Potted orange is an excellent citrus tree to grow in a pot on a balcony or on a terrace. Caring for this container-grown citrus, from re-potting to pruning helps boost orange harvest and prevents appearance of diseases.
Although the climate in most of our regions isn’t well suited to growing orange trees directly in the ground, growing them in pots is perfectly possible.
Discover:
Potted orange trees cannot extract the nutrients they need from the ground.
So the pot and soil you have put in it are their only source of food for them to stock up and grow.
Repotting the orange tree is thus of critical importance.
The five jobs that keep a container orange healthy each have their own moment and their own dose. This table sets them side by side so you can see what needs doing now.
| Task | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Repotting | Spring, every 2 to 3 years | High-quality citrus mix, drainage hole and a bed of clay pebbles |
| Pruning | Several times during the growing season | Shorten each new shoot by about half, cutting just above a leaf |
| Watering | Often in summer, reduced in winter | Water once the soil is dry, thoroughly, without flooding the pot |
| Feeding | Every two weeks in the growth phase | Citrus-specific fertiliser to boost fruit-bearing; stop over winter |
| Winter shelter | Mid-autumn to late spring | Bright, unheated greenhouse or lean-in that never drops below 32°F (0°C) |
| Harvesting | Late autumn to early spring | Pick fruit as soon as it breaks off easily from the branch |
Away from radiators and other heat sources, a potted tree following this rhythm will fruit year after year.
Pruning isn’t really needed but if you don’t prune your orange tree, it will quickly grow very large.
In pots, it is best to control your tree’s growth with very regular pruning.
Shorten each new shoot back to more or less half its length, taking great care to cut just above a leaf.
This will result in your orange tree keeping a nice, tight shape.
You might need to do this several times a year.
Eliminate dead wood regularly and if possible, clear the inside of your fruit tree to let light penetrate to the center.
In pots, orange trees dry up much faster than if they were planted in the ground, which is why watering is a special concern.
In summer, frequent watering is required whereas in winter, it is enough to simply reduce the number of watering rounds.
Every two weeks, during the growth phase, add citrus-specific fertilizer to boost fruit-bearing.
Rainwater suits orange trees better than hard tap water, whose lime builds up in the pot and turns leaves yellow between the veins.
Water thoroughly until it runs out of the drainage hole, rather than giving small sips that only wet the surface.
Stop feeding while the tree is resting in its cool winter quarters, and resume only when new shoots appear.
If growing in pots is the best solution for your orange tree, it’s because this makes it possible to bring your orange tree indoors in a well-lit place where it doesn’t freeze in the winter.
Orange trees aren’t indoor plants, and can’t bear staying in a heated environment all year round.
They need relatively lower temperatures from October to May.
If you’re looking for an indoor orange tree, choose calamondin instead.
This means it is important to place your orange tree in a non-heated greenhouse or lean-in, where the temperature never drops below 32°F (0°C).
Oranges are generally ready for harvest from November to March. At this stage, the tree is indoors or in an orangerie (a greenhouse).
So you’ll be ripening your oranges while your tree is kept from freezing and the soil is kept slightly moist.
Since the air inside homes tends to be rather dry, make sure you water regularly: if not, your fruits will be bland and not very juicy.
Oranges gain no sweetness once picked, so leave them on the tree until you actually want to eat them.
Taste one fruit before stripping a branch.
Clip the stalk with secateurs rather than tugging the fruit, since pulling can tear the rind and leave a wound where decay-causing fungi and bacteria may enter during storage.
Yellowing leaves with veins staying green point to iron deficiency, common when potted orange trees are watered with hard tap water, and a chelated iron feed corrects it.
Sticky black sooty mould on the leaves means scale insects or aphids are overhead, so treat the pests before sponging the foliage clean with soapy water.
Inspect leaf undersides for red spider mites while the tree overwinters indoors, as dry warm air suits them.
Pick the oranges as soon as they easily break off from their branch.
