The Calamondin Tree: A Symbol of Prosperity and Good Luck for Chinese New Year

When it comes to celebrating Chinese New Year, symbolism plays a central role. From the colors red and gold to the dishes served, everything is steeped in tradition and meaning. Among the many cherished symbols of this festive season is the calamondin tree, a beautiful and fruitful plant that carries deep cultural significance. Known as the “Citrus of Abundance,” the calamondin tree represents wealth, prosperity, and good fortune, making it a perfect gift and decoration for this time of year.

Why the Calamondin Tree is the Star of Chinese New Year

Symbolism: The Citrus of Abundance

The calamondin tree, a hybrid between a kumquat and a mandarin orange, has earned its reputation as a harbinger of prosperity. Its evergreen foliage signifies longevity and vitality, while its small, vibrant fruits symbolize abundance and success. The tree’s ability to produce fruit year-round is viewed as a metaphor for consistent wealth and opportunities throughout the year.
In Chinese culture, the orange hues of the calamondin fruit are especially significant. Orange is associated with gold, a timeless symbol of wealth and financial prosperity. The fruits are also round, representing wholeness and unity, key themes during Chinese New Year celebrations.

Calamondin Trees as Gifts: A Thoughtful Gesture

A Wish for Health, Wealth, and Happiness

The tradition of giving a calamondin tree as a gift during Chinese New Year is deeply rooted in the values of goodwill and generosity. Gifting a calamondin tree is a way of imparting best wishes for health, wealth, and happiness to friends, family, and business associates. It’s a gift that not only carries symbolic value but also offers practical benefits. The tree’s fragrant blossoms and tart fruits can be used in cooking, cleaning, and even skincare.

Perfect for Every Setting

Whether presented to a close family member or a professional colleague, the calamondin tree conveys a universal message of hope and positivity. It’s a meaningful gift that keeps on giving, as recipients can enjoy its beauty and benefits long after the celebrations are over.

The Calamondin Tree in Festive Decorations

Bringing Fortune Into Your Home

During Chinese New Year, homes and businesses are adorned with symbols that attract good fortune, and the calamondin tree is a favorite choice. Often placed at the entrance of homes or offices, the tree is believed to invite positive energy and prosperity into the space. Its bright fruit contrasts beautifully against its lush green leaves, adding a vibrant and festive touch to any decor.

A Centerpiece of Tradition

In many households, the calamondin tree takes center stage as a decorative focal point. Families may add red envelopes (ang pao), gold coins, and other traditional ornaments to its branches to amplify its auspicious qualities. The combination of red, gold, and green reflects the harmonious balance of elements thought to bring good fortune.

Caring for Your Calamondin Tree

While the calamondin tree is relatively low-maintenance, a little care goes a long way in ensuring it thrives and continues to bring symbolic and practical benefits. Here are some tips for keeping your calamondin tree healthy:

• Lighting: Place the tree in a location with bright, indirect sunlight.
• Watering: Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Allow the top inch of soil to dry out between waterings.
• Fertilization: Use a citrus-specific fertilizer during the growing season to encourage healthy foliage and fruit production.
• Pruning: Trim dead or overgrown branches to maintain its shape and vitality.

A well-cared-for calamondin tree can live for years, serving as a perennial reminder of good fortune and prosperity.

The Calamondin Tree’s Broader Appeal

While its significance during Chinese New Year is well-documented, the calamondin tree’s appeal goes beyond its cultural symbolism. It’s a versatile plant that can enhance any garden or indoor space. Its small size makes it ideal for patios, balconies, or even tabletops, and its fragrant blooms provide a delightful sensory experience.

In addition to its decorative value, the calamondin fruit is highly versatile. Its tangy juice can be used to flavor dishes, make refreshing beverages, or even act as a natural cleaning agent. The fruit’s rich vitamin C content also makes it a popular ingredient in skincare products.

A Timeless Symbol of Prosperity

The calamondin tree is more than just a plant—it’s a timeless symbol of prosperity, good fortune, and the hope for abundance. Whether given as a gift or used as a decoration, this “Citrus of Abundance” holds a special place in Chinese New Year traditions and continues to capture the hearts of those who celebrate.

As you prepare for Chinese New Year, consider adding a calamondin tree to your festivities. It’s a beautiful way to honor tradition, share goodwill, and invite prosperity into your life. After all, who wouldn’t want a little extra luck and abundance to kick off the year?

>>Shop Calamondin (Calamansi) Trees

The post Add Some Luck to Your Yarden this Chinese New Year! appeared first on Yarden.

Grapefruit is a nutritious fruit that’s easy to add to your diet because it doesn’t require much preparation time or special cooking tactics. Here are some ways to make it even easier to add grapefruit to your routine.

Plan

It can feel daunting to eat healthy when our world is always on the go.  At the end of a long and busy day, it’s sometimes hard to muster the mental energy to decide what to make for dinner, let alone actually make it.  If you aren’t an early bird, mornings might be a mad dash to get out the door and to work on time, leaving no time for breakfast.

Making a meal plan ahead of time can take the pressure off you during the week and help you stick to a schedule.  Meal planning doesn’t have to be time-consuming.  Set aside an hour or two during your days off to go through your fridge and pantry to see what you have on hand.  Use this inventory to plan your meals for the week, making a grocery list of additional items needed as you go. You can find what works for you and your tastes, but try to incorporate grapefruit into at least one meal or snack a day.  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel either; if you find a recipe that works, repeat it as often as you like each week!  It can even be something fun, like having a Paloma on a Saturday night out or grapefruit mimosas with Sunday brunch.

Prep

Planning your meals is sure to help you stick to your grapefruit routine, but you can take it one step further by doing weekly meal prep as well.  Again, set aside a block of time on a day off (after you’ve made your meal plan and grocery shopped!) to prep food that will make your daily meals quick and easy.  For example, if you are topping your lunch salads with grapefruit, cut and section enough grapefruit for each day. Cut grapefruit can be kept in the fridge for about 3–4 days, or until it begins to become soft, so you can do two smaller batches of prepping during the week or freeze half of the prepped batch and pull them out to thaw as needed. Store them in individually sized airtight containers so you can easily pack one in your lunchbox each day.  Frozen grapefruit segments are also great for tossing in smoothies or as cocktail garnishes.  Try freezing freshly squeezed grapefruit juice in ice trays.  Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and you’ll have them on hand to add to water, cocktails, juice, smoothies, sorbets, and more!

Find Recipes Fit for You

The most important thing about incorporating grapefruit into your routine is making sure your choices are fit for your routine. If you don’t like eating plain grapefruit and plan to eat plain grapefruit for a snack every day, you are not going to look forward to it and it can become a roadblock for you.  If you don’t have the time to cook an elaborate breakfast that features grapefruit every morning, putting those recipes in your meal plan is unrealistic and will be discouraging when you cannot keep up.  You can find recipes to try on the Yarden blog or sites like Pinterest.  Try out different recipes to find not only what tastes good, but ones that are easy and manageable for you to make.  You want to make it as enjoyable as possible when adding more grapefruit to your diet!

As a closing bonus, adding a grapefruit tree to your Yarden or indoor plant collection is an easy way to have fresh grapefruit literally at your fingertips!

The post Easy Ways to Eat More Grapefruit appeared first on Yarden.

Ever thought of growing an olive tree? Native to the Mediterranean, olive trees prefer warmer outdoor climates and are sensitive to freezing temperatures, but if you live in a climate that’s not congenial to their needs you can grow them indoors.

Indoor trees make wonderful, ornamental houseplants, and as long as you have enough light (a spot that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight is key) there’s no reason you can’t add an olive tree to your indoor nursery.

In order to flower and produce fruit, an olive tree needs radical changes between night and day temperatures, so indoor olive trees aren’t likely to provide their delicious fruit for you. They also won’t live as long as their outdoor counterparts (which can survive for centuries), but their longevity can be improved by moving them outdoors during the summertime. But even without fruit, it’s worth adding an olive tree to your indoor plant collection for the grace and beauty their silver leaves and picturesque limbs will add to your décor.

Read on for ten tips on how to grow olive trees indoors:

How to Care for an Olive Tree Indoors

As long as you’re diligent about providing your olive tree with what it needs to thrive, growing an olive tree indoors is fairly easy.

1. Enough light is essential. As stated above, olive trees require at least six hours of direct sunlight per day (a south-facing window is best, otherwise your olive tree may start dropping leaves). You should turn the pot ninety degrees once a week in order to ensure your tree gets equal light exposure. If you’re unable to move your olive tree to the patio during the summer, a full-spectrum grow light can help.
2. Find the right temperature. This shouldn’t be difficult…olive trees grown indoors do well in temperatures anywhere between 65°F and 80°F. Unlike other houseplants, they can withstand dry air pretty well, but do keep them away from heat vents.
3. Get the water level right. As with most indoor trees, you need to be careful not to overwater your olive tree, but neither should you let the soil dry out completely. Use your index finger to check if your tree needs water: stick your finger in the soil up to the first knuckle…if the soil is dry, water slowly until the soil is soaked and excess water trickles through the drainage holes.
4. To feed or not to feed? Potted olives can benefit from being fertilized occasionally. The best time to do this is once a month from early spring through the summer. A slow-release fertilizer is optimum.
5. Pruning: just a little off the top. Full-size varieties (such as Arbequina olive trees) will require pruning, but even dwarf olive trees can benefit from a trim to allow sun and air to reach the heart of the plant, and encourage an attractive, bushy shape. Once during the spring, when new growth starts, is a good time for this chore…use sharp hand pruners to cut above where the leaf is attached to a stem at a 45-degree angle.
6. Pot “up” when necessary. Olive trees grow slowly, but if you see roots growing through the drainage holes of your olive tree’s pot, it’s probably time to move the plant to a larger home. Your new pot should be at least two inches larger than the olive plant’s root ball on all sides. Choose a pot made of natural, breathable materials (such as ceramic, wood or terra cotta) to help keep the roots from overheating. Make sure your new pot has plenty of large drainage holes.
7. Choose a well-draining soil for your new pot. A commercial potting mix for cacti and succulents works well. Don’t add compost or mulch as it could lead to your olive tree’s roots becoming waterlogged.
8. Take it outside. Indoor olive trees benefit greatly from being moved outdoors for the summer (and they make a statement on your patio, too). Wait until nighttime temperatures stay above 40°F during the night and place your tree in a spot where it will be sheltered from the wind and full sun for a few days while it acclimates.
9. Overwintering your olive tree. You should bring your olive tree back inside before temperatures fall below 40°F. About a week before you move it indoors, place your olive tree in a partially shaded spot so it can reacclimate to the lower light conditions. Olive trees attract ants, scale insects and other pests, so right before you bring your tree inside, cover the soil with plastic wrap so it doesn’t get drenched and give the tree itself a good spray with the house.
10. Oops! I left my olive tree outdoors and it got down to freezing last night! Don’t give up on your olive tree if it has sustained a bit of frost damage…yes, these trees are very sensitive to cold, but their roots can regenerate and the tree regrow. Just bring it inside as soon as possible, care for it as usual, and give it a chance to recover.

The post How to Grow Olive Trees Indoors appeared first on Yarden.

Houseplants have stealthily infiltrated many of our homes, occupying every nook and cranny with their lush, green presence. But did you know these unassuming leafy companions hold an array of astounding benefits? From purifying the air and boosting productivity to reducing stress and even enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your home, indoor plants are more than just aesthetically pleasing.

In this article, we’ll unearth some truly shocking revelations that will have you scampering to your nearest nursery. So, get ready to dive into the verdant world of these unsung heroes and discover the extraordinary advantages that lie hidden beneath their foliage.

Improve Air Quality

This may be the most obvious, but research has repeatedly shown that house plants can improve your home’s air quality. While opening a window and increasing ventilation can help with this, studies have found that houseplants have a higher rate of removal for chemical compounds found in the air, such as VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) concentrations. Look into air purifier indoor plants to improve the air quality of your home.

Remove Odors from the Air

While this may not be essential for health, removing odors from your home can make the space more pleasant for those in it. They can remove odors from cooking, pets, laundry, sweat, and various other sources to help refresh the air. Even if you’ve already gone nose blind to the smells in your home, getting houseplants can still offer noticeable improvements in the smell of your home for both you and your guests.

Dampen Sound

Houseplants can dampen your home’s sound, allowing for greater peace and quiet. Creating more tranquility in your home can do wonders to improve the mental health of everyone in it. It can help to make the space one that is more pleasant and productive to be in.

Reduce Stress Levels

Stress can be detrimental to both our physical and mental well-being. Houseplants, however, can remarkably reduce stress levels, thereby significantly enhancing our overall health. By alleviating both physiological and psychological stress, these leafy companions deliver a powerful double punch for improving your mind and body — a true two-for-one deal!

Help You Sleep

Getting a good amount of quality sleep is essential for one’s health. Luckily, houseplants have the ability to improve one’s sleep. This is done by purifying the air in your bedroom and releasing scents that help you relax. Try putting a houseplant such as an aloe vera indoor plant in your bedroom and see how it helps your ability to sleep.

Improve Mood in the Winter Months

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can make the cold and dreary Winter months even tougher. Houseplants can be a way to help make this time of year a little less rough to get through. Having flowers and other greenery around you can help lessen the effects of the seasonal depression you may be plagued with annually.

How to Get These Benefits

There are multiple ways to reap the many benefits of having houseplants throughout your home. If a room looks out to large urban landscapes lacking greenery, try placing house plants there to help liven them up. If a room looks out over nature, they’re already ahead of the game, but that doesn’t mean you can’t include plants there, too. Plants can help with other aspects of the room, such as odor and air quality. Lastly, it’s important to include the right plants in your rooms to get the improvements you’re looking for.

What Plants to Choose

As mentioned earlier, getting the right plants you’re looking for is important to reap their benefits fully. Depending on what area of your life you’re looking to improve or what room you’re hoping to put plants in, knowing such things will help you decide the right plants to get. Here are the best indoor plants for apartments, houses, offices, or other spaces you should consider getting based on your needs.

To Purify the Air of Benzene and Formaldehyde:

• Madagascar Dragon Tree
• Spider Plant
• Boston Fern
• Mother-in-law’s Tongue
• AGM

For Reducing Stress:

• Lavender

To Help You Sleep:

• Snake Plants
• Aloe Vera
• Orchids
• Jasmine
• Lavender

Multiple Benefits:

• African Violet
• Corn Plant
• Ficus
• Peace Lily
• Succulents
• Weeping Fig

For Your Living Room:

• Peace Lily: These are low maintenance, and air purifiers.
• Philodendrons: These are another air purifier with a variety of ways to incorporate them into your decor.

For Your Bedroom:

• Snake Plants: Release oxygen at night rather than carbon dioxide to help you sleep.
• Orchids: These do the same as Snake Plants.

For Your Bathroom:

• Ferns: Ferns, particularly Boston Ferns, do well in the filtered light and moist air of a bathroom.
• Air Plants: These plants are almost impossible to kill, can get most of their water from the air’s moisture, and don’t need soil, making them perfect for the bathroom environment.

For Your Office:

• Spider Plants: These are perfect for those not well equipped or who have little time when it comes to caring for plants, as they are hard to kill and easily propagate.
• Gerbera Daisies: These plants add color to the room as well as remove toxins in the air, particularly ones connected to ink.

Get Yourself a Houseplant

Houseplants are more than a pretty addition to your home. While they can add to the decor, they also can provide you with a variety of physical and mental health benefits, such as purifying the air, lowering stress levels, and helping you sleep. If you haven’t already filled your home with them, now may be the time to do so. Even if you don’t notice much of a change, you’ll still be gifted with pretty greenery for your home.

Different plants are skilled at different things, so know what it is you want from your plants before purchasing them. This will allow you to get the most from them when it comes to improving your overall health. Go out to get a few plants for sale today at Yarden.com and begin noticing the large changes in yourself and your home that will certainly arise from these plants.

The post Shocking Benefits of Houseplants appeared first on Yarden.

When it comes to growing plants on a balcony or terrace, even experienced gardeners can face a challenge. But don’t let that discourage you, it’s also an opportunity to get creative and have some fun. Whether you want to create an urban vegetable garden or a tropical paradise, the possibilities are endless .

Of course, you’ll have to work within the limited space available, which means you can explore some nifty tricks to maximize every inch. Luckily, we’ve got some tips to help you start your balcony gardening adventure. So put on your gardening gloves, grab your trowel, and let’s get growing!

Growing on a Balcony Garden

You’ll want to ensure you have enough space for your chosen plant and access to the right amount of sun or shade it needs to thrive. And if you live in an area with cold winters, don’t fret: plenty of outdoor potted plants can survive year-round outdoors or be brought indoors for the winter.

So what can you grow in your balcony garden? The options are numerous! You can cultivate fresh herbs and veggies for your next home-cooked meal, or try your hand at growing small trees like dwarf citrus plants or olive trees. If you’re planting citrus trees in clay soil, be sure to take proper care to keep them in the best shape possible.

Small shrubs, annuals, perennials, and succulents are also great choices, depending on the light conditions of your space. And don’t forget about the tropical vibes! You can bring in some philodendron or spider plants for a pop of greenery. If you’re looking for something a little more challenging, try researching the best plants for posts outdoors.

If you’re looking to add some height to your balcony garden, consider using hanging plants outdoors or growing climbing plants like flowering vines — just make sure you have a trellis or other vertical support to help them reach new heights.

Watering on a Balcony Garden

Whether you’re planting succulents outdoors or choosing something a little more traditional, finding an outside water source for balcony or rooftop gardens can be a real challenge. But fear not – you don’t need to lug heavy jugs of water from your sink or bathtub every time you need to water your plants.

If you have lots of plants to water, consider investing in a large, lightweight watering can that you can fill up in your bathtub. And for space-saving solutions, collapsible watering cans are the way to go. They take up minimal space and can be stored flat when not in use.

Don’t waste a drop of water – put saucers or trays under your plants to catch any overflow. Self-watering pots can also be a game-changer, as they help conserve water and significantly decrease watering frequency.

If you’re feeling fancy, you can even eliminate watering cans altogether by investing in a lightweight, expandable garden hose that attaches to your kitchen sink with an adapter. They come in lengths up to 100 feet and retract easily for storage.

An important thing to remember is that the hotter and windier it is on your balcony, the more often you’ll need to water your plants — sometimes twice a day! So if you’re far from a water source, consider growing plants outdoor with low water requirements like cacti and succulents.

Getting the Most Out of Your Space

You might think that you need a lot of space to create a balcony garden, but in reality, a little creativity can go a long way! Remember to take advantage of your balcony’s walls, railings, and overhead structures.

Go vertical with your garden by attaching pots, shelves, or trellises to the walls. Consider adding a few hooks for hanging plants outdoors if you have a ceiling. To maximize your space even more, cover your balcony’s railings with chicken wire to support climbing plants or invest in plant hangers that can be attached to the top of a railing. (Looking for more vertical gardening ideas? We’ve got you covered!)

Think of your balcony garden as an extension of your indoor living space. Choosing plant colors and textures that match your interior design makes even the smallest balcony look more spacious and inviting.

Understanding the Limits of Balcony Gardening

When starting, you’ll need to be aware of any weight restrictions your balcony may have. You want to avoid overloading your space with heavy planters that may cause damage. Also, make sure to check the rules regarding what you can and can’t hang from your balcony railings and walls. Aside from weight, you’ll also want to consider the microclimate of your balcony. The amount of sunlight, wind exposure, and temperature can all affect what and where you can plant.

Wind can quickly dry out the soil and cause damage to delicate foliage, so make sure to protect your plants from strong gusts by using privacy screens or placing them in low pots near a wall. Heat can also be a factor, especially if your balcony is made of materials that retain heat, so consider planting in lighter containers or using shades to protect your plants.

Finally, if your balcony is surrounded by tall buildings or covered by an overhang, you may need to work around the lack of sunlight. You can still grow sun-loving plants by placing them near the balcony’s perimeter where they can get more light. Before you start planting, it’s essential to check with your building owner or apartment manager to make sure you’re following any rules or regulations they may have.

Find the Perfect Plants for Your Balcony Garden

With some careful planning, creativity, and a bit of patience, you can transform your small space into a lush oasis that brings you joy and relaxation. Remember to choose plants that are suitable for your climate, space, and light conditions, and always consider weight and other restrictions before buying containers or accessories — and most importantly, have fun with it!

If you’re ready to start your balcony gardening journey, head on over to Yarden.com, where you can find a wide variety of plants and accessories to help you create the perfect garden for your balcony. So whether you’re just starting or are an experienced gardener out here planting citrus trees, Yarden has everything you need to make your dream balcony garden a reality.

The post Tips for Balcony Gardening appeared first on Yarden.

Citrus trees have been cultivated for centuries for their delicious fruit, which comes in various flavors, such as sweet, sour, and bitter. Among the popular citrus fruits are lemons and limes, common staples in cooking, baking, and beverages. While these two fruits have their own unique characteristics, some people wonder if it’s possible to have a lemon lime tree hybrid.

Well, guess what? You can! The lemon lime tree, also referred to as the “cocktail tree,” is a remarkable plant that can produce both lemons and limes from a single tree. This hybrid is made possible by grafting or growing two trees together in the same container, where the Meyer lemon and classic key lime merge to form a delectable hybrid called the lemon lime fruit.

While one might assume that caring for such a plant could be challenging, they’re surprisingly simple to cultivate indoors. So, are you ready to take on the journey of growing a lemon lime cocktail tree or even a dwarf lemon lime tree of your own? Then keep reading to discover everything you need to know about the lemon lime tree and its delicious citrus fruits!

History of the Lemon Lime Cocktail Tree

The origin of citrus trees remains a mystery, but many experts believe that humans began cultivating them in Southeast Asia thousands of years ago. Over time, citrus trees spread far and wide, from Italy to California and beyond. By the latter half of the sixteenth century, both lemon and lime trees had become well-established on the Southeast coast of North America.

Horticulturalists later developed the lemon lime tree as a remarkable fusion of the Meyer lemon and key lime trees. These trees can be grown together in a single pot or grafted to create hybrid varieties. The result is a beautiful and tasty lemon-lime fruit that combines the best of both parent fruits.

Characteristics of Lemon Lime Trees

The lemon lime tree boasts some rather distinctive features as it combines the traits of both lemons and limes. Typically, these trees reach a height of around eight feet tall and are then pruned to maintain their shape. However, like many other fruit trees, they often grow as wide as they are tall.

The fruits of a lemon lime tree are an enticing blend of sweet Meyer lemons and versatile key limes. This combination is achieved by either growing the trees side-by-side in a single pot or grafting one tree onto the other. Remarkably, the trees retain their individual characteristics even when they are grafted together, producing a unique and flavorful fruit.

Choosing the Perfect Lemon Lime Tree for Your Yarden

The lemon lime tree is a wonderful addition to any garden, patio, or indoor space. With its unique characteristics of growing both lemons and limes, it’s not only a beautiful tree, but it also provides delicious fruit. With some basic care, it is incredibly easy to grow and maintain.

If you’re ready to start your own lemon lime tree, dwarf lemon lime tree, or Meyer lemon lime tree journey, then head over to Yarden.com. There, you will find a great selection of lemon lime trees, including grafted trees that combine the best of both worlds. Yarden also offers a wealth of resources and expertise to help you grow the healthiest and happiest lemon lime trees possible.

So don’t wait any longer to add this remarkable tree to your home garden or indoor space — order your lemon lime tree today and enjoy the beauty and bounty of this delightful hybrid fruit tree!

The post Is There a Lemon Lime Tree Hybrid? appeared first on Yarden.

Thanks to a lack of harmful pesticides and a purported improvement in overall quality, many people want to grow citrus trees that are organic. However, it’s important to fully understand what organic means before you start growing. Organic is not about the kind of citrus fruit that you grow, but rather how you grow it.

What is Organic Citrus?

Organic ultimately means natural. It means using only natural fertilizers and pest control methods. Some people opt for using chemicals to help give their plants an advantage when growing or keeping rid of parasites. However, others would rather go a more natural or organic route when growing their citrus.

Keeping everything to an organic standard with citrus trees can be hard, though. This is because using only natural methods makes some processes for fertilizing and pest control harder or more complicated.

How is Organic Citrus Different?

Since the methods used for growing it are a little bit different, you will find that an organic grove of citrus trees and their fruit will look a little different from large commercial farms that employ chemicals in growing their fruit.

In a commercial grove, you may notice that everything looks cookie cutter and uniform. This is not really how a grove of organically grown citrus trees will look. In fact, you might find an organic grove of citrus trees to look almost chaotic or like they just grew there naturally. This does not, however, mean they are not maintained.

In fact, an organic grove may take more time and effort to maintain in many ways than a commercial one does. For example, one of the best pest and parasite control methods for the organic grower is the natural underbrush of the trees. These ground covers and weeds actually work to attract beneficial insects that are the natural predators of insects that can damage the trees.

Another reason for keeping all of this underbrush is because it provides a type of natural mulch for the roots of the trees, helping to keep the correct levels of moisture and insulating the roots against any small cold snap that might cause damage to the trees.

Even the fertilizer used in an organic grove of citrus trees is going to look a little bit different. Again, you won’t see the same chemicals that are mixed into commercial soils here. When working with organic citrus trees, fertilizers are usually combinations of potting solid, hay, compost, and other types of natural materials.

Organic Citrus Fruit

Organic citrus fruit is grown using all-natural methods; many people swear by it and are willing to pay top dollar too. A lot of people feel that organic fruit is not only safer to consume but that it tastes better too. However, commercial citrus trees seem to produce consistent and visually perfect fruit.

This is because preservatives chemically protect commercially grown citrus and in some cases, it is even coated with a special wax coating to keep it from being potentially damaged by changes in weather or parasites.

Even though citrus fruit grown without the use of chemicals and harmful pesticides is far better for you and usually tastes better, commercial growers make more money from fruit that has a guaranteed harvest and visual perfection. Unfortunately, most people shop and eat with their eyes first without digging deeper into the actual health benefits and taste of the fruit they buy.

Does Citrus Fruit Need to Be Organic?

Citrus fruit does not have to be organic. Whether or not you choose to grow organic citrus trees or use artificial chemical-based pesticides and fertilizers is up to you. However, if you want to harvest citrus fruit without these harmful chemicals, organic home gardening is not wildly difficult, and on a small scale, isn’t even that much more expensive.

When you grow organic citrus, the main thing is you are guaranteed an all-natural product that will likely give you a more authentic flavor when you eat it. Also, if you’re concerned about the chemicals that food is being grown with these days, organic citrus trees will be a much more appealing prospect for you.

What Citrus is Healthiest?

If you are concerned with adding the healthiest fruit to your diet, grapefruit is the healthiest of all the citrus fruits. Grapefruit has fiber, potassium, beta carotene, and vitamin C, making it one of the healthiest fruit choices available.

However, grapefruit is just one option. Oranges and lemons also come packed with vitamins and have tons of benefits for your body and overall health as well. In addition, you might find these fruits more to your liking because they have a wide variety of uses.

In fact, there aren’t too many dishes you can’t enhance with a little lemon juice. Lemon juice can even help to keep other fruits fresh in a salad or dish.

Should You Eat Citrus Every Day?

Eating citrus daily can be a great way to keep your diet healthy. Citrus fruits offer many vitamins and minerals, not to mention they taste really good.

One of the best things about adding citrus to your diet is that there are so many options within the citrus category that you can eat citrus every day and not feel like you are eating the same thing repeatedly.

The best part of adding citrus to your diet is that you can grow it yourself and be sure of what you are eating and how it was grown. Check out Citrus.com to see what kind of amazing citrus tree might be right for you and your home!

The post Understanding Organic Citrus appeared first on Yarden.

If you are fortunate enough to have a grapefruit tree during prime harvest season, you also can unlock clean, healthy, acne-free skin at home. Wondering how to unlock this natural secret to enhanced beauty and overall skin health? Wonder no more; here’s how!

How to Use Grapefruit to Fight Acne

The best way to use grapefruit to fight acne is also the easiest one. All you have to do is add great-tasting ruby red grapefruit to your diet. Not only will you find that its valuable nutrients like Vitamin C, lycopene, and fiber help support your overall health and fight acne, but there are also other benefits. For example, eating grapefruit as part of a balanced diet can help to control weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol.

In addition to adding grapefruit to your diet, you can also use grapefruit in both over-the-counter and homemade beauty products.

Using Ruby Red Grapefruit for Skin Care

Struggling with acne can be very burdensome, both emotionally and physically. If you have been dealing with it for a while, you have probably tried almost everything out there to help get rid of your acne.

The sad truth is that many of the products today that claim they can get rid of your acne overnight are either money grabs or outright scams. Even worse, some of these so-called products that they are peddling can actually damage your skin, even permanently in some cases.

It doesn’t take much to realize that your best option, in terms of both safety and effectiveness, is to make your own all-natural products at home.

Why Grapefruit is Good for Your Skin

Grapefruit juice can be used as a gentle cleanser for the delicate skin on your face and neck because it is a natural antibacterial agent. This means that it can even help heal skin from breakouts and even help to prevent them. It also has a lovely and refreshing smell that perks up your mood as well as your skin.

Grapefruit Skin Care Recipes

Grapefruit Daily Cleanser

This is a very simple cleanser to make, and once it is made, it can be stored in the refrigerator for three to four days so that you can continue to use it. All you need is your favorite all-natural cleanser and about a cup of grapefruit juice.

Blend a couple of drops into the grapefruit juice until you get a consistency that is close to frothy eggs. This is a cleanser that you can use daily without worrying about drying out your skin.

Grapefruit Daily Toner

To get rid of soap residue, reduce the appearance of acne scars and minimize the size of pores, use this grapefruit daily toner after you cleanse your face. This toner is made by adding tea tree oil and witch hazel to grapefruit juice. These ingredients are pretty easy to find at your local pharmacy or grocery store.

Mix about a cup of grapefruit juice and a cup of witch hazel and add in a few drops of the tea tree oil and you have the perfect toner for your daily skin routine.

Citrus Yogurt Mask

This mask will reduce redness and irritation from acne, reduce fine lines and sun damage, and reduce discoloration. For this simple mask, mix one half of a cup of juiced grapefruit and one half of a cup of plain organic yogurt. Apply the mixture in a thin layer on clean skin and rinse after about ten minutes. You can do this as needed, as often as every three or four days.

Grapefruit Facial Scrub

You can make grapefruit into a wonderfully rich facial scrub ha will get the job done without taking a toll on your skin. For this facial scrub, you will need one-half cup of juiced grapefruit, one cup of sugar, and three tablespoons of grapeseed oil. Mix the ingredients and use as you would any other face scrub.

Keep in mind that this one does not save well, so use all of the scrub you make in each sitting, or it will go to waste.

Grapefruit Clarifying Mask

If you want to give your skin back its healthy vibrant glow, this is the grapefruit mask for you! You need half a grapefruit and half a cup of cornmeal with one tablespoon of honey. Mix the ingredients together and apply to a clean and dry face. Let it sit for around ten minutes before washing it away with a soft cloth and warm water.

Where to Get a Ruby Red Grapefruit Tree

Since the best grapefruit for helping to control acne comes from the ruby red grapefruit tree, you may be wondering if it is a good idea to get one.

If you have the space, it’s a wonderful idea to have a ruby red grapefruit tree at your home to harvest yourself. It will allow you to have plenty of fresh grapefruit to eat and use for skincare to finally get your acne in check. In fact, did you know that you can even mail order grapefruit directly to your door? The very best mail-order grapefruit trees come from Citrus.com, so check them out today!

The post Get Rid of Acne with Fresh Grapefruit appeared first on Yarden.

Looking for an economical yet beautiful way to decorate? It might be one of the last things you think of, but have you considered using citrus gifts? Citrus fruits are really quite varied, making them a good choice when you need to decorate!

To help you out, we’ve compiled a handy list of unique ideas to incorporate some delicious citrus into your decorating and the overall decor of your home.

Why Choose Citrus Gifts for Decorating?

When you go about decorating, whether it is for an event such as a party, wedding, or meeting, one thing you want to do is be original. Everyone uses flowers, so what’s the fun in that? Not to mention flowers are delicate and expensive. You will always be running into problems with them wilting, drooping, and tearing. Petals falling sounds really lovely until it is your job to clean them up.

Paper decorations are no better. Not only do they make your party or event look cheap and tacky, but paper decorations aren’t very sturdy. All it takes is a little bit of wind or water, and they are all but ruined. Some people like decorating with candles, but then you are dealing with a fire hazard. So, what’s left? There are issues with almost every type of decoration you see people commonly use.

The best answer is to use citrus fruits for decorating. Here is why citrus fruits make the best decorations:

• Citrus fruits are a unique way to decorate. No matter how you choose to incorporate them, citrus fruits are not a common decoration at parties. However, they will give your event a different look and feel instead of the same old, tired streamers.
• Citrus fruits smell amazing! If you thought you wanted to use scented votives for a nice aroma, try citrus fruit. They leave a fresh, beautiful, and natural smell that your party-goers will love.
• Citrus fruits won’t cause your guests to have the sniffles. When you choose flowers as a decoration, you might have forgotten that some of your guests will have a bit of an allergic reaction to some of the unusual flora. This very rarely happens when citrus gifts take center stage.

• Citrus fruits are sturdy and won’t blow away. Citrus fruits aren’t going to wrinkle or droop or have their petals fall off. They are even going to be just fine if they are subjected to wind and rain.
  
• Citrus fruits don’t pose a hazard or make a mess. Many decorations pose a threat of fire or spilling, or they just flat out make a mess like confetti sometimes does. You don’t have any of these problems when you decorate with citrus fruits.
• Citrus fruits are varied. They come in many different shapes and sizes, making them perfect for decorating with, no matter what colors or sizes you need.
• Citrus fruits are hearty. These fruits have a surprisingly long shelf life for a perishable good, so you don’t have to worry about them spoiling quickly. Before harvesting, treat them with a natural citrus pesticide to help keep them safe.
• Citrus fruits go with everything! It doesn’t really matter what your theme is or what your colors are because citrus fruits go with everything! You can use them if you are having a large, upscale soiree or a small, low-key get-together- either way, citrus fruits are great to decorate with!

Now that you know what you should be using to decorate with, let’s talk about the best ways to use citrus decorations.

How to Decorate with Citrus Fruit

As with any kind of decorating, you will want to use your imagination and get creative. The best thing you have going for you here is that because the citrus fruits are so versatile, you can do pretty much anything you want to do with them!

Bowls of Citrus Fruit

Bowls of citrus fruit can be used as displays on any surface you want to place them on. Of course, they will look good at the center of a table, but there are other good landing spots, too.

Try a bowl of fruit on an accent table or at your home’s entryway. You can also use this bowl to give a piece of fruit to each guest, either as they enter or leave as a party gift.

Baskets of Citrus Fruit

Just like bowls, baskets of fruit make great centerpieces. They are also appropriate for outside tables because you can be assured that they won’t blow away.

One of the best things about baskets of citrus fruits as a decoration is that they work really well on a picnic blanket. They sit just fine on the ground and can help to hold down your ground cover. Then, when the meal is over, everyone will have a perfect piece of lovely fruit to enjoy for dessert!

Display Your Citrus Fruit

Citrus fruit doesn’t have to be limited to baskets and bowls. You can also use your citrus fruit in a display or in a still life and let it actually be a piece of art. Citrus fruits can also add a different shape or pop of color to your overall scene.

Display the Whole Plant

When using citrus fruit as a decoration, you don’t have to be limited to just using the fruit. You can actually use the entire plant. For example, if you have a potted citrus tree, you can always use the whole plant as a decoration. Citrus trees are just as pretty and smell even better than your average house plant.

Enjoy Your Citrus Gifts

Citrus trees of any kind are a wonderful addition to your lifestyle. They give you the chance to not only make healthier decisions for yourself but help other people around you make healthier choices too.

Share your love of citrus fruit by using your fruits to decorate with and by giving citrus gifts as party favors and other gifts to show your friends and family their beauty and value.

The post Citrus Gifts Make Great Decorations appeared first on Yarden.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to buying citrus fruit and citrus fruit gifts. But not all citrus fruit companies are created equal. Ordering fresh oranges, grapefruit, and specialty fruits directly from the grove is a great way to get the best quality fruit. Just make sure that you are ordering from one of the best citrus companies so that you can be sure you will get great fruit, great service, and a great price. The companies listed here are the best citrus fruit companies for fruit baskets, fruit assortments, fruit towers and other fruit gifts. You can also order fruit assortments for your family or for holiday decorations and be sure that you are getting great quality fruit at a great price.

Hale Groves

When it comes to great tasting Florida citrus it doesn’t get any better than fruit from Hale Groves!

This small, independently owned grove has been shipping out some of the best Florida citrus fruit for 75 years. Located in Florida’s famous, Indian River fruit district (Indian River citrus fruit is by far the best-tasting!), Hale Groves started as a roadside fruit stand in 1947. Hale Groves has grown a lot over the years, but when it comes to picking fine fruit, sorting it for size and quality, and packing it for perfect arrival, the company’s values have remained the same. Hale Groves’ reputation for freshness comes from the fact that they don’t start picking their customers’ fruit until their order comes in. That means every navel orange, tangerines fruit and grapefruit has never seen cold storage.

You can find a huge selection of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and even specialty fruit like Honeybells and Clementines at Hale Groves. Just be sure that you order early. A lot of the most popular holiday gifts sell out quickly each year. Hale Grove also offers a lot of budget friendly citrus gift choices.

Pittman & Davis

In addition to the Ruby Red Grapefruit that first made them famous over 90 years ago, Pittman & Davis offers an incredible assortment of gourmet gifts, such as King Comice pears, smoked meats, cheeses, pastries, candies and many other specialty-gift items.

Pittman & Davis is meticulous when it comes to fruit, raising them to perfection and taking the extra step of allowing them to ripen fully on the tree. This results in extraordinary, sugar-sweet fruit like you won’t find in any grocery store.

Grown in the Indian River district in Florida and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, Pittman & Davis sweet grapefruit is a holiday tradition for many of their customers.

Along with Ruby Red Grapefruit, Pittman & Davis offers Honeybell citrus fruit gifts and other fruit baskets that contain fresh Florida citrus, as well as Pittman & Davis pears, apples, and other treats. You can order these treats easily online, but Honeybell gifts often sell out months ahead of time so if you want Honeybell gifts you need to order early.

What’s more, each of the Pittman & Davis gift food selections are meticulously prepared to assure the finest quality possible. The smoked meats are all the premium grade selections that are slowly and naturally smoked the old time-honored way. The premium baked goods and pastries are personally baked in small batches and shipped bakery fresh.

The post The Best Citrus Companies to Buy Fruit From appeared first on Yarden.

All trees do better with regular feeding, and citrus is not exception. Like all plants, citrus trees need nutrients to grow and, if you want an abundant harvest, you should fertilize them regularly. Citrus trees can be tough plants, but the difference between one that receives regular feeding and one that doesn’t is easy to see.

What type of citrus tree fertilizer should I use?

The good news is that all citrus trees have similar requirements when it comes to fertilizer – you won’t have to search for specific types, like orange tree fertilizer or satsuma tree fertilizer. A good, all-around citrus tree fertilizer, whether it’s fertilizer for trees grown outdoors or fertilizer for citrus trees in pots, will be rich in nitrogen and contain plenty of micronutrients including boron, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and zinc.

Citrus does best in soil that is somewhat acidic, and an acidic fertilizer (like those made for cacti and succulents) can also be beneficial. The best citrus tree fertilizer one especially formulated for citrus trees, like the NPK fertilizer found in Citrus.com’s own All in One Kits and Soil and Care Kits.

When should I fertilize my citrus tree?

When it comes to citrus, people most often ask the same two questions: when do you fertilize trees, and how often do you fertilize them?

The time is important. It’s best not to do anything that will encourage growth or activity in your citrus tree during its inactive times (i.e. the fall and winter months) including fertilizing and pruning. A young tree can be fertilized every once every 2-3 months during this dormant period, but mature citrus trees should only have fertilizer applied during the spring and summer, about once every 1-2 months (increasing the time between feedings to once every 2-3 months once the tree matures).

Too much of a good thing also applies to fertilizing – keep in mind that, if you fertilize your citrus tree too often, you could wind up with less fruit or fruit of a poorer quality. To know how often you should fertilize your citrus tree, keep track of its appearance – a tree that is healthy, with lush, dark-green foliage and fruit that doesn’t fall off easily, does not need to be fertilized as often as one that has sparser, lighter color foliage and drops its fruit before it ripens. You should always fertilize your tree when it’s “hungriest” – that is, when it’s in bloom – regardless of appearance.

How do I fertilize my citrus tree?

Fertilizing is the process of replenishing nutrients that have been absorbed from the soil into the growing tree. In short, when you fertilize your citrus tree, you are feeding it. The process of fertilizing citrus trees is the same for all varieties.

Always apply citrus fertilizer according to the directions on the fertilizer package, which will be to either spray the fertilizer onto the leaves of your citrus tree or spread it out around the base of the tree as far as the canopy reaches. Do not place fertilizer near the trunk of the tree. If you are unable to find a citrus-specific fertilizer, use a complete acid-type fertilizer such as azalea food. Avoid using fertilizers formulated for turf or lawn grass, because these contain higher percentages of nitrogen that will grow glorious green trees, but far less blooms and fruit.

The post When – and How – to Fertilize Your Citrus Tree appeared first on Yarden.

If you enjoy gardening, you’re probably aware of the benefits of companion planting. Companion planting is the practice of growing different plants together in combinations that make them more productive. This works when plants have complementary characteristics: for instance, some plants help other plants by naturally repelling pests, attracting pollinators, providing shade to plants in need of sun protection, acting as a support to climbing plants, suppressing weeds, or adding nutrients to the soil.

A classic example of beneficial companion planting by Native American communities is the “Three Sisters Trio” of corn, beans and squash. Planting these three plants together generally produces a better crop from all three because the tall corn supports the climbing beans, the beans provide nitrogen to the soil, and the wide, prickly leaves of the winter squash repels pests and shades the soil so it won’t dry out.

But does companion gardening benefit citrus plants, like orange trees and other citrus?

Companion Gardening with Citrus Trees

When it comes to tree care, citrus has one advantage: many citrus trees are self-pollinating, so you don’t need to plant more than one citrus tree in order to grow a crop of fruit. But this does not mean that citrus trees won’t benefit from companion planting…in fact, companion planting can help your citrus lime tree or other type of citrus tree stay healthy and yield more fruit.

Whether you buy dwarf citrus trees to keep in a container on your patio or buy citrus trees to plant in the ground if you live in the proper growing zone, here are three types of plants you may want to keep around them in order to help them be best citrus trees they can be:

Wildflowers

Why they’re good for your citrus tree: Wildflowers are wonderful companion plants for many gardens because they attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Yes, we did say that citrus trees are self-pollinating, and that’s true insofar as you don’t need to plant more than one citrus tree in order to get fruit. But your tree will still pollinate far more efficiently if it gets help from those naturally occurring pollinators than if you rely on the wind (and it’s far easier than trying to pollinate the flowers yourself with a paintbrush!).

What kinds are best: One of the best things about using wildflowers as companion plants is that they’re pretty to look at and easy to grow, particularly if they’re native to the geographic location. Some great choices to go with your citrus tree or trees are echinacea (also known as coneflower), Queen Anne’s Lace, bee balm, and various types of daisies (including Black-Eyed Susans).

Herbs

Why they’re good for your citrus tree: Different types of herbs provide different benefits to your citrus tree, and indeed to many plants in your garden. Many of them are natural pollinators like the wildflowers listed above, but some go even further by repelling pests (like aphids, mites, and even rabbits and deer), adding nutrients to the soil around your citrus trees planted in the ground, or keeping the soil healthy.

What kinds are best: Herbs are a wonderful addition to any garden. Not only are many of them beautiful to look at, they often smell wonderful, repel biting pests like mosquitoes and ticks, and they can be used in cooking or making homemade cleaning products. Some that go well with citrus are lavender, rosemary, parsley, comfrey, chives, cilantro and chamomile.

Nasturtium

Why they’re good for your citrus tree: Citrus can attract aphids, but if you have nasturtium planted nearby, the pesky critters while almost certainly go for that instead. And nasturtium is so bright and pretty, with many colors and lovely leaves, you’ll be delighted to include it in your garden! Even better, the flowers are edible, making them a great addition to salads and as garnish for many main dishes and desserts.

A few things to keep in mind…

If you have a potted citrus tree, never plant companion plants in the container with the tree. Doing so could impede the tree’s growth due to root spacing. You can situate pots with companion plants in them around the potted citrus plant, however.

Also, when planting companion plants near your citrus tree, be sure to keep in mind which companion plants need full sun so you can plant them outside your citrus tree’s canopy. Some plants are fine in partial shade. Also, you should wait until your tree is at least three feet tall before planting companion plants near it to avoid them interfering with the roots of the young tree.

The post Best Plants to Surround your Citrus Tree With appeared first on Yarden.

At Citrus.com, we advocate growing citrus trees at home for the delicious fruit they provide as well as the beauty they add to your surroundings. But it’s not just the fruit that benefits your health and mindset – in addition to adding color and vibrancy to your home, growing citrus trees indoors can also improve your mental and physical well-being in ways you probably didn’t even realize

Professional and amateur horticulturists alike have been aware of how keeping and tending to houseplants can change physical aspects of the environment in pleasant ways. Here are just a few reasons way:

1. Houseplants Help with Allergy Relief

   Do you suffer from a nagging cough, burning eyes, sinus headaches or unexplained sneezing? If your doctor tells you allergens are the culprit, it may surprise you to learn that adding plants around your house may help. Studies show that rooms containing plants have less dust and mold than rooms that don’t. That’s because leaves and other parts of the plants act as natural filters to catch allergens and other airborne particles. This means that growing a grapefruit tree indoors will help boost your immunity even before it produces delicious, high-in-vitamin-C fruit!

2. Houseplants Make us Happy

   Plants not only can brighten up your surroundings, but they can lift your mood. Studies show that those who have plants at home tend to feel calmer and worry less. Plants with bright colors in particular are a good pick-me-up. So, liven up your surroundings by growing kumquats indoors, and see if the sight (and later, the flavor) of the bright, jewel-like fruit improves your outlook!

3. Houseplants put Moisture Back in the Air

   Rooms that are artificially cooled or heated may be more comfortable temperature-wise, but they can be hard on your sinuses and skin. That’s because furnaces and air conditioners can sap humidity from the air, particularly during the winter. That not only makes you uncomfortable, with dry, itchy sinuses and skin – it also leaves you more vulnerable to catching a cold or other virus. That good news is that houseplants add much-needed moisture back into the air you breathe! Growing an indoor citrus tree can be especially helpful because you’ll want to add extra moisture to them to help them thrive (this can be as easy as resting the pot your plant lives in on top of a shallow tray of pebbles with a little water at the bottom).

4. Houseplants Improve Air Quality

   Carpets, paint, cleaners, printer toners and inks, and many other indoor objects give off pollutants called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They can build up in the air and irritate your eyes and skin, worsen your asthma, or make it hard for you to breathe. Houseplants can soak up VOCs. Keeping some indoor citrus plants is a great way to naturally scrub the air in your home clean.

5. Houseplants Help Reduce Stress Levels

   Feeling the weight of daily pressures? See if finding an indoor olive tree for sale to add to your décor helps you relax! Being around plants has a calming effect on people, and this Mediterranean vegetation may even add an exotic, getting-away-from-it-all feel to your surroundings. Studies measuring people’s blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels (a stress hormone) while under mental stress showed a beneficial effect when the subjects were performing tasks in rooms containing plants.

6. Houseplants Help You Pay Attention Better

   As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, at-home learning days have been a challenge for students. Studies have shown that students learning in classrooms that contained several potted plants tended to perm better in spelling, math, reading and other subjects than students studying in rooms that didn’t contain plants. By adding potted plants to your home environment, the whole family may find it easier to concentrate on tasks and retain facts better.

The post 6 Benefits of Indoor Plants appeared first on Yarden.

There’s something so exciting and satisfying about eating fruits and vegetables that come from your own home garden! The best part is, you don’t even need that much space in order to enjoy this feeling…many an amateur gardener has produced prize-winning tomatoes on a small balcony or savory herbs on a kitchen windowsill.

But you don’t have to stop there – many edible plants do well in small spaces, and even in indoor spaces. And that includes fruit trees – thanks to the many dwarf varieties available and with proper care, growing citrus trees on your patio or in your sunroom is easily within your reach.

Citrus Trees in the Small Garden

When grown outdoors, small fruit trees produce enough fruit for a small family throughout the harvest season, but make sure you live in a climate that doesn’t experience frigid temperatures before you plant a citrus tree in the ground.

Keeping potted dwarf citrus trees can be especially intriguing for citrus lovers who dwell in colder climates as they can be kept indoors part of the time and still produce fruit.

Dwarf Citrus Tree Varieties

It might surprise you to learn that most of your favorite citrus comes in a dwarf variety. In fact, – most standard varieties have been grafted onto dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks.

Grown using dwarf rootstock, such trees can be kept to as little as six feet tall while still producing full-size fruit. When kept in a suitable container, dwarf citrus trees can live in a sunny spot indoors full-time or be moved to a patio during the warmer months.

You can find popular varieties of the following dwarf citrus trees at Citrus.com. The varieties of the citrus below all grow about 8-11 feet when planted in the ground, and 4-11 feet when kept in a container:

• Dwarf Orange Trees. Citrus.com offers a variety of options for growing fresh, full-size oranges at home, from Dwarf Valencia Orange Trees (known for producing the world’s best juicing oranges) to Dwarf Washington Navel Orange Trees (which produce the classic navel everyone loves so much). You don’t need to live in Florida to enjoy homegrown oranges anymore!
  
• Dwarf Lime Trees. The limes grown on a dwarf lime tree can be used for juice, cooking, zest, or any recipe that requires fresh lime. Imagine making Key Lime Pie with your own limes whenever you like! If you’re looking for lime flavor similar to what you’d find in the grocery store, go with a Persian ( Bearrs) Lime Trees. Love cooking ethnic dishes? The Kaffir Lime Tree produces a spicier fruit.
  
• Dwarf Lemon Trees. Dwarf lemon trees are easy to grow, making them a great choice for small or indoor gardens. They’re also a great choice for smaller families who love to cook or make drinks from fresh lemons, but don’t want to buy a whole back at the grocery store. Meyer Lemon Trees produce year-round, while Eureka Lemon Trees are less sweet like the lemons you find in stores. Both make delicious lemonade!
  
• Dwarf Kumquat Trees. Have you ever tried a kumquat? If you haven’t, you should – these easy-to-eat fruits are small and don’t even need to be peeled – just pop them whole into your mouth like a grape!
  
• Dwarf Mandarin Trees. If you’re a fan of small, sweet, easy-to-peel tangerines, Clementines, Satsumas and other mandarin varieties, a dwarf mandarin tree is a great choice. The tree may be small, but the fruit it will put out is the same that’s been pleasing kids for ages!
  
• Dwarf Grapefruit Trees. Do you love a half of delicious, sweet red grapefruit for breakfast, or a glass of refreshing, healthy grapefruit juice? Dwarf grapefruit trees may be small, but they produce full-size versions of the nutritional powerhouse fruit just like their larger cousins!
  
• Dwarf Lemon Lime Tree. Also known as cocktail trees, Dwarf Lemon Lime Trees let you grow two fruits where you might normally grow one! Even more space-saving than other dwarf citrus trees, cocktail trees are grafted to grow lemons and limes on the same tree.

Citrus.com also offers several varieties of dwarf citrus trees that can be kept in hanging baskets (though these will likely be more ornamental than fruit-bearing)!

Caring For Dwarf Citrus Trees

Once you’ve bought your tree and planted it in a large pot with specially formulated citrus soil and plenty of drainage, select a spot for it to live that will get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight, away from a dry air vent.

When grown in a container, citrus trees prefer periodic deep watering over frequent, light doses. Deep watering promotes deeper root growth and strengthens your tree. Allowing a few to several days between watering lets the soil drain properly. It’s fine to allow the top of the soil to dry out.

Applying a fertilizer helps to replenish the nutrients your growing tree leaches from its soil over time. To ensure you get a good crop of fruit, be sure to use a specially formulated fertilizer for citrus trees in pots. You can find the best fertilizer for citrus trees in containers from Citrus.com – in fact, our All-in-One Kits include everything you need to ensure your tree’s optimum health.

To keep your tree healthy and productive, remove all suckers after harvest and prune away any dead tree branches or branches that cross one another. If the upper canopy becomes thick to the point that the lower branches don’t get enough light, you’ll probably want to thin it.

The post How Tall do Citrus Dwarf Trees Grow? appeared first on Yarden.

Thoughts of summer hold fond memories for a many a former kid, for it’s the season of school vacation, warm weather, swimming, picnics, fireworks and blackberrying! From May to September (and especially in June and July) intrepid wanderers stood a good chance of coming across a patch of shiny, sweet-tart, juicy berries, so it was best to come prepared with a receptacle for gathering them in (at least, the ones that weren’t eaten on the spot). And if enough of those lovely berries did make it home, you might be lucky enough to get to enjoy them in a cobbler, on top of your cereal or ice cream, or as jam to spread over your toast!

Handpicked Blackberries

As adults, we may not have as much time to go blackberrying as we used to. You can always pick some up at a farmers’ market, of course, or even at your local grocery store when they’re in season (or when they’re out of season if they’ve been shipped in from other locations – these might not have the intense flavor of local berries, though). But there’s something about picking your own that adds to the summertime specialness of the fruit.

Growing Blackberries at Home

Great news – by growing your own blackberry bushes, you can have access to fresh, handpicked, homegrown berries all summer without having to plan a hiking trip!

If you live in North America, you’re in luck…blackberries grow very well. This doesn’t mean that you should try to transplant a wild blackberry plant into your backyard, however – many of the “wild” blackberry plants that can be found growing alongside roads and fences are offshoots of the Himalayan variety, a brambly, thorny, highly invasive species that has crowded out many native blackberry species and is very difficult to contain. If you try planning one of these, you may never get rid of them again – or be able to grow anything else!

Advantages of Buying Blackberry Plants

If you want to grow your own blackberries, your best bet is to buy plants from a reputable nursery or plant vendor. Citrus.com has long been a favorite provider for those looking to plant citrus tree plants (after all, “citrus” is right in our name!), but in addition to many wonderful citrus tree varieties you can also find a wide variety of other fruit trees and edible plants, including berry plants. We’re known for more than just citrus trees!

While there’s a certain charm in harvesting wild blackberries, one thing you can avoid by growing your own plants is getting scratched up from clambering through thorny vines while trying to reach the best berries. By buying your own plants, you get to choose where you plant them and how far apart from each other you plant them so that your berry harvest is as easy to manage as your citrus harvest. Even better, many of our berry varieties are thornless and pest-resistant, so you can skip deal with thorns and ticks altogether!

Growing Blackberries in Containers

Just as you can keep a dwarf citrus tree in a container, there are varieties of blackberry that do well in containers under the right conditions.

A great way to contain a blackberry plant’s rapid growth is by growing it in a container. Blackberries grown in a pot can’t escape into surrounding garden spaces. Any variety of blackberry can be grown in a pot, but thornless varieties are especially suited for small spaces and patios. Even better are erect varieties that don’t need to be trellised, like the Arapaho and Kiowa varieties.

Blackberry plants are very easy to grow in general, but keep in mind that potted plants of any kind need more care – more regular watering and fertilizing, pruning, etc. And although most blackberry plants are pretty cold-hardy, potted ones will need more protection in the winter, too. But with the right size plant and a little regular care, your container-grown blackberries will give you years of blackberry pies and crumbles, all the jam you can eat, and smoothies galore!

Buy berry plants now!

The post When are Blackberries in Season? appeared first on Yarden.

Have you ever wished you could make fresh-squeezed orange juice from oranges you grew yourself? Or that you could enjoy fragrant lemon trees that produced fruit you could add to your favorite recipes and drinks? You may have thought it wasn’t in the cards for you because you don’t live in a climate that supports growing citrus trees. Well, take heart – buying a dwarf citrus tree can change all that!

Dwarf citrus trees include the many varieties of citrus that are grown using dwarf rootstock. This process creates trees that reach sizes of between six and twelve feet tall. A dwarf citrus tree will produce normal-sized fruit for its variety, and can be grown either in the ground, or in a suitable container. By keeping dwarf citrus trees in containers, you can move them indoors when the weather gets cold.

Read on to learn more about five dwarf citrus trees you didn’t know could be grown indoors!

1. Dwarf Lemon Trees. If you’ve never grown a fruit tree indoors, your best bet is to buy dwarf lemon tree varieties to start with. You really can’t go wrong with a Dwarf Improved Meyer Lemon Tree from Citrus.com…this variety is one of the easiest indoor lemon trees to grow, and the dwarf Meyer lemon tree size tops out to less than six feet tall depending on the size of the pot you keep it in. Plus, the fruit is tasty and very versatile…Meyer lemons (which can be difficult if not impossible to find in some stores) are a hybrid of a true lemon and a mandarin orange, so the fruit is rounder than a true lemon and sweet as well as tangy. Meyer Lemons make excellent lemonade, and are great in recipes and cocktails, too.

• Dwarf Lime Trees. Growing an indoor lime tree is easier than you think! There are several popular varieties. If you choose to keep a Dwarf Bearss Lime Tree in container, you’ll be able to grow traditional, “true” limes such as you’d find in local grocery stores. Another option is a to grow a Dwarf Key Lime Tree. Key lime trees produce those lovely, sweet little limes that give the famous pie its name.

• Dwarf Mandarin/Tangerine Trees. If you’re a fan of fresh-squeezed orange juice, you’ll definitely want to get a Dwarf Orange Tree or variety of a variety of Dwarf Mandarin Tree! If you think you’d like a Dwarf Tangerine Tree (tangerines and satsuma are varieties of mandarin), Brown Select Satsuma and Owari Satsuma dwarf trees from Citrus.com produce fruit that’s sure to be a hit with the lunchbox set – sweet, easy-to-peel, and just right for smaller hands. For true oranges, the Dwarf Washington Navel Orange tree is one of the most popular citrus trees available because they are so easy to grow. The Dwarf Moro Blood Orange produces medium-sized sweet, juicy, blood-colored oranges with little to no seeds, while the Dwarf Valencia Orange Tree produces oranges with a thin, golden rind and flesh that is remarkably sweet, juicy and tender when ripe.

• Dwarf Grapefruit Trees. “Diet” might be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of grapefruit, but don’t let it’s weight loss reputation fool you – in addition to being super low-calorie and super healthy, grapefruit is delicious. And the red varieties (like our Rio Red and Ruby Red varieties) are way sweeter than the white varieties you may have sampled in the past – in fact, we doubt you’ll ever feel the need to add sugar to them!. We promise, these pretty, sweet fruits that will be a healthy, refreshing addition to your breakfast.

• Dwarf Kumquat Trees. Some of the most unique citrus varieties available, kumquats are a fabulous snack you can just pop in your mouth and eat whole, peel and all! With regular pruning, kumquat trees can be maintained at heights around five and six feet, and a potted Dwarf Kumquat Tree can be kept even smaller. Our Nagami Sour Tree and Meiwa Sweet Tree each produce small fruits with excellent flavor. They make attractive additions to your indoor garden, too!

Before you buy a dwarf citrus tree of your own, do a bit of research on Citrus.com to make sure you know what you’ll need. Different trees have different needs, and we’re sure to help you find the one that’s right for you.

The post 5 Fruit Trees That Can be Grown Indoors appeared first on Yarden.