How To Grow Oranges

Choose a good location for your Orange tree.

A warm & sunny location is best. Yet ideally sheltered from the wind. You may need to wrap your orange tree in a fleece in Winter if cold is a concern. Indeed in Northern Europe you may need to have your orange tree indoors all year round. You will need to plant it into well-drained soil, and unlike an apple tree you should avoid putting an Orange tree directly into a lawn. Placing near a brick wall or wooden fence, can provide a bit of extra warmth.

Selecting your Orange tree

Choose a good orange tree from a reliable nursery as any type of citrus fruit is prone to getting diseases and attacked by pests. Also ask the nursery about the type of Orange tree you are buying, as some are only suitable for indoor use. Ask the nursery about the climate that the particular tree is suitable for.

Also buy some of the same fruit and taste it before you buy your orange tree, as not all oranges taste the same, and you do not want to grow them only to find that you do not like the taste of them!

Also make sure that you choose an appropriate size of tree, there are dwarf varieties as well as full size trees. So ask at the nursery how large the mature tree will grow to.

Planting Your Orange Tree

Obviously dig a large hole, and make sure that it is big enough to accept the tree without crushing its roots. It is good practice to soak the orange tree roots in a bucket of water for a few hours to ensure the plant is thoroughly watered.

Then fill in around the roots with loose soil and lightly tap the soil down until it is firm. Do this to within 3 inches of the top of the whole and then fill the remainder of the hole up with compost. It is always a good idea to plant the orange tree slightly higher than the surrounding soil to allow for settling.

The soil does need to be well drained so avoid heavy clay soils. If your soil is heavy then you may need to make a bed of pea shingle to aid drainage. Following this guide should see you well on your way to growing your first orange tree.

By Richard Allen -