I have developed an addiction to growing citrus (and other tropical plants) in containers up here in New England. Have successfully fruited lemons, kumquats, guava, and mango; still waiting on bananas and expanding my collection.
In addition to relying on clay pots (especially for younger citrus), the best soil I’ve found for this is Mount Desert Island Blend™ Organic Cactus & Succulent Mix – Coast of Maine Organic Products. However, I’m curious about making my own, especially if I can make it less expensively since I’m trying to become more economical with my hobby after a few years of untrammeled hyperfixation. If I had infinite budget I’d just buy many bags of this mix but am maybe considering what else I can do.
Does anyone who grows citrus (and other tropicals) in containers have a recommended mix they can make at home? My standby last year was just using potting soil mixed 50/50 with perlite. Am interested in DIY suggestions and did a quick search and found nothing.
following. ive been using Miracle grow cactus and its pretty expensive as well but poorer quality than coast of maine. bark fines mixed with peat and some coarse perlite with osmocote plus or compost would probably be ideal but i cant get bark fines here.
I don’t really have a recipe and tend to mix what I have on hand. At this point I have over 25 citrus in pots, some happier than others but all well enough. I usually don’t buy potting soil but I have bags of perlite, pine bark fines/chips, coarse coco coir, sometimes vermiculite and peat. Those I mix with my own compost and loam soil. In my experience the pine bark is the most important ingredient to get a mix that is stable for at least 2-3 years.
I also experimented with adding washed, homemade charcoal which works well, but don’t be stingy with the fertilizer afterwards. It sucks up nutrients for a while
Yeah citrus doesn’t seem to mind much about whatever I put them in. I think any soil is fine, but some soils may be more prone to drying out and some more prone to holding moisture too long. The latter really only an issue during winter, but I’d say don’t break the bank on soil for citrus.
I guess it’s the latter which concerns me, especially in winter, up here in New England. If any of my citrus plants have died, it’s been of root rot, even in clay pots where I’ve watered sparingly, just because of changes in sun/heat intensity through windows; the ones in Mt Desert Island Blend (linked in OP) have done best for longest. But maybe that’s more a “skill issue,” as the kids say, than a soil issue per se.
I think it’s more a watering skill. When I was taking a couple citrus inside, I basically didn’t water them for the winter, granted they are only inside basically January and February in my case. So if you had them inside for 5 months likely they’d need a watering or two. But definitely sparingly, in fact I’d say let them show signs of drought stress before you water them when they are inside. But if you have good results with a soil, just keep using it, no need to fix something that doesn’t seem broken.
i need to give them at least a couple qts. each every 10 days or so due to our very dry air in winter. they are inside from late oct until early june. when i 1st . put them back out, i water heavily to flush the salts out. that triggers alot of new growth. mother nature provides adequate water after that.
I used to mix my own container soil by following the 511 formula with good result, especially for the citrus. If you search Al’s 511 you will find the receip.
I have a couple of Meyer lemons planted in 50:50 happy frog soil and pumice. For a new mandarin tree from four winds and planted it in 2:1 orchid bark and palm/citrus soil.
I would recommend looking for the makeup of that mix and finding the bulk versions of the ingredients, locally if possible. I assume seaweed and crustacean shells are abundant in certain areas if you know where to look. Not sure if that is part of the mix.
Also, well done with recognizing your addiction and acknowledging it! That is the first step. I’m still getting there
Steve, can you locate a mill that has bark or whatever the ‘junk wood’ from the outside of the logs is called? Then make your own fines somehow? Maybe a grinder and a leaf mulcher combo could do it…
we have mills everywhere but they export their products down your way where they can get top dollar for their products. they dont offer it to locals. no profit selling to us poor folks!
This is what I use too. I sometimes add one more part of calcined clay depending on the bark fines I have and how much they’ve been composted.
@steveb4 I can’t find pine fines either. However, I did find some pine bark nuggets sold as mulch. I run them through a wood chipper. I found one on Craigslist a few years ago pretty cheap. Just one of the 3 inch ones. That makes perfect fines.
