Growing Citrus in cold Climate Anyone?

[Gemma]

Neat on growing Lemons in your house. I've heard of those trees and that their blooms smell wonderful

ifn I didn't have a few 'indoor' trees already, I'd certainly try one! Gonna get yerself one this spring, JDub?

I'd probably agree with you here, but first I better wait and see what my trees (twigs) do cause they made it seem way too easy those tree selling sites

[Gemma]

Time for an update on my little citrus trees
I've been feeding them once x month with E.B. Stone Organic Citrus and Fruit Tree Food. I will feed them for the last time in mid August and then I plan on stopping and regain feeding next year in early April.
I think they look really good and the lemon tree just put out buds so I'm thinking I must be doing something right

Lemon Tree




Grapefruit Tree


Orange Tree

[j.w]

They look darn good and I see fruit!

[Gemma]

They look darn good and I see fruit!

[brokensword]

They look darn good and I see fruit!

ohhhh, that's just wrong...but it DOES remind me of the face @j.w made the last time I told her the Godiva order would be late this month...go figure..!

[brokensword]

Time for an update on my little citrus trees
I've been feeding them once x month with E.B. Stone Organic Citrus and Fruit Tree Food. I will feed them for the last time in mid August and then I plan on stopping and regain feeding next year in early April.
I think they look really good and the lemon tree just put out buds so I'm thinking I must be doing something right

Lemon Tree




Grapefruit Tree


Orange Tree

They look quite healthy, Gemma! Be interesting to see if yours actually fruits (the grapefruit); btw, I forget, but did you buy the grapefruit or grow from seed (like I did?) Here's a pic of my nearly 50 yr old tree, and the one I think is probably about 40 which needs a trim (and one of my 2 honey locust I've been bonsai-ing for about 20+ years--it too needs a trim!)
.
the 50 year old, which needs some water (forgot this morning!)
.


.
the youngster at 40 years
.


.
and the honey locust
.

[Gemma]

They look darn good and I see fruit!

ohhhh, that's just wrong...but it DOES remind me of the face @j.w made the last time I told her the Godiva order would be late this month...go figure..!

I'd make that face too if my Godiva was late!

[brokensword]

ohhhh, that's just wrong...but it DOES remind me of the face @j.w made the last time I told her the Godiva order would be late this month...go figure..!

I'd make that face too if my Godiva was late!

oh jeez, not ANOTHER one!!!! Sigh, @j.w ; what HAVE you wrought????

[j.w]

ohhhh, that's just wrong...but it DOES remind me of the face @j.w made the last time I told her the Godiva order would be late this month...go figure..!

I'd make that face too if my Godiva was late!

oh jeez, not ANOTHER one!!!! Sigh, @j.w ; what HAVE you wrought????

chocoaddict.gif

and proud of it

[Gemma]

They look quite healthy, Gemma! Be interesting to see if yours actually fruits (the grapefruit); btw, I forget, but did you buy the grapefruit or grow from seed (like I did?) Here's a pic of my nearly 50 yr old tree, and the one I think is probably about 40 which needs a trim (and one of my 2 honey locust I've been bonsai-ing for about 20+ years--it too needs a trim!)
.
the 50 year old, which needs some water (forgot this morning!)
.


.
the youngster at 40 years
.


.
and the honey locust
.

I love your Bonsai trees!!
I bought mine this Spring from Fast Growing Trees, all 3 are grafted!
Being new at growing citrus I did a lot of research and the main things I learned are:
pot in well drain mixture
keep in full sun
keep moist at all time
feed once a month with fertilizer specifically made for citrus
Prune only during dormancy

How often and what do you feed your grapefruit trees?
and being bonsai I wonder if the pruning could interfere with the plant ability to set blooms?

[brokensword]

I love your Bonsai trees!!
I bought mine this Spring from Fast Growing Trees, all 3 are grafted!
Being new at growing citrus I did a lot of research and the main things I learned are:
pot in well drain mixture
keep in full sun
keep moist at all time
feed once a month with fertilizer specifically made for citrus
Prune only during dormancy

How often and what do you feed your grapefruit trees?
and being bonsai I wonder if the pruning could interfere with the plant ability to set blooms?

I have asked a few 'experts' why my trees (both) have NEVER fruited or set blooms. I mean, maybe long long ago but I don't remember ever seeing any flowers let alone a fruit; I'd have remembered the latter. When I read a few years ago that a grapefruit needs varioius amounts of 'branch nodes' and be a certain age, well, I had both in spades, so those theories flew out the window.

And I did read about cutting etc and wondered, so I left it to branch out for 2 years without cutting anything--was a pita to get in and out of the house fall and spring, let me tell you. And still; nothing. Soooo, I dunno. I've fertilized off and on, usually now some garden fertilizer, some Osmocote, minor amounts, nothing intense. I've more or less given up and figure I'll never get flowers/fruit.

The large one I've shrunk down from about 6' tall, 4' wide to what you see in the pic. I aim to go smaller, but need lower branches to help, hence if you look close, you'll see ONE upright stalk that begins lower on one of the two main trunks. That will hopefully be the main stem one day. I'm really starting really late as each trunk is probably 3" at least in diam with the base 6" or more. It would look fairly weird to chop it that severely now.

Too, it's been needing a 'root thinning' for a few years now as there's hardly any dirt/soil left inside the pot. The last time I did this, I cut half the roots off and potted it in the current pot with more soil. Weird how over time, the plant 'uses' up the soil but I've seen it! I have this 'thinning' slated (again) for this fall when I take it back inside. I'll more or less have to sacrifice the pot because the roots will be attached so strongly, I'll never separate them. Will just cut the pot and roots all at once and then work th rest of the 'foam' pot off the roots, maybe by wetting the whole thing first. I dunno; seems like quite and ordeal so you see why I procrastinated LAST fall.

You're the first one I've heard say anything about a 'dormant' period; when does THAT happen? I get growth more or less all the time, with it being slower in winter (usually I trim just before taking it inside, and once again, in the spring as I take it back out).

Yours is a graft, which probably is the much better way to go; mine was from a seed of a fruit I was eating when I was probably 15 living at home. The other one I started much earlier to bonsai (was in my mid 20s and my ex-bro-in-law was into bonsai and gave me the initial idea), so that's why it's probably less than 2' when I trim it back. Really need to get to it as I didn't trim this spring when bringing it back up from the basement. That one is maybe 1-1/2" diameter.

And what they say re bonsai; if you cut the existing branches, new ones will grow smaller leaves. I've seen 'real' grapefruit trees and the 50 yr old one has leaves that are 2" long or so, the 40 yr old one even smaller. Kinda neat how that works.

[Gemma]

I love your Bonsai trees!!
I bought mine this Spring from Fast Growing Trees, all 3 are grafted!
Being new at growing citrus I did a lot of research and the main things I learned are:
pot in well drain mixture
keep in full sun
keep moist at all time
feed once a month with fertilizer specifically made for citrus
Prune only during dormancy

How often and what do you feed your grapefruit trees?
and being bonsai I wonder if the pruning could interfere with the plant ability to set blooms?

I have asked a few 'experts' why my trees (both) have NEVER fruited or set blooms. I mean, maybe long long ago but I don't remember ever seeing any flowers let alone a fruit; I'd have remembered the latter. When I read a few years ago that a grapefruit needs varioius amounts of 'branch nodes' and be a certain age, well, I had both in spades, so those theories flew out the window.

And I did read about cutting etc and wondered, so I left it to branch out for 2 years without cutting anything--was a pita to get in and out of the house fall and spring, let me tell you. And still; nothing. Soooo, I dunno. I've fertilized off and on, usually now some garden fertilizer, some Osmocote, minor amounts, nothing intense. I've more or less given up and figure I'll never get flowers/fruit.

The large one I've shrunk down from about 6' tall, 4' wide to what you see in the pic. I aim to go smaller, but need lower branches to help, hence if you look close, you'll see ONE upright stalk that begins lower on one of the two main trunks. That will hopefully be the main stem one day. I'm really starting really late as each trunk is probably 3" at least in diam with the base 6" or more. It would look fairly weird to chop it that severely now.

Too, it's been needing a 'root thinning' for a few years now as there's hardly any dirt/soil left inside the pot. The last time I did this, I cut half the roots off and potted it in the current pot with more soil. Weird how over time, the plant 'uses' up the soil but I've seen it! I have this 'thinning' slated (again) for this fall when I take it back inside. I'll more or less have to sacrifice the pot because the roots will be attached so strongly, I'll never separate them. Will just cut the pot and roots all at once and then work th rest of the 'foam' pot off the roots, maybe by wetting the whole thing first. I dunno; seems like quite and ordeal so you see why I procrastinated LAST fall.

You're the first one I've heard say anything about a 'dormant' period; when does THAT happen? I get growth more or less all the time, with it being slower in winter (usually I trim just before taking it inside, and once again, in the spring as I take it back out).

Yours is a graft, which probably is the much better way to go; mine was from a seed of a fruit I was eating when I was probably 15 living at home. The other one I started much earlier to bonsai (was in my mid 20s and my ex-bro-in-law was into bonsai and gave me the initial idea), so that's why it's probably less than 2' when I trim it back. Really need to get to it as I didn't trim this spring when bringing it back up from the basement. That one is maybe 1-1/2" diameter.

And what they say re bonsai; if you cut the existing branches, new ones will grow smaller leaves. I've seen 'real' grapefruit trees and the 50 yr old one has leaves that are 2" long or so, the 40 yr old one even smaller. Kinda neat how that works.

I think your trees are beautiful and worth having even if they never bloom, and produce fruits!