apple tree and orange tree

sophlouwhit

need advice asap. i bought a apple and orange tree of Yougarden they arrived Wednesday. after being very good at answering emails when i was going to buy them they have suspiciously dried up now we have? and we have virtually no after care advice & are newbies.


both are small and grown in pots. the apple one is a Discovery Apple tree and is grown in a pot.


We have 2 pots to transfer them over to, one is massive (for discovery apple) 1 smaller for the orange.


Lots of Questions!!
1. how often to water both winter, summer?
2. at what temp does orange tree need to come in?
3. when to transfer to bigger pots? asap? and what soil/compost is required for both? dont want to mess it up!
4. do any need anything added to them other then just plain old water and when etc?


Thanks Guys!!!

Justagardener

It's difficult to answer as we don't know the size of pots or the size of the root balls. As a general rule when moving up to bigger pots, don't go too big to quickly. Oranges are surprisingly hardy down to -4°c personally I wouldn't risk that low as sustained low temperatures can cause the problems. Watering is hard to comment on, I have 4 large standards and have watered them very little this year and they have done better than previous years. With the apples, overwatering can be as dangerous as not watering, so keep an eye on it. Oranges like their soil slightly acidic so if the leaves look blotchy yellow give them some sequestered tonic.

madjackslam

Personally I'd plant the apple in the ground if possible, but if you want to keep it in a container there is advice here. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=321

The orange clearly does need to be in a pot so you can bring it in. There's advice on growing citrus here https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/citrus and there are plenty of videos and advice online, eg, from specialist nurseries https://citruscentre.co.uk/pages/care-sheets#citrus. (Make sure it's advice for the UK.) I've kept my lemon alive for 20 years, flowers regularly, and get occasional fruit, but nowhere near enough for our G&T needs!