[Arid_gardener] Re: Citrus Tree Spacing

[Olin Miller]

Are you asking about minimum spacing for standard citrus or spacing for
dwarf citrus?

Standard citrus trees will grow to over 20 feet in diameter at maturity.  My
five standards (one each of Texas Ruby Red, Minneola Tangelo, Hamlin AZ
Sweet, Diller AZ Sweet, Lisbon Lemon) have been in the ground for about 25
years and average canopy size is about 20 feet.  So I would suggest a
minimum of 15 feet allowing for some overlap.

True dwarf citrus on Flying Dragon rootstocks are often advertised as
growing a 6 to 10 foot canopy but I believe they are more likely to grow to
8 - 12 feet depending on the aggressiveness of the variety.  Eight feet is
probably safe for most of them.

The true dwarfs are usually planted from 5 gallon containers and the
standards from 15 gallon.  I would avoid any of the larger boxed sizes.  In
either case, if the caliper is more that 1.5 inches, go with 15 gallons.

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer
U of A Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County AZ
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----- Original Message ----- From: <boojum-obgyn at hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 4:27 AM
> David Kells,  85286
> How far apart should citrus trees be planted to have a mini citrus orchard
> in the back yard?  What is the optimum gallon size for planting of citrus?