I have great luck growing oranges and lemons and limes in Iowa and Illinois! I HAVE TRIED GROWING BANANAS AND PINEAPPLES, beautiful plants, but I GOT NO FRUIT! Banana leaves on my plants have been much bigger than a man, and beautiful! But, AGAIN, NO FRUIT! But, CITRUS will bear DELICIOUS FRUIT! This page deals specifically with growing citrus in Davenport, Iowa; part of the larger Quad-Cities area. They typically produce big and delicious fruit, from a beautiful tree, that may be only about three feet high! As a plus, the blossoms are beautiful and also have a pleasant aroma.
I have had miniature purchased trees. Then one knows what to expect and what one is getting specifically. My best luck has been with lemons and limes and smallish oranges. I have heard of some successes planting from seed with proven varieties for the COLD NORTH, but I have never went this route, it seems like a lot of work and waiting and some uncertainty. I do not recommend planting seeds from store plants, often their genetics is off and you get a plant that will not fruit! Fun, but more fun to get fruit!
One just mainly needs a decent pot, and a good warm weather spot and safe good home spot in colder times. That is about all it takes.
What else? Generally my trees have lost a fair amount of leaves in the winter, usually need to clean them off the floor. Hot and dry temperatures inside can make this worse, and more dangerous, particularly if plant is placed in front of a hot air vent. Don’t panic! In the summer weather, generally the plants make up for losses and can grow a lot. Trees do best outside when they can go out, but it is not required trees go outside. I have almost always taken my trees out in good weather. These trees will not tolerate cold weather, in particular a frost. Mine have survived frost, in the spring. The outside warm weather and sun allows for growth and recovery. But, I would not count on it. I worry a lot more about cold weather in the fall, as a damaged plant has less chance of surviving the winter inside. The trees do like quite a lot of light. Do you need a big tree in the house? No! I often start getting fruit and blossoms when trees are only about 2 feet high. Also, it only takes a couple years for a tiny tree to grow to a couple feet, and start getting blossoms and delicious fruit. Yes, properly selected miniature varieties should yield delicious and often large fruit. Again, I strongly urge buying actual miniature plants that have the genetics for this situation. I do not encourage planting from seeds from store fruit. My father did this with grapefruit. He got beautiful plants. But, they failed to flower or get any fruit. My purchased trees have always blossomed and fruited and thrived. ANOTHER BONUS, THE FRUIT CAN SIT ON THE TREES A LONG TIME. SO, HARVEST WHEN YOU WANT AND SAVE FRIDGE SPACE. I believe citrus prefer slightly acidic soil. It has never been a concern for me. I just basically planted them in good soil, and they did well. Possibly the soil was slightly acidic, or something was added in the tiny pots of the purchased trees, or the trees got plenty acidity from natural rain when outside and occasional watering with rain water when inside. My trees have always thrived outside! Does the tree need to be small? No, they adjust to pot size. A neighbor of mine had a 6 foot high lemon, with all kinds of lemons on it. Thorns? Yes, many citrus do have thorns. They can stick you. On more than one occasion, I have cut the thorns off, but often there are a lot to cut off, if you go this route. I have not always removed the thorns. Often I am careful in handing and placement of trees, to avoid getting stuck.
I think that is all one really needs, good luck!
Naturally, one needs to be sure they are watered. Sometimes I dab pollen from one flower to another with a paint brush or similar item to aid pollination, but often this is not needed. Again, make sure they are watered, no water can cause a horrific citrus death, in particular when outside on a hot summer day ALSO THERE ARE HOT AND SUNNY DAYS IN WINTER HERE! CITRUS ENJOY A DAY VACATION OUTSIDE, JUST DON’T LET THEM OUT WHEN IT DIPS BELOW FREEZING, LIKELY A DEAD TREE! Please review my general organic gardening tips, as a fair amouunt of this information pertains to growng citrus.
Recently I have experimented with outside shed storage of trees and even underground storage, in cooler weather. UNDERGROUND STORAGE? Perhaps just a monitored HOLE IN THE GROUND covered with CLEAR PLASTIC would work? I have learned that these methods of STORAGE and KEEPING TREES ALIVE, can work in short adjustment periods as temperatures begin to cool outside. LESS TREES IN THE HOUSE! All winter? Those in an unheated shed would FREEZE TO DEATH! UNDERGROUND stored citrus and other plants, it might WORK, I do not know. It could be REVOLUTIONARY!!!!! YES! MUCH OF “WINTER” is WARM and SUNNY HERE; clear plastic and so forth can easily be removed on warm days. This certainly has merits, perhaps for “warmer” cold weather or more cold hardy plants or maybe even CITRUS and BANANAS!! I DO NOT KNOW!!! Still an experimental work in progress!
tyronesitefunhere 