I have always been one of those people who loves to create a warm, inviting atmosphere for others, which is why I started looking at landscaping design in the first place. It was incredible to me to see how much of a difference I was able to make by adding a few new plants, and after that first project, I wanted to help other people. I started volunteering to help friends and neighbors do their landscaping, and after a few months, I had developed quite a following. This blog is all about creating a warm, inviting yard through smart landscaping and an eye for detail.
Having a yard filled with fruit trees enables you to have delicious edibles at your disposal. Citrus plants are an excellent choice for fruit trees. They are aesthetically pleasing and provide you with nutritious and delicious fruit that you can eat right off the tree, use for drinks, include in recipes, and even use for medicinal purposes.
You do not have to wait years for your tree to begin producing fruit if you purchase young, budded trees in container from a nursery. When you have limited space, you can also purchase dwarfs of some varieties. If you live in a moderate or warmer climate and want to plant citrus trees, the following guide can help you understand the benefits of certain types of citrus and choose the right varieties from a nursery.
Oranges
Eating oranges on a regular basis can help to lower your cholesterol, improve your heart health and decrease your risks for several types of cancers. Orange trees not only provide fruit but they also produce fragrant flowers.
When you go shopping at a nursery for oranges, look for sweet varieties such as Washington, Cara Cara, Lane Late, Valencia, Summernavel and Robertson. Generally, oranges are ready for harvest in late fall and early winter. For oranges with a longer harvesting season, choose Lane Late and Valencia.
Not all oranges have bright orange flesh. If you purchase a blood orange plant, you will have fruit with delicious, juicy red flash that have overtones of a raspberry flavor.
Many orange varieties, including blood oranges, can be purchased as dwarfs if you want to grow your trees in containers. Some of these varities are actual dwarfs while others have been grafted onto dwarf roots.
Grapefruit
Grapefruit trees are a good complement to orange trees. The fruit have many of the same nutritional benefits of oranges. In addition, because of their high fiber content, fat free flesh and absence of sodium, grapefruit are great to add to weight loss diets.
Grapefruit varieties that are ideal for home gardens usually have pink or red sweet flesh. Look for a nursery that sells Rio Red, Star Ruby, cocktail, and Melogold. If you want a grapefruit tree that produces fruit with little to no bitterness, choose Oro Blanco variety.
One thing to note is that grapefruit have a more limited hardiness zone than oranges. They will only thrive in warm climates that can provide full sun and should be planted in well-drained soil of loam.
Lemons
While lemons and limes are too acidic, sour and tart to eat right off the tree, they can provide you with a great supply of fruit to use in beverages, cocktails, and all types of cooking recipes. Lemon flesh and rinds are also used in numerous health remedies.
Lemon trees are more sensitive to cold than other types of citrus. They will suffer damage of the temperature dips below freezing temperatures. However, mature lemon trees are drought tolerate and can survive poor soil conditions.
Ideal lemon trees for home gardens include the Improved Meyer, Lisbon, Ponderosa, variegated pink, and Yen Ben. Lemon varieties that are good for container growing include dwarf Meyers and Eureka.
Limes
Limes are even more acidic than lemons but provide a myriad of health benefits as well as being very versatile in food and beverage prep. In fact, you may want to keep limes and lemons from your garden on hand to help when you need relief from digestive problems, to add to skin care ointments and to make drinks to help improve cold symptoms.
Ideal varieties of limes for home growers include Key, Persian, Kaffir and Indian Sweet.
To learn more about your options, contact local companies like Moon Valley Nurseries.
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