Help: Transplanting Calamondin Kumquat

[GarryM]

 

 

Good Day!

First time gardener here.. I would like to ask for some expert advice from experienced gardeners.

I am about to transplant a calamondin tree and so far I have come up with this plan:

600mm Raised Bed sitting on top of an artificial grass (underneath are 300mm compacted crushed rocks and the rest are hard clay soil)

Planning to fill with the following in order of layering from the bottom.

-FIll the bed with white rocks thick enough to make the water come out from the bottom. Drill holes on the sides of the bed to drain water.

-Put mesh wire and weed matt on top of the rocks then fill up with soils.

-around 30mm of Sugar Cane Mulch, 4 bags of Hortico mixed with 500g fertiliser,  3-4 bags of of Scotts Osmocote 50L Premium Potting Mix until before the base of the plant root, then all 6 bags of Scotts Osmocote 25L Citrus & Fruit Premium Potting Mix to cover the root ball with a bag of Citrus Soil Fertiliser leave handful for toppings, +Osmocote Slow Release, +10mm mulch

-Fertilizer: Top Up after due date of soil slow release — Scotts Osmocote 500g Citrus & Fruit Controlled Release Fertiliser

Please let me know if I have done enough research and if I am at the right track.

Thanks in advanced. Cheers!

[Jason]

Hi @GarryM,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're really pleased to have you join us and look forward to reading more about your projects and plans. 

Let me tag the wonderful @Noelle to see if she might have any tips for you about transplating your kumquat. I see you have also posted seperately wondering how to protect it from the wind when it's in it's new raised garden bed. 

We trust that you'll get plenty of helpful information, advice and inspiration for all your projects around the house and garden from our clever and creative members. Please let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.

Jason

[GarryM]

Thanks Jason for the warm welcome. 

[Noelle]

Hi @GarryM 

You are on the right track, with a few tweaks.  The layer of rock in the base doesn't need to be any more than about 150mm deep.

Rather than have layers of varying quality potting mix above the weed mat, if you can't fill the box with one premium quality mix like the Citrus & Fruit mix, I would mix three or four 25L Citrus & Fruit with however many 50L Premium Mix bags are needed to fill the bed to within 150mm of the top. Make sure they are all blended.  Forget about using the cheaper mix in the base as it will slump/compact and break down quickly. That's where the main anchoring roots will end up, so the mix needs to be good quality and blended throughout.  Your tree will do better and the moisture holding and nutrient release will also be more even.

In terms of support for the tree to protect it until it is established, you could position a 2m garden stake in each corner of the box (the rocks and potting mix will hold them in place or you could temporarily screw them into the box corners) and run a screen of shadecloth around the outside.

[GarryM]

Thank you so much @Noelle these are great tips and big help, I could not have known that my current plan will eventually give my tree wet feet without your advice. Much appreciated. Cheers! 🙏🏼🤗

[GarryM]

 

Thank you for your help here’s how it went after following your great tips and advices. Cheers!

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @GarryM,

It's great to see you've planted your Kumquat and firmly secured it in place. Many thanks for updating the discussion.

We look forward to seeing what your next project is around your house and garden. Please let us know if you ever need assistance or would like to share what you have been up to with the community.

Mitchell