Good question, Serge. I assume that the jury is still out on the ideal NPK ratio for citrus, which is surprising, as there are studies out there that we've gone by on this forum, supplied by some of our more knowledgeable forum members that support 5:1:3 ration. Here's a kicker - most/many commercial citrus orchardists just use 15:15:15. I have been told this on numerous occasions.

Patty S.

Thanks serge

I find that where I live if miracle grow is selling 15-30-15, then k-grow home-grow, wall-grow lowes-grow are the same. I have talked to farmers and they buy what is sold to them on sale. Stick with what is said on this forum. You won't go wrong. I mix and match quantities of vigero and blueberry food to get close to the 5-1-2 ratio. It is working very well on my trees

Steve

The 5-1-2 ratio works out to be 7-1.4-2.8, making perhaps the Whitney Farms the closest. I'll work out a blend mix from popularly available mixes in my next spreadsheet that should get right at 5-1-2 or very close to it.

There are certainly quite the range of different formulations marketed as citrus fertilizer. Most of the state Agricultural Extension programs in citrus producing states recommend a mix that is equal parts N, P, and K (such as 15:15:15) for in ground citrus. This simplifies things and any unused N, P, or K from the fertilizer is typically leached out of the soil root zone by rain and irrigation. With container citrus, the same results should be possible by flushing the container with an excess of clean water on a semi-regular basis to minimize build up of unused fertilizer and other soluble salts. With regards to NPK for container citrus, I would think that any fertilizer that has a relatively similar NPK to the ideal 5:1:3 ratio would be fine. Another important factor, especially for use with soil-less potting mixes, is to make sure the fertilizer has all of the necessary micro nutrients.

I used to use 15-15-15 for my Meyers before I got enough trees to have a proprietary mix made specially for me. Now I use 18-6-12 (3-1-2 ratio) with CA,MG,FE, and Zn; not only is it cheaper than the 15-15-15, but it is better for the trees and production. Note that not all citrus are alike; the general rule is 5-1-3; but with Meyers (what I know about mostly) that will get you nice pretty trees, but notably lower production.

I found this for my Meyer trees

http://www.ebstone.org/21_fruit.php

...now just hunting around for a good price.

Do the micros look good?

I have miracle grow 33-0-0 for lawns I would add that at 2/3 strength to full strength of what you found. Make sure that there are no herbicides i n the lawn food That should work well.

Steve

Serge,

Everything looks good except maybe the Magnesium is a little low; you can fix that by adding a little Epsom salt (MgSO4)a cupla times per year.

ok...Now all this is very difficult......I think I'll stick with Foliage Pro and vinegar....Quite easy and not complicated....lol

Have a great night all..Finally got some decent rains! Talk about a natural citrus and very other plant pleaser as compared to tap water....

Mike

Mike

If I could get foliage pro here in Cincinnasti, I would use it along with vinegar. I think most other also don't have cost effective access to foliage pro and like me we have what is cheap and mix match the best we can. You got the idea, KISS citrus

Steve