I know this is short notice, but I’d like to get my folks a fruiting orange tree for Christmas.

Do any locals have advice on a good nursery that will come out and plant a citrus tree for them (and do a good job of setting it up for survival)? I know there has been some serious troubles with the citrus crop here, so maybe this is a poor idea, but it really would be nice for them to have fresh homemade juice again..
Thank you for any advice!

Call your Hillsborough county IFAS extension agent for advice on citrus trees. There are some important things to consider. They are located in Seffner.

Citrus trees are pretty much a thing of the past in Florida. There are so many diseases that kills them now, that most all nurseries don't carry them anymore and the ones that do, nobody can get them to grow long term (home owners). They all end up dieing from some blight.

Thanks for your input, guys. We used to have orange, lemon, grapefruit, pummelo, and calamondin trees, as well as a hybrid or two. They have definitely dwindled.

Might explore if Avocado is an option.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Citrus trees are pretty much a thing of the past in Florida. There are so many diseases that kills them now, that most all nurseries don't carry them anymore and the ones that do, nobody can get them to grow long term (home owners). They all end up dieing from some blight.

Nonsense. Citrus trees require care to control pests but our family has been growing producing citrus trees in St Pete for decades. Call your extension agent.

I have some limited experience with citrus trees. Young trees may bloom this or next summer (or whenever the type of orange blooms). You likely wont get any fruit for a couple or a few years.

By then there is a good chance they will get some of the many diseases now affecting Florida citrus.

Depending on the disease, the county may require all citrus within a certain radius to be destroyed as well.

I have no suggestions for an alternative.

HayesGreener may have some suggestions for localized planting, which may be a bit safer for many reasons. The wife's family deals with tens of thousands of acres of citrus in central FL and a single tree in the yard here in Tampa.

Thank you so much for your information, guys. I really appreciate your advice.
As I’ve mentioned, we’ve had several types of citrus in our yard down here for decades, and it’s heartbreaking to come down and find all the citrus struggling so much. I will contact the extension agent. We still have enough key lime to make our annual key lime pie this year, but had to use reserve orange juice for breakfast.
Merry Christmas.

Hayesgreener and dlc444,
Have you heard of the wasp they are inviting folks to release to attack the psyllids causing the greening?

Are you aware of any repercussions with doing so?

I’d like to order some for the trees- any thoughts?