Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County

Client;s Request: Hi! Do you know of any small citrus trees that would do well living inside? Thanks!

MGCC's Help Desk Response:  Thank you for your inquiry to the Contra Costa Master Gardeners regarding citrus suitable to be grown indoors. 

Growing citrus indoors will allow you to grow these trees in areas beyond their natural hardiness zones and avoid the problems of insects and excessive cold. But at the same time, citrus needs at least 6 hours minimum of direct sunlight (preferably 8 to 12 hours) to flower, bees to naturally pollinate the flowers for fruit, and high summer heat to develop sugar in the fruit. Therefore, to obtain fruit, a dwarf variety is probably the only choice and you should most likely consider keeping your tree indoors during the colder months, and then moving it outdoors during the warmer months. Hand-pollination could also be used for flowers produced indoors. If you cannot provide the appropriate light, you may also consider supplemental “grow” lighting.

Root stock will determine the overall size of the tree. Because you may need to move the potted plant, select a dwarf citrus, which is often grown on Flying Dragon Trifoliate Orange root stock – a natural dwarf that grows to about 10'-12'.  It has a limited root system and must be watered carefully (will not withstand missed waterings or drought). If needed, you can prune the tree to a manageable height and width. Plant in a well-drained potting soil mix in a pot that is at least twice the size of the root ball. You will probably need to re-pot the citrus again later as the tree matures.

The MGCC publication, Citrus for the Home Garden may also be useful to you http://ucanr.edu/blogs/slomggarden/blogfiles/4260.pdf

Citrus varieties commonly available as dwarfs are lemons, limes, kumquats and clementines. The UC ANR publication Tried and True or Something New has a list of common and new citrus varieties for you to consider -http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8472.pdf

meyer lemon
pix: Logees

Growing indoor citrus actually has a long history in Northern Europe and at one time was a sign of wealth and position with the building of orangeries. Most of the content of the references above is primarily meant for outdoor growing of citrus, one of the benefits of California-living for most of the temperate, lower elevations. Not so, for the colder parts of the United States where citrus are often grown indoors, especially in a sun room or a special room heated and usually with lots of glass for capturing as much sun as possible in the winter (Google: “Growing Citrus Indoors” ). 

California does have some large citrus specialty nurseries, several of which are located in Northern California. They do offer citrus that can be grown indoors (“house plants”). While some do supply mail-order access, it has been my experience that many of the citruses you might be interested in from these nurseries are also available in retail nurseries and even in some of the big box stores at times. One of the larger wholesale/retail growers also has several pages on the web on growing citrus as “houseplants” that should be of interest to you (e.g., https://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/tips-and-advice/growing-dwarf-citrus/as-houseplants.html). I'm sure other citrus specialty nurseries can supply similar information on their trees, especially dwarf trees.

Good luck with your indoor citrus selection! Please do no hesitate to contact us again if you have more questions.

Help Desk of the Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County (VLT)

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Note: The  UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions.  Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA  94523. We can also be reached via telephone:  (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.

Advice for the Home Gardener From the Contra Costa Master Gardeners' Help Desk

Client's Questions & Concerns:
Client called in and also sent email with picture asking whether her aloe needed repotting. Plant appeared to be in original 4" pot. She also wanted to know why the plant was drooping.

Response from the CCMG Help Desk

Thank you for contacting Master Gardeners about your aloe plant and whether it needs to be repotted.  Based on the picture that you provided, your Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) would definitely benefit from repotting.

You want to choose a pot that is wider and deeper than the current plant, with space for the plant to grow.  The new pot can be plastic or clay/ceramic.  Given the top-heavy nature of an aloe you may want to use a clay or ceramic pot.  Any pot you select should have one or more drainage holes in the bottom.  You can use commercial cactus mix as your planting medium.

Before planting, lightly cover the drainage holes with a piece of clay or a screen.  Note:  Do not place pebbles or multiple layers of clay pieces in the bottom of the pot "to improve drainage".  Recent research has shown that the pebbles do not improve drainage; they just limit the space for the roots.

To repot, remove the plant from the current pot, clearing away the old soil from the roots.  I noticed that you have a "pup" in the corner of the current pot.  You will want to cut the pup from the main plant.  You can plant it separately if you want.  Place the plant(s) in the new pots with the cactus mix.  The main plant can be planted with the lowest leaves at the soil level, i.e., with the bare stem buried.  Allow the plant(s) to rest out of direct sunlight without water for the first week or two after repotting.  This allows time for roots that may have been damaged in the transplanting process to heal.

There are several environmental factors that could be causing the drooping problem.  One is water.  Aloes should be watered approximately once a week through the growing season (spring to fall).  Aloes need less water during the winter, but you do need to make sure that it gets enough water to avoid shriveling.  You especially want to make sure that the plant does not fully dry out once you start watering it this winter after the transplant waiting period is over. However, you should let it dry out the top 1-2" between waterings (you can stick your finger and/or popsicle stick to check, etc.).

A second factor is fertilization.  The plant looks like it had some sudden new growth.  Like many houseplants, aloes do well with regularly applied diluted fertilizer during the growing season, with no fertilizer during the dormant (winter) season.

A third factor is light.  Your plant may need additional light.  A west or south facing window is best.  Care must be used when introducing additional light or moving the plant to a brighter location.  The plant should be introduced to the additional light gradually to avoid scorching.

For more information on repotting and growing succulents and cactus see:  http://www.csssj.org/welcome_visitors/basic_culture.html.
For specific information on aloes, see:  http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plant-aloe-vera-container-80791.html and
for indoor succulents http://homeguides.sfgate.com/indoor-potted-succulents-dying-80564.html.

And for a view of Aloes and other succulents in a garden setting (with some in pots as well in the nursery), you should visit The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek. This is a world-class garden utiliizing succulents and other water-aving plants in settings that can be inspiration for your home and garden.

Good luck with your aloe.

Please let us know if you have further questions.

Contra Costa Master Gardeners Help Desk

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Note: The Contra Costa Master Gardener Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions.  Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA  94523. We can also be reached via telephone:  (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/