Olive Trees & Citrus Trees
are the perfect addition to your urban garden.
Here are some expert tips to help your planting process!
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TIPS TO PLANT YOUR TREE
CITRUS TREES
- Citrus can be moved outside on a patio or balcony in the summer months
- Should not be in a space below 55 degrees. Citrus Thrive within a normal temperature range of about 70 degrees.
- Citrus plants prefer well-draining, slightly acidic soil
- Full/Part Sun (at least 8 hours of sun per day) If less, supplemental artificial grow lights can be used.
- Watering: Keep soil evenly moist allowing the plant to dry out slightly in between waterings. Check the soil two to three times a week. Allow the top 1-2 inches of soil dry in-between waterings.
- Citrus trees require amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Fertilize citrus trees every two week during the spring and summer months. Following the recommended amount for the specific fertilizer you are using. We recommend diluting in water first.
OLIVE TREES
- Olives are Mediterranean plants and thrive in hot dry conditions. A south-facing or west-facing window would be a great fit for an Olive Tree. The Olive tree needs ample direct sunlight to thrive and produce fruit. Ideally, at least 4-6 hours a day or more of direct sunlight.
- Olive trees need to be kept well-watered, as dry spells during the early spring can affect flowering and fruiting. They also need feeding regularly with a liquid feed every two weeks during the growing season.
- Check the moisture of topsoil weekly. Allow the top 2”-3” of the soil to dry between waterings. Once dry Water until the water drains out the bottom of the container.
Our goal is to make gardening accessible for all New Yorkers!
For many people, gardening starts with seeds.
We will list the top things to help your seed journey!
]]>Our goal is to make gardening accessible for all New Yorkers!
For many people, gardening starts with seeds.
We will list the top things to help your seed journey!
TIMING:
When starting out you will hear and eventually become
very familiar with your "average last frost date."
... What does that mean?
Your average last frost date is the last day of any risk of frost. The first and last freeze/frost dates for New York City, NY, begin middle of October until the middle of April the following year. This means it is usually safe to start planting your tender annuals and perennials after mid-April.
Transplanting verse direct sow, direct seeding is planting seeds directly into your garden. Transplanting is starting your seeds ahead of time or buying a start at a local garden center and planting the whole plant into your garden.
TRANSPLANTING VS. DIRECT SOW:
Direct seeding is planting seeds directly into your garden. Transplanting is starting your seeds ahead of time or buying a start at a local garden center and planting the whole plant into your garden.
The advantage of starting certain seeds indoors is that you get a head start on the season and have more control over the growing conditions.
A few plants that would be advantageous to start inside before your last frost include tomatoes, onions, eggplant, and peppers due to the long time it takes to mature and produce fruit. These plants also tolerate translanting.
MOISTURE:
After sowing the seed, ensure the thin top layer of soil where the growing seed stays moist. Too little humidity can prevent the seed from germinating, while too much water can contribute to roots rotting.
Spreading a layer of Vermiculite on the soil of our seed starts is a great way to retain moisture. A spray bottle or mister is a great way to keep growing medium moist without damage to seeds and young seedlings.
LIGHT:
Find where you get the most sun.
Full sun means 6 or more hours of uninterrupted exposure,
which is ideal for most flowers and vegetable plants.
HARDENING OFF:
This is the most crucial step when growing starts in your home!
If you take your seedling out of a perfectly controlled warm environment and introduce it to the wild elements of the garden with a transitional period, you may retain a lot of your starts. Ultimately wasting your early efforts.
Hardening off is a 7 to 14-day transition period that helps the tender seedlings adjust to outdoor conditions, including exposure to direct sunlight, win, and changes in temperature.
On the first day of hardening off, put seedlings in a protected location out of the direct sun and wind. leave them outdoors to 1 to 2 hours, then bring them back indoors. Each day, leave them outdoors longer and gradually move them into more exposer areas. After 14 days, your starts are ready to be planted.
While hardening off your plants, remember to water!
WATER:
At the beginning of a plant’s life it will need frequent, shallow waterings, but as it grows, watering more deeply and less frequently will promote deep, strong roots.
We always recommend touching the soil to see if it is dry.
SEEDS TO DIRECT SOW:
Early spring crops include root crops such as
carrots, beets, turnips, and radishes, lettuce, spinach and kale.
Seeds to direct sow when soil temperatures rise to above 65 degrees around May.
This includes beans, corn, and squash.
HARDENING OFF:
This is the most crucial step when growing starts in your home!
If you take your seedling out of a perfectly controlled warm environment and introduce it to the wild elements of the garden with a transitional period, you may retain a lot of your starts. Ultimately wasting your early efforts.
Hardening off is a 7 to 14-day transition period that helps the tender seedlings adjust to outdoor conditions, including exposure to direct sunlight, win, and changes in temperature.
On the first day of hardening off, put seedlings in a protected location out of the direct sun and wind. leave them outdoors to 1 to 2 hours, then bring them back indoors. Each day, leave them outdoors longer and gradually move them into more exposer areas. After 14 days, your starts are ready to be planted.
While hardening off your plants, remember to water!
WATER:
At the beginning of a plant’s life it will need frequent, shallow waterings, but as it grows, watering more deeply and less frequently will promote deep, strong roots.
We always recommend touching the soil to see if it is dry.
SEEDS TO DIRECT SOW:
Early spring crops include root crops such as
carrots, beets, turnips, and radishes, lettuce, spinach and kale.
Seeds to direct sow when soil temperatures rise to above 65 degrees around May.
This includes beans, corn, and squash.
HAVE FUN!
Gardening is not always about positive results. Instead, it often provides many lessons.
We encourage you to try again and continue exploring what gardening can offer.
Join us in-store for more expert advice, tips & tricks for all your plant needs!
If you ask customers what sets Chelsea Garden Center apart from other plant shops and garden supply stores throughout the city, they'll tell you it's our people. Our landscape and garden designers, craftspeople, and horticulturists bring decades of experience and insight into their work, and they are passionate about sharing their knowledge to help our customers achieve their gardening goals. It's our team's dedication and passion that keeps our fellow garden-lovers coming back year after year to explore, learn, and develop their skills.
As we continue to build our community, we realize that the knowledge and experience you have access to at our garden centers shouldn't be limited to well...our garden centers. We also realize that some of our customers prefer to learn and experiment on their own. In an effort to bring the spirit of Chelsea Garden Center to all of our customers - onsite and online - we are introducing this, our new blog. In the same way that you can visit our garden centers and chat to our staff about an upcoming project, so can you now come here to learn more about indoor and outdoor gardening and get first-hand advice from the folks who have spent years in the dirt learning the hard way what works, what doesn't, and what it takes to make the garden of your dreams a reality.
"Playing in the Dirt" is your educational resource on how the plant, care for, and maintain the plants you will find here at Chelsea Garden Center. It's also a place where we will address some of the questions we get asked regularly about how to design and build gardens in the urban environment. Living in New York City presents no shortage of challenges for garden enthusiasts, and we understand those challenges and how to solve for them in unique and creative ways.
If there are questions or challenges that you've been facing and would like to see covered in our blog, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us, and we will route your suggestions to our content team.
We hope you'll enjoy. Happy reading!
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