Hello Laura
I'm in Jacksonville, and have several neighbors that get plenty of oranges
and navel oranges from their trees. Lemons, grapfruits, pears, and peaches
all do pretty good on our side of the river.

Jim

with proper protection for that frosty night that is.


"Laura Stanley" wrote in message
...
Hi! Congratulations on your retirement!

The good news: citrus are among the easiest tree fruits to grow, with
relatively few diseases and serious pests for a home grower. But they do
need some basic care to bear reasonable quantities of good quality fruit.

But it will be crucial for you to choose the right varieties.

50 miles north of Orlando is probably too far north (too much chance of a
killing frost) for the more tender citrus, especially if you will be
living
at an inland location. You really should find call the county agricultural
extension agent for the county you're moving to. They can tell you exactly
which citrus varieties are reliably hardy in your exact area, and almost
certainly will have brochures or other information covering basic citrus
care.

Pollination and cross-pollination requirements vary widely. For example,
some oranges need cross-pollination with another specific orange variety,
other types of oranges are self-fertile. And a few mandarin oranges will
set
fruit without any pollination at all! You need to research the pollination
and cross-pollination requirements for specific varieties you are
considering.

You should check out this link:

http://volusia.org/extension_service/citrus.htm

This page gets you into the University of Florida agricultural extension
service's publications for the home citrus grower. (UF's extension service
is *the* source for citrus info in Florida.) Through this page you can get
all the information you need, including variety selection, cold-hardiness,
cross-pollination requirements, care, etc.

I hope you enjoy your retirement and have great success with your citrus
orchard!

Laura
NW FL USDA Zone 8b









"Bill and Nancy Weiler" wrote in message
...

Hi All,

Wife and I are retiring to Florida, north of Orlando 50 miles. We have
a home that has plenty of space for several (6 or more) citrus trees,
particularly if they are dwarf varieties. Having NEVER grown citrus, is
there anything I should be careful of when choosing varieties? Do dwarf
trees produce well enough to supply fruit for the two of us? Is
cross-pollination necessary or desireable? Any problems with the root
system close to concrete sidewalks or foundations? We are interested in
growing lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit. Should we consider
others, like tangerines, etc? What kind of maintenance is there? Any
help would be appreciated. We are looking forward to gardening in a
relatively frost free area--for a change.

Bill
--
Bill and Nancy Weiler
Tony, Wisconsin
http://home.centurytel.net/spinandfish/spinandfish