1. Planting: Choose a location where your tree is going to get plenty of sunlight, around 6 to 8 hours per day is ideal. They can tolerate some shade but thrive in full sun. These trees also do better in areas with high humidity so you may also need to create humidity for your tree by misting the leaves daily with water. Potted plants do enjoy a daily misting for humidity but placing a tray with rocks filled with water under the plant will feed humidity to the tree as the water evaporates.
When you're ready to plant, ensure you have well-drained soil and dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the root system. Place the tree in the hole and backfill. After planting, be sure to give your Kumquat tree a deep watering for about 5 minutes. Mulching around the tree will help insulate the roots and keep your plant warm in the colder winter months as well.
If you're planting in a container, just select a container that's twice the width of your plant's shipped container.
2. Watering: Kumquats do not like wet feet. Be sure to give your tree a deep watering so that it can penetrate into the root system. After watering, allow the top 2 to 3 inches of the soil to dry out completely before watering again.
For potted Kumquats, stick your index finger into the soil down to about 2 inches. If there is moisture present, hold off on watering until it feels drier at that depth. When you're watering, stop once you see it escaping the drainage holes at the base of the pot.
3. Fertilizing: Feed your Kumquat Tree during the warmer spring and summer seasons with a citrus-specific fertilizer, like the one included in our Citrus Care Kit, once every six weeks. During the fall and winter season, ease back to fertilizing once every 2 to 3 months. Once the tree has matured a bit and has got a few years on it, you can skip the cold season fertilization. Follow the application instructions on the bag.
4. Pruning: Pruning can be done at any time of the year for in-ground planted Kumquats, except in the winter. Make 45-degree angle cuts to remove dead or crossing limbs and also to thin out the tree to allow more light to flow between the branches. After the tree fruits, remove any dead wood and ventilate the center of the tree. Remove suckers as they form/grow from the base. Pruning can be done at any time of the year for the potted Kumquat.
5. Pollination: Our trees are self-fertile, but for indoor trees, you can pollinate by hand, taking a small, dry, fine-tipped paintbrush and sticking it into the center of the bloom. Swirl it around and collect the pollen on the brush. Go to the next bloom and repeat the process until every bloom has been treated. Do this once daily and don’t wash the paintbrush until after the blooms have been pollinated. The bloom will fall off naturally and the fruit will begin to form.
