Good luck with that. Your patience is paying off. Is that growth rate typical for Phoenix? I can see they get enough sun, but what are their irrigation and fertilization schedules? Also, is the alkalinity of the native Casa Grande soil an issue?
I don’t know anyone that has grown citrus from that young of a tree, as most everyone that wants citrus has established trees.
Alkalinity is a huge issue here, and we also have large Ca2+ deposits called caliche that you would essentially need a jackhammer to get through.
I water each tree ~1x/month from ~November-February, 1x/week March-may, and 2x/week june-October. I use approximately 10 gallons of water/tree/watering day.
I admittedly fertilize less frequently than I should, although, I only use fertilizers when it is under 90 degrees F here. This kinda limits applications to the late fall/“winter”/early spring. I use a 10-10-10 citrus specific fertilizer that is organic and locally made (I’m still waiting for Chuck to write a book). I don’t really measure it precisely, but about 1#/application and I usually do it 2-3x/year.
I don’t know trees that well, but I have always wanted citrus trees.
