Hi Adri, the Trovita is a great choice if you are new at citrus. I live in northern Ohio and have one that I have kept alive for the last nine years. :) Depending on the size of the plant, but if it smaller I would probably go with a 12" wide container. There are better potting mixes but I use the miracle gro cactus mix without too many problems, just watch your watering in the winter. You can amend with some perlite if you want. I used too, but not sure if it makes a difference. I wouldn't worry about fertilizing right away after transplanting, but eventually a good all purpose fertilizer is fine. I look for something with a 3-1-1 ratio or something close to that. I usually fertilize when I see new growth coming on. Great plant ,pretty forgiving for citrus and does well indoors in the winter. Good luck.

Hello there!

Yes, I am fairly new to citrus. I had one once before, but it didn't survive. I think mainly due to lack of light (my old apartment was a dungeon) and the soil just wouldn't seem to dry out. So, I'm trying again and hoping to get it right. What is Ohio like in terms of humidity? I tried the Miracle Grow cactus soil and amended it with some perlite, but it was just too heavy and stayed wet for a long time. Thanks for the well wishes. My fingers and toes are crossed!

Welcome! I don't have that variety but have heard good things about it. I would NOT use a terra-cotta pot because it will get too cold during winter. Most of us container growers use plastic pots - preferably not black. I would also search for 5-1-1 mix on this forum. That is the mix many of us use. It's effective, dries out quickly, and is not difficult to make. For fertilizer most of us use Oscomote Plus, Foliage Pro, and a Peters one that I forget the name of. You can do it! We will help you!

Ohio can be pretty humid in the summer, I think our weather is very similar in the summer. I would take Laura's advice and try the 5-1-1. It will definitely help you in the winter and make sureto find the sunniest window you can when you over winter. You will be fine.

Hello Laura,

Do you suppose terra-cotta will be too cold even if it is kept inside during the winter?

For the soil mix you recommend, do the numbers correspond to the ratio of ingredients? I think I have heard of a few mixes roaming around on this forum, but I wonder how available the ingredients will be in my area. Sounds like some trips to the garden center are in order.

Fig- I appreciate the encouragement! I'm very lucky to have a sunroom now with lots of windows. If there's a shred of light in the bleak Minnesota winter sky, this room will soak it up!

Good luck Adri.

Oh your tree is beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

Oh thank you very much, Laura! This is all so very helpful. I have spent so much time reading about this stuff, but I still felt like I was doing so much guess work. It's so helpful to hear the names of what to use rather than "well draining."

I can already tell that you are right about everyone being very nice on this forum. :-) thanks again!

Laura-

Is this the stuff you are talking about?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001F9AMW6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493720208&sr=8-1&keywords=reptibark&dpPl=1&dpID=51%2BCbsqnk9L&ref=plSrch#immersive-view_1493720238155

Yes, that's it! A big bag like that should be more than enough!

Wonderful! For the perlite, should I be looking for anything special? More of a coarse variety?

My 2 sense of input.

Lots of drainage holes in your container.I set my trees up on a vacuum chamber and use my vacuum to draw 10 seconds of fresh air each day through out the winter indoor times.
Lots of light. Use floor lamps with spot/flood lights that direct the light onto the tree. Don't use a CFL spiral bulb. Most of that light will miss the tree. Need heat, Heat with spot lights not electric resistant heaters. A CFL flood light puts out 85% heat and 15% light that will turn directly into heat as soon as it lands on any surface and becomes 100% heat. Be prepared for insect invasions all winter. Everyone of us has that problem. No exceptions. Have your sprayer and insecticides/fungicides on hand NOW or as soon as you get to the store. It is imperative that you have these things before your first infestation. It is a lot quicker to get the supplies and mix than to run around from store to store, then spray. Your tree will be dead before you can get the shopping done.

I believe that in your area the bottom half of the sun does not clear the horizon ot and near winter solstice. You will need to add light for your tee to do well.

The effectiveness of drawing air with a vacuum. View in full screen on YouTube for write-up instructions

6b Steve

Yes, coarse perlite is best, but the only way I have found the nice coarse one was to buy a massive bag...perhaps you will have better luck ;-). The garden lime and other stuff is easy to find at any garden center.

Poncirusguy-

your setup is quite impressive! Thank you for sharing with me. And thanks for the tip about the insecticides. Do you have any recommendations for what I should use?

Laura-

I think I may be stuck with a large bag as well. I'll keep looking, but I haven't found much so far.

Neem oil, Safer insecticidal soap, and any brand fungicide suitable for food plants. This will cover everything that could be a threat to your tree.

Go ahead and get the big bag. You will use it on the second/3rd up potting.

6b Steve

Thanks, Steve!

Does this still apply to plants that are kept exclusively indoors? Do they still end up with infestations to the same degree? (I likely will have mine part time indoors and part time outdoors, but I'm just curious.)

It is in the winter that the pest are the worst. One the trees are outside most problem go away and com back late fall and through out the cold till set out time.

6b Steve

Interesting! That's good to know, thank you!

We have a Trovita (Arizona Sweet Orange) in Tucson. It is not in a pot but planted in ground. Planted about 4-5 years ago. I think it is likely a semi-dwarf because it is not getting as big as I thought it would. Lots of fruit and it is very very sweet. The juice is so sweet, that we mix it with our Rio Red grapefruit juice to make it less so.

This was taken this past February. The rapidly growing Lisbon lemon is just behind it.

Lovely tree! I wish I could plant mine in the ground. I'm sure it will eventually get some fruit on it planted in a pot, but not nearly as much as it would in the ground.

I agree Doc. very nice tree. It is amazing how much better trees grow in ground than in containers.

6b Steve

Thanks for all of your help, everyone!

I finally got all of the ingredients together to put my tree in a pot. I spoke to a man at a local garden center and he recommended a pot with a diameter just 2 inches wider than what the tree was currently in. He said this would help with maintaining the appropriate moisture level. Only time will tell at this point I suppose. I used slightly less peat moss and subbed in slightly more perlite. Hopefully this keeps things from getting too soggy. Fingers crossed!

I have a Trovita orange tree. it's in a pot on my patio with plenty of sun. it's only 2 years old but I was under the impression it would produce fruit every year and lots of it. I have had blooms but they always fall off after the petals drop and then I get no oranges. I've noticed the leaves are a little spotted or faded looking with a hint of yellow. I've fertilized it with citrus fertilizer and have lots of new growth but no blooms or oranges. Any suggestions as to what may be wrong?

Tree is not big enough to support fruit growth