Here is the UF page on Citrus Growing in the Home Landscape. It's a good reference overall for growing citrus. If you don't like weeding and don't like chemicals, maybe you should not grow citrus. No tree should have mulch up against the trunk. In FL, if there is grass up against the trunk, yard crews tend to damage the trunk with weed whackers. Just something to think about.

I've used vinegar to kill weeds before, and it works well, and doesn't harm the trees. Chemical weed killers are not absorbed by the roots of the trees if used properly. They are burnback products that kill the above-ground portion of the weeds so that the roots die. Unless you pour a whole bottle of it around a citrus, you won't get chemicals in your fruit.

This is what UF says about mulching:

Weed Management

Often, citrus trees are planted in the midst of an expansive green lawn. Complete weed control is not essential, but weeds and sod grass should be removed from the area under the tree canopy. Above all, make sure all weeds are removed from the area adjacent to the trunk of the tree. Such weeds could promote injury due to a soil-borne fungus known as foot rot, which can seriously debilitate or even kill the tree. Mulches are not recommended around citrus trees, but if trees are located in a cultivated plant bed where mulch is used, it should be kept at least a foot away from tree trunks.

Thanks.

Doesn't really answer my question but the articles state mulch should be a foot from the trunk.

That's what I'm going to do.

Thanks again,

Jane

The answer to your question is right there in that paragraph I posted. Anything over the roots holds water into the soil and can cause foot rot, which is very common with mulched trees. It's up to you. I've seen some mulched trees grow perfectly fine with a ring of mulch a foot out from the trunk, then I've seen some die. It's a crapshoot with citrus. Citrus greening is a bigger problem, though, so watch out for it.

I wonder if you could use one of those tree faux mulch mats made from recycled tires. It would keep the ground a little moist but in sand, I do t think it would be too bad. It wouldn't hold water like moistens wood would. It would help keep the weeds at bay and you could cut away anything that came too close to the trunk. Not a perfect solution, but perhaps a compromise. Normally I loathe those rubber mulch mats but this seems like a good use for them.

Thanks, Gardengal.

It never made sense to me. We do not have sprinklers and hand water. Short of standing for an hour trying to get the trees enough water during the dry season seems crazy. We have beach sand soil and I mulch everything else to retain some moisture plus it helps keep the roots cooler in the hot sun.

'Flowers' thanks for that recommendation but rubber tires can leach nasty chemicals so wouldn't be an option.

I'm going to mulch the trees. I've been lucky with a good crop of lemons and oranges but do not like the lawn guys spray Roundup around the base of the trees. I'd rather take my chances and try a mulch.

Jane

Jane as far as watering here's what I do for all my fruit trees. I drill a small hole very close to the bottom edge of 1 - 3 large buckets (I use the really large cat litter containers) and place them right at the base of the trunk. Fill the container with water and go about doing the rest of my garden watering. The buckets empty slowly so give the roots time to absorb the water before it runs through the sandy soil.

Bea, what a good idea!

Im mulching my flower beds and will put a light layer around the trees.

I always mulch my citrus with finely shredded leaves during the winter. My trees need to be watered way too often if not. By the time the rainy season begins most of the mulch has disappeared.

I've been mulching for years too. I understand as long as it's not touching the trunk, an organic mulch is beneficial in many ways.

And if you do not mulch, you then have to deal w/ weeds, which I think, is more problematic for the shallow feeder roots than mulch.

I usually keep the mulch about 5-6 inches away from the trunk - and it's shallow for approx. 5-6 inches too. I use shredded yard waste, mostly. I was told by a citrus nursery owner that using oak leaves has been known to cause bacterial issues for citrus trees (which I was having), so I try to avoid using them but I do have 2 big oaks nearby that drop leaves everywhere. I have a copper spray that I can use if I see any signs on the fruits.

Nature abhors a vacuum. A bare surface is not the natural state of healthy soil, I believe.