How to Care for Your Citrus this Summer

Sweet sugary sap that’s flowing through citrus plants is a magnet for sap sucking pests like Scale Insects. Scale Insects can be brown, white, pink or grey and appear as small raised bumps along leaves and stems. Sometimes the Scale are hard to spot themselves, however if you see Sooty Mould developing on the leaves (a black ash like film) or Ants moving up and down the stems then they’re indicators of a sap sucking insect pest like Scale. Regular sprays of Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray, on both the upper and lower leaf and stem surfaces, will help keep Scale under control. It’s based on natural pyrethrin and vegetable oil and is certified for use in organic gardening, so is ideal for gardeners wanting to use organic methods of insect pest control.

The young Bronze Orange Bugs (BOB) that infested citrus trees during spring are now maturing into large, dark brown adult bugs. They’re continuing to feed on citrus shoots and fruit stalks, causing leaves to wilt and young fruit to blacken and fall from the tree. Targeted sprays of Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray, directly contacting the Bronze Orange Bugs, are an effective way to control these damaging pests. Bronze Orange Bugs can squirt nasty, foul smelling liquid at you, so it’s best to wear eye and skin protection when spraying.

Feeding citrus regularly is the key to promoting a bounty of winter fruit. Citrus are very hungry plants! Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food is a complete plant food that has been specially formulated to provide citrus with the nutrients they need. Apply Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food around the root zone of in-ground and potted citrus trees every 1-2 weeks during summer, while citrus trees are busy developing their fruit.

Citrus trees have a shallow root system and can dry out rapidly during summer. Moisture stress can adversely affect fruit quality and tree health, so it’s important to keep the soil or potting mix moist with regular, thorough watering. If you find that the soil is not absorbing the water, no matter how much watering you do, then apply a wetting agent such as Yates Waterwise Granular Soil Wetter.