Many people who love gardening want to plant vegetables and trees, but not everyone has a spacious garden to fulfill that wish, especially when living in big cities.
So, can you plant an indoor grapefruit tree? Is growing Citrus indoors difficult? The exact answers will be revealed in this article.
Can You Plant An Indoor Grapefruit Tree? What Types to Grow
You can choose to grow grapefruit trees indoors due to your environmental conditions.
But there are some notices you need to know when selecting houseplants, including adequate light exposure and interior spaces.
Growing indoor citrus trees can bring joy to you and refresh your house. Here are some types of Citrus can be chosen:
- Oro Blanco grapefruit: They can thrive in indirect light, such as what comes through a window, and do not need a very sunny location.
- Ruby red grapefruit: They are notable for their vibrant skin color and juicy inside. For optimal growth, they should be exposed to direct sunlight; however, as a houseplant, you can put them next to a window to receive natural light.
- Cocktail grapefruit ( named Citrus paradisi): They are small and can thrive in unrestricted environments. They can also grow inside due to their sizes.
How To Plant Indoor Grapefruit Tree
With six simple steps, you can completely plant a grapefruit tree indoors, from choosing seeds to providing the essentials.
Step 1
First, choose suitable seeds or young plants for indoor citrus plants. Because of the indoor space constraints, you should select a lovely houseplant that can grow to around 6 feet, while a fully grown indoor tree may reach 30 feet tall.
Remember that you should buy around two-year-olds when choosing trees because they can easily grow and have fruits quickly.
Step 2
After selecting an indoor citrus tree, the next step is preparing containers. The size of the containers you need depends on your chosen plant size. You should pick one that is at least twice as big as the plant’s root cluster due to the expansion in the future.
Overeating may kill your plants, so choose containers with drainage holes. And terracotta, ceramic, and plastic are some available materials.
Step 3
Next, clean the containers and move to the soil preparation step. Containers may be filled with fresh potting soil or other soil mix. Growing this plant in a combination of coir and perlite is recommended.
In addition, the pH should be around 6 to 7 to ensure they are mildly acidic. It is also essential to ensure the sound can drain effectively, retain soil moisture, and has a high organic matter level.
Step 4
After putting the plants in containers with well-draining soil, put them in a suitable place. The more direct light this plant is exposed to, the more it will thrive. Therefore, put them somewhere that gets sunshine, preferably towards the south.
In addition, indoor temperatures between 18 and 25 degrees C are optimal for this tropical plant’s development. So, pay attention to the room degrees at night and throughout the late winter months to make sure their developments are not influenced.
Step 5
Of course, proper watering is crucial for planting fruit trees, including grapefruit trees indoors. Like other dwarf Citrus plants, grapefruit requires moisture environments to develop. However, you should not over-water. You can buy a moisture meter to know when it is time to water the Citrus trees (around 2-3).
Step 6
Indoor environments require frequent organic fertilizers. You can use high-nitrogen fertilizer for these potted plants every three weeks in 6 first months and every six weeks for the rest of the year.
How To Avoid Pets And Disease When Planting Grapefruit Tree Indoors?
Like most Citrus houseplants, insects and diseases are a nightmare for gardeners when caring for grapefruit indoors. Here are some of my tips to protect your Citrus trees:
Pet
Avoiding pets is more complicated because there will be no natural predators in their house. Besides, their population can be more significant than you can imagine.
Aphids
Aphids, which are usually referred to as plant lice, are tiny insects. They often grow on numerous species of cultivated and untamed plants.
When they feed on young plants, they may destroy their green leaves, and your plant can not produce as many Citrus fruits as you expected.
They are notorious for wreaking havoc on Citrus houseplants due to their fast reproduction and sucking behavior. Some smaller insects, like ants, may also be attacked by these aphids.
Mealybugs
These pets, like aphids, are sap-sucking insects that may cause serious problems. They have a soft and segmented body while their size is minimal. The females leave eggs that may become nymphs and adults.
Lack of plant sap, caused by mealybug, can diminish your plant’s vitality. When they eat, it may leave wounds that other illnesses can enter.
Whiteflies
Infesing and damaging various Citrus trees via the ability to feed or fast disease transmission, these insects are similar to the two above pets.
However, you can distinguish them due to their appearance and biology.
They can also generate honeydew, which may draw in pets like ants and promote the development of sooty mold.
Mites
Some mites, such as rust or spider mites, feed on grapefruit plants, leading to extreme damage. They are so tiny that they are often only seen under a microscope and have separate legs.
Mites puncture the cells of the leaves and fruits of your plants to consume their cellular contents for sustenance.
While resting, grapefruit mites can destroy plants by sucking out their contents, leading to slow growth.
Disease
Besides pets, you also need to pay attention to the diseases in indoor citrus trees, such as:
Sooty Mold
This black fungus, known as sooty mold may be found on the exterior of the plants, such as on leaves, branches, or even fruits. This disease is caused by the affected pets when they eat sap.
While sooty mold may not cause harm to plants on its own, severe infestation can prevent photosynthesis from occurring due to a lack of bright light reaching the leaves.
Root Rot
Like many other plants, Grapefruit trees indoors are susceptible to root roots. It is a fungal disease that can damage and restrict root growth.
This disease is brought on by a wide variety of soil-dwelling fungi that can flourish in humid or poor drainage soil.
Some symptoms can include leaving it to become yellow, usually at the edge and margin first. And grown retardation and diminished vitality shriveling up even in damp soil.
Can I Move An Indoor Citrus Tree Outside For Summer?
Yes, you can. But that is not a requirement in the summer months. But if you want to do this, here are some my tips you need to consider when moving your indoor plants outside:
Trees need time to acclimate to outside light conditions and air temperature, so please don’t let them be exposed directly and suddenly.
You can put them in a shade where they can receive natural sunlight for 8-12 hours, then move them to outdoor space later.
Citrus trees indoors are pretty sensitive to hotter and colder temperatures, so protect your plant from frost damage at night. The outside temperature should be at least 50 degrees F.
Conclusion
Planting indoor grapefruit trees is a selective option when you love cultivating plants but don’t have enough of a spacious garden.
Growing Citrus indoors can help you relax and produce some clean fruits yourself.
It may be pretty difficult to take care of plants in indoor conditions compared to outside, but it can be a fantastic experience.
