use them to produce a seedling , but without the hardy rootstalk , it will miss the vigor or disease opposition of the parent plant . If you still want to give it a try , take a 6 - inch carving from a young branch of the tree . Make the cut beneath a leaf node . Remove all foliage except the top two foliage . Dip the cutting in settle hormone and inclose it halfway into a pot fill with sand . water system the pot and put a pliant cover or bag over it . put it in a fly-by-night area and mist it three fourth dimension a week until newfangled growth look .
observe that many grapefruit tree cultivars are trademarked or patent and it isillegal to propagate them . Identify the variety of your tree diagram before undertake to broadcast it .
Harvesting
Citrus paradisi maturity varies by variety . Some varieties are ready to be harvested as betimes as October , while others ripen in January . One matter is logical across the potpourri ; Citrus paradisi can remain on the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for several week — or months , bet on the cultivar — with no reduction in the character of the fruit . In fact , grapefruit become sweeter the longer they are on the tree .
For gentle storage , allow for fruit on the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree until you are ready to glean , plucking all the yield from the tree by spring .
Types of Grapefruit Trees
‘Ruby Red’
Citrusxparadisi‘Ruby Red ’ has red bod , few seeds and ripens in November . The fruit can stay on the tree until May .
‘Pink Marsh’
Citrusxparadisi‘Pink Marsh ’ has pinkish flesh and ripens in December . It is seedless and juicy .
‘Rio Red’
Citrusxparadisi‘Rio Red ’ is known for its turgid fruit and deep crimson material body . It has few seeds and ripens in November .
Frequently Asked Questions
A grapefruit tree can be grown indoors but it is unlikely to produce yield . For fruit production , it needs to be kept outside in a frost - free arm mood twelvemonth - orotund .
It takes about five year after planting a young tree until it produces its first fruit . The initial crop is often modest . With proper charge , gestate a good harvest from the 6th or seventh class onwards .
No . Grapefruit trees are self - pollinating and a single Citrus paradisi Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree will farm yield .
