A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Zone 10 trees in zone 6/7

I was just at Southern States and they have all thier orange trees that are tropical, on clearance for $10 each. Hmm.. guess they couldn't sell the tropical trees here. I can't imagine why. So.. is there any way to have these trees for such a bargain? Or totally not worth it? They grow about 12' supposedly. They look like patio sized fruit trees right now. Probably 5' or so tall.

Ideas??

House plants.

Will they do well indoors tho? And 12'.. I don't know if my ceiling is high enough.

Meg,

If grown in container as houseplant, You can control the height. Citruses hardly require any pruning. If you do prune, do it at the top part.

Here's a link to Growing Citrus As Houseplant.

Last time I checked, citruses in our area were marked from $22.00-$25.00; and about $17.50 when on sale.

Ok, that's it.. for $10, I am willing to try an orange tree in my house!

Meg

Meg, it's totally possible to do, and the blossoms smell great in the house.

Just thought I'd let you see the tree I bought.

The tag said it was a "Clementine Mandarin Orange"

You tempt me Meg you really do. I love mandain oranges.

Here are other info on Mandarin Oranges:

Citrus Variety

clementines

Grafted citrus trees begin bearing at 3-4 years. Before you bring it in or out, please harden it off to avoid plant stress/shock.


And, just so you'd know that you got a real good deal, check this out.

Papito, that was some great info, thanks!! I didn't know what the clementines would be like, but they are apparently very good. I did see fruit on some of these trees earlier this year, when they were still full price. The fruit was still green at the time.. but it was there. Hopefully, I'll see some in the next year. It's currently in the 5 gallon container they sold it to me in.. should I transplant it to a larger pot? I know I read somewhere that I should get a saucer for underneath, and put some gravel in it to rest the planter on.. so the water isn't right on it.

I'm so glad I got this tree. What a deal for $10!

Meg