Citrus trees wait a decade before fruiting when grown from pips, but grafted plants can be obtained which will fruit while small. These need frost-free conditions and are best in an open, gritty, rich, almost ericaceous, potting compost in large containers, preferably of terracotta or wood slat. The roots need good aeration, so drill multiple breathing holes in plastic pots. Citrus like nitrogenous feeds — I add fresh human recycled liquid fertiliser to their water once a week during the growing season. They should be watered copiously then allowed to drain and must never dry out. Citrus are easy to look after but suffer from aphids, spider mite and scale insects, so need regular careful inspection. A hard prune in late winter keeps them compact and provides propagation material. They do not like being under cover year round — put them outdoors in summer. Although, not cheap to buy, they can be multiplied by cuttings which fruit more readily than seedlings.
Epicurean attentions :
Marmalade is easy to make so I freeze all home-grown orange and lemon skins to add to a jelly made with yellow tomatoes and white currants. The flowers have such divine scent that the plants are worth having for this alone.
Lemons seem the easiest and can produce worthwhile quantities of fruit almost year round, 'Meyer's' is most reliable.
Satsumas are easy an produce delicious sweet fruits. Oranges, grapefruits and others require more warmth and bigger pots to do well but are still possible.
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