Grow Well Guides

Grapefruit

Growing grapefruit yourself is a rewarding experience that offers the enjoyment of harvesting fresh, vitamin C-rich fruits from your own backyard. Embrace the warmth and satisfaction of cultivating this citrus treasure, enjoying its vibrant flavour and bountiful health benefits straight from the tree.

Planting Calendar

Summer
Autumn
Winter
Spring

Grapefruit are best planted from March through to November.

Harvest In

2-3 Years

Grapefruit will be ready to harvest after 2 to 3 years from planting.

Prepare

Position

Grapefruit require a warm, sunny position with at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Protect from cold, harsh winds. Make sure there is a good amount of airflow in the area.

Soil

When planted into the ground Grapefruit like a free draining soil that is rich in organic matter. To improve the organic content in your soil, break up the soil and add Kings Compost and Kings Sheep Pellets then mix together well. When growing in containers, plant into Kings Container mix. This mix contains added water storage crystals and Saturaid, two products that help maintain moisture in the soil.

Pollination

Grapefruit are self fertile so do not need a pollinator.

Plant

Gently tap the plant out of its pot. Dig a hole twice the depth and width of the plants root ball. Mix Kings Compost into your existing soil at a 50/50 ratio, add Sheep Pellets and Kings Citrus & Fruit Tree Fertiliser, then mix together. Back fill the hole with this soil, so that when planted the top of the plant’s roots sit level with the surrounding ground. Firm the soil down gently and water in well with Aquaticus Organic Garden Booster. In heavier clay soils, where drainage is likely to be an issue, plant onto a raised mound and sprinkle Gypsum Clay Breaker into the bottom of the hole, this helps slowly condition the soil and help to break down the clay.

Care

Watering

Watering is essential especially in the first year of planting to allow the roots to get well established. Water slowly allowing the water to sink down into the roots, rather than allowing it to run off the top of the soils surface. Add Saturaid into the soil at planting as this will help channel the water deep down into the root zone. Consider setting up an automatic watering system – these can be simple and inexpensive. For container plants, this will probably mean daily watering during summer, never allow the container to sit in water.

Feeding

Feed with Kings Citrus & Fruit Tree food in Spring and again every month through to the end of Autumn. Liquid feed every month with Aquaticus Garden Booster, from Spring through to the end of Autumn, this encourages root growth and increases the microbial activity in the soil. Monthly applications of Kings Sheep Pellets will help with soil conditioning and plant health. For plants growing in containers feed with Kings Slow Release Citrus Food and Aquaticus Garden Booster.

Protecting

Protect from Guava Moth throughout the year by placing Guava Moth Traps in the trees to monitor the number of moths present. Place the trap halfway up the tree. One trap will be sufficient for 3-5 trees. Remember to replace the Pheromone every 6 weeks for best results. If there are only small numbers present the trap should be sufficient to control the problem. If you catch more than 12 moths in a 2-week period, spray trees with Native Neem Organic Insecticide.

Beginner Tip

Yellow leaves most often mean that young trees require Magnesium or other Trace Elements. Apply Yates Liquid Trace Element as per the instructions on the packet.

Expert Tip

Citrus are either grafted onto Dwarf root stock (Flying Dragon).If not grafted they are either grown by seed or leaf cuttings. Grafted Varieties are known to be more resilient to disease and grow faster and at maturity are smaller than other types only growing to 2-2.5m

Tip

We suggest removing all fruit in the first year to assist your young tree in establishing a good root and branch structure. Citrus are heavy croppers, often setting more fruit than they can sustain. Early removal of approximately 1/3 of the crop will result in improved fruit quality, and help to prevent biennial bearing (setting fruit only once every two years).

Frequently Asked Questions