My 2026 New Year's Citrus Tree Resolutions

My 2026 New Year's Citrus Tree Resolutions

Happy New Year to all! We are already almost one week into 2026, and our year at the nursery is starting off wet and overcast with constant chances for rainbow sightings throughout the day. We can't complain about the rainy days too much when rainbows exist! Yesterday we spotted one that seemed to go on forever, and that reminded me that I haven't made my New Year's resolutions yet.

I am not a real stickler for making and keeping New Year's resolutions, but I did start thinking about our beloved citrus test garden and how it could benefit from a few concrete promises from me as its caretaker. We currently have approximately 50 citrus trees growing in the test garden, ranging from 1 year to 10 years old, and every year, we add more varieties, as well as various citrus trees with different soil mixes for testing.  

Having a few resolutions for the test garden would help me keep the trees thriving throughout the year. So, upon careful consideration, I have come up with three citrus tree resolutions for our test garden that I plan to keep in 2026.

3 Citrus Tree Resolutions for 2026

1. Fertilize Citrus Trees "Weakly Weekly"

I resolve to fertilize the citrus trees "weakly weekly" this year. That is every 7-10 days from early spring through until early fall. I have been doing a moderately good job keeping up with this schedule in the past few years, but I have to admit that there were missed opportunities at feedings. If you haven't heard about feeding citrus trees "weakly weekly", it is fertilizing your container citrus trees with a half-dose of fertilizer about twice as often as you would normally through the spring, summer, and fall months. The benefit of this is that when you water container trees, each time, some of the applied nutrients get flushed out when the water drains out of the pot. Applying a weaker dose more often ensures that there is some fertilizer in your pot, and it doesn't get flushed out. (Click here to read "The "Weakly Weekly" Method For Fertilizing Citrus Trees")

2. Start a Beneficial Insect Garden 

I resolve to plant a beneficial garden to attract more helpful insects like lacewings and ladybugs. The main reason for starting this garden is every summer, like many home citrus tree growers, our test garden has been hit with an infestation of leaf miner pests. This year, I want to plant a garden to attract prey insects that can help me keep the leaf miners to a minimum. I am not sure how effective this will be, but it is definitely worth a try! I will be documenting my results along the way.

From the University of California Integrated Pest Management website:  "Citrus leafminers are killed by various parasites and predators, including tiny nonstinging, naturally occurring wasps such as Cirrospilus and Pnigalio species. The parasites lay their eggs inside the mine, inside or on top of the leafminer larva. When the parasite egg hatches the parasite larva consumes the leafminer larva. These parasites are very important for reducing citrus leafminer levels. Do not spray citrus with broad-spectrum insecticides and avoid other practices that disrupt natural enemies whenever possible.

Using physical controls and preventive cultural methods will also encourage the activities of native natural enemies. You do not need to release parasites, because many native parasite species that attack other leafminer species will also find your citrus trees and attack citrus leafminer.

And here is more information about beneficial pests to combat the Asian Citrus Psyllid and Huanglongbing Disease from UC-IPM. 

"A number of predators and parasites feed on ACP. The nymphs are killed by tiny parasitic wasps and various predators, including lady beetle adults and larvae, syrphid fly larvae, lacewing larvae, and minute pirate bugs. Some spiders, birds, and other general predators feed on adult psyllids. 

Several species of tiny parasitoid wasps, collected by University of California researchers, have been brought to California for host-testing, mass-rearing, and release. The most promising of these, Tamarixia radiata, strongly prefers ACP nymphs, and under ideal conditions can significantly reduce psyllid populations."

In doing this research, it seems that the most effective insect to target leaf miners is a non-stinging wasp called Cirrospilus and Pnigalio species. When I looked into how to attract this wasp to our garden, the internet suggested this: 

" To attract Cirrospilus and Pnigalio species, which are parasitic wasps controlling citrus leafminers, focus on planting nectar-rich flowers like Dill, Fennel, Cilantro, Yarrow, Cosmos, and Alyssum, along with legumes like Clover or Alfalfa, as these provide pollen and nectar for adult wasps and other beneficials, creating a hospitable environment to manage leafminer populations naturally. "

More Helpful Links: 

Plants that Attract Beneficial Insects by the Natural Resources Council of Maine

Native Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects by the UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County

3. Remove the Fruit on Young Citrus Trees

The last of my citrus tree resolutions is to promptly remove the fruit from the younger citrus trees and not wait to remove them. I have seen first-hand the benefits of waiting 2-3 years after planting before letting a tree produce fruit, yet I still have one or two spindly lemon trees with droopy, weighed-down branches- just because I didn't have the heart to remove the fruit. I can tell already that I have set those trees back compared to the trees where I removed the fruit when they were pea or marble-sized. It is not emphasised enough how much energy it takes for a young citrus tree to produce fruit, which is energy that could otherwise be better spent on the tree's root and branch structure. If it is too young, a tree will drop nearly all of its leaves at its own expense just to produce one or two lemons. 

The three citrus tree resolutions that I have made for 2026 are definitely doable, and I am excited to start fulfilling my promises, as I know that they will only help the garden thrive. Stay tuned as we make 2026's test garden the best one yet.

Cheers to 2026,

Carrie