Basic questions about citrus trees

Hello - I have just taken delivery of an orange tree and a lemon tree from Marshalls. They will be living in the conservatory most of the time which is WNW facing with a SW side aswell. There is underfloor heating which will go on at low level once it gets cold. They are in 5 litre plastic pots.

My questions are:

Are these plants deciduous? Will the leaves turn yellow and fall off at any stage? and if so - when?
Shall I replant them into bigger pots now or wait until they are dormant?
How often should I feed them?

Sorry - can't seem to make sense of the internet information

Thankyou

Susannn

 

Hi Susannn,

They are evergreen where they come from but may loose their leaves if they go below 10c over here.

Need repotting every 3 years, when dormant over winter.

Forgot all about the Lemon i've got till you mentioned it. It got left out all last winter and has been totally shaded out all summer, just checked, expecting it to be dead, it's putting out new shoots and leaves

 

Never considered myself that good at growing citrus in pots apart from the ones I've grown from pips.
But anyway this is my advise.
They should not lose their leaves, although some loss of older leaves takes place every year.

I'd not repot until about March, just before new growth starts to appear and then only move them up a couple of pot sizes, too much wet compost makes the roots rot.

They need fairly cool conditions during winter and minimal water, in fact the fruit wont change colour if the temperature is too high.
Min of 5C would be good.

They like sun, but hot summer sun under glass can burn the leaves.

They say you should feed at every watering with a weak feed.
You can get specialist feeds for citrus, one for summer and one for winter.
Me, I just use high nitrogen feed, but less often in winter.

 

Just to add a bit....it's worth buying a specific compost for citrus, they need acid, well-drained but rich conditions. It's REALLY important not to let the roots sit in water, so if the pots are placed in saucers, make sure that these are emptied out after watering.
Keep an eye out for Scale insect and Mealy bug. They're almost inevitable, but if you see them before they get a hold, they can be controlled without using insecticides.