Join the Victory Garden movement! It seems like everyone is adding fruiting trees and plants to their landscape, no matter how large or small. After all, one of the best things in life is to enjoy the taste, fragrance, and health benefits of homegrown fruit from your own mini citrus orchard or edible garden.
There is also something very satisfying about the feeling of being prepared. People all across the country are realizing how fulfilling it is to grow food for themselves, family, and friends.
Beyond sowing the seeds of a vegetable garden, why not add Citrus trees to your Victory Garden design? Growing your own lemons, limes, oranges, and other Citrus varieties saves you a lot of money over the long haul and lets you enjoy a backyard citrus orchard even in small spaces.
You will get your Vitamin C and a lovely plant to enjoy year-round. It doesn’t take much room to grow super-fresh fruit in your living space. Gain access to these “nutrient powerhouses” by growing Citrus trees in containers and creating a productive container citrus orchard on your patio or balcony!
Read on for a roundup of the Top 20 Citrus tree varieties that do well in containers. Imagine producing an abundant supply of lemons, limes, oranges, kumquats, pomegranates, and more in pots on your balcony, patio, deck, or porch!
Why is Growing Citrus Trees in Containers Dangerous?
Once you get a taste for Citrus tree care and the ease of growing your own lemon trees, lime trees, and orange trees, you will want to add more of these cool, broad-leaved evergreens to your life. Consider this your warning!
Don’t be surprised if you wind up with a lavish food forest on your balcony. Beyond Lemon trees, there are many options to choose from. We have worked up a “wish list” below.
It is really fun to watch the developing fruit. As an added benefit, the waxy, white, tropical blossoms smell amazing, a signature fragrance in any home citrus orchard.
Start with one plant, and add to your collection over time. Or get started with several of your favorites right away, and get a jump start on fruit production!
Top 20 Varieties Growing Citrus Trees in Pots
Here are the best varieties for a successful harvest from a container-grown Citrus plant. We are so pleased to offer these “commercial orchard-grade” plants to consumers wanting fresh fruit from their own citrus orchard at home.
However, there may be shipping restrictions that we must abide by. Nature Hills follows every regulation to the letter.
To see if we can ship a certain plant into your area, simply type in your Zip Code on the Zone Finder located on all of our product pages, above the Plant Highlights section.
Best Varieties for Growing Lemon Trees in Pots
Improved Dwarf Meyer Lemon trees feature fruit with a sweeter taste. They are a wonderful blend of a Lemon and a Mandarin Orange. The exceptional, rounded, orange-yellow fruit is fabulous for cooking, baking, juicing, and spritzing into cocktails, perfect for anyone learning lemon tree care in containers.
Eureka Lemon is a “true lemon” with tart juice and a rind that adds a flavorful zest to desserts. These pale yellow lemons can be preserved in olive oil to flavor chicken dishes, or you can add the juice to water for a healthy “pick-me-up” any time of day.
Best Varieties for Growing Limes in Pots
Bearss Lime trees produce juicy limes all year long. This is a perfect gift tree for foodies, bartenders, or Jimmy Buffett fans. You will find a million ways to enjoy the fruit, and it is a lush, good-looking tree as well, ideal for anyone building a small citrus orchard indoors or out.
Australian Finger Lime is one of the most interesting Citrus trees and will sell out quickly. They produce pickle-shaped, green fruit that opens to reveal “pearls” of juicy lime caviar. The pearls add incredible flavor to meals and cocktails alike.
Rangpur Lime trees produce orange fruit! It is called a lime but is actually a natural cross between Lemon and Orange trees. It peels and sections like an orange but tastes like a lemon, and it smells like honeysuckle.
Let’s face it, you’ve just got to get one.
Eustis Limequat trees are another fun selection, naturally crossing the luscious Key Lime and the Marumi Kumquat. You will get the flavor of lime with the thin, edible skin of the kumquat. It makes a wonderful addition to your Victory Garden or container citrus orchard.
Best Varieties for Growing Oranges in Pots
Dancy Tangerine is a national treasure. This Mandarin variety originated in Tangiers, Morocco, and is widely used in Chinese New Year celebrations. The fruit is delicious, easy to peel, and great for indoor-outdoor container culture, especially in small-space citrus orchard setups.
Clementine Mandarin Orange trees produce perfect, snack-sized, cute little Mandarin Oranges. Kids adore them, and you will love the fresh taste of homegrown Clementines. The seedless fruits are sweet and juicy and are among the earliest to ripen.
Owari Satsuma Mandarin trees produce wonderfully sweet, small oranges. Easy to peel, seedless, and so tasty, the foliage is delightfully full and makes a great conversation piece in a container.
Trovita Orange trees are low-maintenance and grow beautifully in containers. Add them to your Victory Garden for a tasty dose of Vitamin C. Juice the fruit, or eat them fresh. You will enjoy fruit for a long period with this special orange tree variety that thrives in home citrus orchard plantings.
Calamondin Orange trees give you a zippy surprise. The fruit looks and smells like oranges, but tastes like limes.
These wild trees make an awesome gift for a prankster to use in cocktails and cooking. Calamondin blooms for a long time and can flower and fruit at the same time.
Variegated Calamondin is a special choice. These petite oranges also have a sour taste that is used in Thai cooking.
Replace lemons and limes with calamondins! The variegated leaves are so pretty, you will love growing this compact choice.
Best Varieties for Growing Kumquats in Pots
Meiwa Kumquat fruit is small, spicy, and sweet, and you eat the entire thing, skin and all. This variety has the sweetest taste of all the Kumquat selections and fits beautifully into any compact citrus orchard layout.
This productive tree gives you excellent value. You will give thanks for your huge harvest around Thanksgiving time.
Nagami Kumquat trees are considered “lucky” in several Asian cultures. The small fruit is eaten whole, including the skin. The sweet rind and spicy pulp mix in your mouth for incredible flavor.
Use the colorful rind in salads! These trees are easy to grow, and the versatile fruit is extremely easy to love.
Best Variety for Growing Grapefruit in Pots
Oro Blanco Grapefruit is a natural cross between thick-skinned Pummelo and a white Grapefruit. It is ideal for container culture and is a great producer of sweet, fragrant fruit, perfect for gardeners wanting a small home grapefruit tree harvest.
Yes, we said “sweet.” With its Pummelo parent, Oro Blanco is kid-friendly and does not have the acidity of regular grapefruit. No need to add sugar!
Other Hot Fruiting Trees that Can Be Successfully Grown in Pots
Sweet Pomegranate fruit will not make your mouth pucker. Its low acidity produces a mellow, sweet flavor that will make you smile. The health benefits are outstanding.
The compact trees are great for containers, too. Grow your own to save money and enjoy incredible, tasty fruit. You will love the showy red flowers as well.
Dwarf Cavendish Banana trees are just plain fun. Once established, these compact cuties produce sweet fruit. Use them for fresh eating or baking. Even the long, tropical leaves are cool.
Arbequina Olive trees are a wonderful addition to your backyard orchard or balcony garden. They grow very well in containers and produce high-quality olives.
Top your pizza, garnish your martini, or mill the fruit into oil. Use them when green, or allow them to transition into a black olive on your tree before harvest.
Don’t Forget to Grow Culinary Spice Trees in Pots
Kaffir Lime foliage is beloved for seasoning in Southeast Asia. The leaves are chopped to release their essential oil, then added to dishes. You can also eat the zested rind of the funky, bumpy fruit. Grow your own for the freshest possible flavor in your stir-fries.
Bay Laurel leaves are used in Italian dishes and to add incredible flavor to hearty stews. Grow your own beautiful tree to have fresh leaves at your fingertips. These make wonderful gifts for the gourmet foodies in your life.
Live life to the fullest. Grow a Bay Laurel tree in a container, and maximize the flavor of your homemade tomato sauce with a fresh leaf or two.
Getting a Citrus Tree to Bear Fruit Faster
For the fastest fruit, select high-quality grafted Citrus trees for healthy, great-tasting harvests. This is one of the key steps in successful orange tree care, lime tree care, and general citrus orchard success.
You can certainly plant a seed from a delicious orange you just enjoyed, but chances are good the results will not taste the same, and you will have waited years to be disappointed.
Commercial Citrus trees are almost always grafted. We graft our trees to superior rootstock to gain disease resistance and improve overall production.
Grafting is an ancient technique that helps achieve the healthiest harvests. Don’t worry, it is not GMO or anything like that.
Our growers select a special section, or “scion,” of the desirable fruit tree. Next, they carefully insert it into a sturdy, healthy rootstock and expertly bind it together. The two pieces grow together as a single tree.
Look closely when you get your new tree, and you will see the graft union. It looks like a small bump on the trunk.
Do not plant your Citrus tree any deeper than it is growing in the pot. You want the graft union to sit well above the soil line.
Buy Bigger Citrus Trees for Faster Harvest
Another good idea, if you want a faster harvest, is to purchase the largest container size we have in stock. Some of these plants are extraordinarily popular, and we sell out of crops regularly.
If all we have in stock is the smaller size, jump on it. Simply baby your young Citrus tree into a productive specimen over the course of a year or two.
Bottom line: if your preferred Citrus tree is in stock on our website, buy it without delay. When you have the option, buy bigger plants for faster fruit and earlier citrus orchard harvests.
Ready to learn more? Read our #ProPlantTip blog about Caring for Citrus Trees in Pots. You will learn what kind of container to use and get a warning about ceramic and terra cotta pots. Find out which potting soil to use and how often to apply organic fertilizer.
- For even more insight on feeding container Citrus the right way, you can also explore this helpful guide on Citrus fertilization.
- You will also get tips for growing Citrus indoors and when you should use grow lights. Do not miss the one thing you should never do when growing Citrus inside.
- You will also learn strategies for growing Citrus in cold regions
- Plus, key answers to issues like Citrus yellowing or leaf drop, Citrus tree pruning, and Citrus pest and disease control.
Augment the food supply chain by starting a Victory Garden. Growing Citrus trees in containers is so rewarding. How proud you will be of your harvest.
Happy Planting!
