Well, our little tree has suddenly started to thrive!

It is growing fast with loads of new leaves, and has at least a dozen
flowers.
Some are open others are about to open.

It must be the hot weather fooling it into thinking it is in the Med.

It is also getting watered daily early in the morning, as it is on a south
facing patio.

Perhaps we may even have a few lemons?

My only problem now is that it is in a small pot.
I planned to pot it up around now into a much bigger pot, but I am reluctant
to disturb it whilst it is flowering.

I may do this in a cool spell later on in the month, depending on how it
seems to be coping with the little pot.

Cheers
Dave R

--

In message , David W.E. Roberts
writes
Well, our little tree has suddenly started to thrive!

It is growing fast with loads of new leaves, and has at least a dozen
flowers.
Some are open others are about to open.

It must be the hot weather fooling it into thinking it is in the Med.

It is also getting watered daily early in the morning, as it is on a south
facing patio.

Perhaps we may even have a few lemons?

My only problem now is that it is in a small pot.
I planned to pot it up around now into a much bigger pot, but I am reluctant
to disturb it whilst it is flowering.

I may do this in a cool spell later on in the month, depending on how it
seems to be coping with the little pot.

Many congratulations. A lovely success story. Hope you get some
lemons.
--
June Hughes

On 26/6/05 19:30, in article , "David W.E.
Roberts" wrote:

Well, our little tree has suddenly started to thrive!

It is growing fast with loads of new leaves, and has at least a dozen
flowers.
Some are open others are about to open.

It must be the hot weather fooling it into thinking it is in the Med.

It is also getting watered daily early in the morning, as it is on a south
facing patio.

Perhaps we may even have a few lemons?

My only problem now is that it is in a small pot.
I planned to pot it up around now into a much bigger pot, but I am reluctant
to disturb it whilst it is flowering.

I may do this in a cool spell later on in the month, depending on how it
seems to be coping with the little pot.


I think it's a question of "if it ain't broke" etc. It's happy, so leave
well alone! A bigger pot means more wet compost which is something your
little tree will not welcome. In nature they grow in pretty harsh
conditions when compared to this temperate climate.
I felt that watering daily is not a good idea so I went and consulted Ray
and he says absolutely do not water it until it is on the way to drying out.
And in between, let it drain freely. The danger is that if you water it and
we then get e.g. three days of rain, it is going to be saturated for days on
end but its natural conditions are to be dry at the roots and baking hot!
We think that continuing to water it daily could lead to loss of the
flowers.
We sell lemon trees and we have a Meyer's lemon in our small conservatory
greenhouse. It thrives on benign neglect and produces masses of fruit but
it is watered infrequently and sparingly. The key to growing many of these
things is to think of the conditions in which they occur naturally - olive
trees, lemon and orange trees etc. are all used to sharply draining rocky
soil with searing heat and very little water indeed.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

The message
from June Hughes contains these words:

I may do this in a cool spell later on in the month, depending on how it
seems to be coping with the little pot.

Many congratulations. A lovely success story. Hope you get some
lemons.

I grew all the pips of a lemon a couple of years ago: two of the trees
are about four feet high, and the rest are from two feet down to around
nine inches. No flowers yet.

Also, in a bag of 'seedless' satsumas I found one with a single pip. I
have a foot-high satsuma tree now, well, its growth seems more
shrub-like.

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"David W.E. Roberts" wrote
Well, our little tree has suddenly started to thrive!

It is growing fast with loads of new leaves, and has at least a dozen
flowers.
Some are open others are about to open.

It must be the hot weather fooling it into thinking it is in the Med.

It is also getting watered daily early in the morning, as it is on a south
facing patio.

Perhaps we may even have a few lemons?

My only problem now is that it is in a small pot.
I planned to pot it up around now into a much bigger pot, but I am
reluctant
to disturb it whilst it is flowering.

I may do this in a cool spell later on in the month, depending on how it
seems to be coping with the little pot.

Glad to hear it. Lemons (and Tahiti Limes) are good value and fruit well
with good usable fruit.

The one thing citrus can't stand is wet at the roots especially if it's
anything but hot, so don't water daily unless it is very hot, just moist is
OK but never wet. A few cold nights and rain and you may have a problem
again.
If your plant is flowering then it sounds OK and doesn't need repotting yet,
just feed every couple of weeks. When you do repot use a slightly bigger pot
each time don't go from one extreme to another.
When you do repot, if you are in a hard water area, use ericaceous compost,
whatever compost you use add grit or bark chips (as used by orchid growers)
to aid drainage.
Lemons take at least 6 months to a year to grow and ripen the fruit so, like
us, you may have some for next Christmas & New Year. A G&T and/or cake made
with your own lemons is special.
As the tree gets older they tend to flower/fruit at any time of the year,
one of ours has a few fruit well on the way to full size and has just burst
into flower again ( the Tahiti Lime is the same).

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

The message
from "Bob Hobden" contains these words:

As the tree gets older they tend to flower/fruit at any time of the year,
one of ours has a few fruit well on the way to full size and has just burst
into flower again ( the Tahiti Lime is the same).

Aha! Next time you broach a lime, could you spare a few pips, please?

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Sacha wrote:
The key to growing many of these
things is to think of the conditions in which they occur naturally - olive
trees, lemon and orange trees etc. are all used to sharply draining rocky
soil with searing heat and very little water indeed.

I live in the Valencia Region, and the orange and grapefruit farmers
use enormous quantities of water. It has become a political bone of
contention because the previous Government promised to pipe water down
from the Seguro river, and the present Socialist Government has refused
to carry out the plan. Farmers who previously eked out a living growing
almonds, grapes and olives that required no artificial watering, and
the small traditional Valencia oranges that fruit in our winter, took
advantage of EU subsidies to grub them out and re-plant with more water
greedy citrus. Although well able to stand high temperatures, oranges
require water when fruiting.

Jo in hot and humid Spain

On 27/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Totty"
wrote:



Sacha wrote:
The key to growing many of these
things is to think of the conditions in which they occur naturally - olive
trees, lemon and orange trees etc. are all used to sharply draining rocky
soil with searing heat and very little water indeed.

I live in the Valencia Region, and the orange and grapefruit farmers
use enormous quantities of water. It has become a political bone of
contention because the previous Government promised to pipe water down
from the Seguro river, and the present Socialist Government has refused
to carry out the plan. Farmers who previously eked out a living growing
almonds, grapes and olives that required no artificial watering, and
the small traditional Valencia oranges that fruit in our winter, took
advantage of EU subsidies to grub them out and re-plant with more water
greedy citrus. Although well able to stand high temperatures, oranges
require water when fruiting.

Jo in hot and humid Spain


Yes but the danger here is that they will not fruit and will *still* get the
over-watering. Being watered in a cool, damp climate isn't exactly natural
to them. Being watered where they are grown commercially for fruit in Spain
is essential but just because of the climate there, the trees aren't
standing with their feet in water for long.
And unless orange and lemon trees are in conservatories in UK (for the most
part) they won't fruit. In the searing heat you describe in Valencia, of
course they need a great deal of water when fruiting - here it's not likely
to be a big issue and over-watering is more likely to kill them. We don't
sell many lemon trees but we get a few returned every year by people who
insist something is wrong with them and they're dying but when we look at
the roots they are literally sodden. One chap insisted he hadn't been
watering his and yet, when my husband lifted it out of its pot, it dripped
all over his feet and runnels of water ran down the greenhouse floor! A
couple of weeks of drying out and then a once a week watering and draining
restored it to a healthy young plant.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:


I grew all the pips of a lemon a couple of years ago: two of the trees
are about four feet high, and the rest are from two feet down to around
nine inches. No flowers yet.

The locals tell me that lemon trees grown from pips take at least 10
years to flower....and watch out for the spines...

Jo

Sacha wrote:
On 27/6/05 15:55, in article
, "Totty"
wrote:



Sacha wrote:
The key to growing many of these
things is to think of the conditions in which they occur naturally - olive
trees, lemon and orange trees etc. are all used to sharply draining rocky
soil with searing heat and very little water indeed.




Yes but the danger here is that they will not fruit and will *still* get the
over-watering. Being watered in a cool, damp climate isn't exactly natural
to them. Being watered where they are grown commercially for fruit in Spain
is essential but just because of the climate there, the trees aren't
standing with their feet in water for long.
And unless orange and lemon trees are in conservatories in UK (for the most
part) they won't fruit. In the searing heat you describe in Valencia, of
course they need a great deal of water when fruiting - here it's not likely
to be a big issue and over-watering is more likely to kill them. We don't
sell many lemon trees but we get a few returned every year by people who
insist something is wrong with them and they're dying but when we look at
the roots they are literally sodden. One chap insisted he hadn't been
watering his and yet, when my husband lifted it out of its pot, it dripped
all over his feet and runnels of water ran down the greenhouse floor! A
couple of weeks of drying out and then a once a week watering and draining
restored it to a healthy young plant.

I agree with all of is. What I don't agree with is your statement
lumping olive, lemon and orange trees together in their need for water
in their natural environment.

Jo

On 27/6/05 17:32, in article
, "Totty"
wrote:



Sacha wrote:
snip
Yes but the danger here is that they will not fruit and will *still* get the
over-watering. Being watered in a cool, damp climate isn't exactly natural
to them. Being watered where they are grown commercially for fruit in Spain
is essential but just because of the climate there, the trees aren't
standing with their feet in water for long.
snip

I agree with all of is. What I don't agree with is your statement
lumping olive, lemon and orange trees together in their need for water
in their natural environment.

Jo


Ah. Careless of me if I gave that impression. What I should have said -
meant to convey - is that to grow these things in UK we have to think of
their natural environment and translate it into their needs in UK and not,
perhaps, our expectations that a great deal of 'loving' care will produce
the desired result! Unhappily that loving care in UK all too often means
over-watering plants that do not like wet, cold roots most of the time.
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)

Rusty wrote after...

"Bob Hobden"wrote
As the tree gets older they tend to flower/fruit at any time of the year,
one of ours has a few fruit well on the way to full size and has just
burst
into flower again ( the Tahiti Lime is the same).

Aha! Next time you broach a lime, could you spare a few pips, please?


Of course, send me your address and I will post you some when the next lot
are ripe and ready for a G+T. Can't say I've noticed many pips, but we will
see idc.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

The message . com
from "Totty" contains these words:
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:


I grew all the pips of a lemon a couple of years ago: two of the trees
are about four feet high, and the rest are from two feet down to around
nine inches. No flowers yet.

The locals tell me that lemon trees grown from pips take at least 10
years to flower....and watch out for the spines...

I'll be in me dotage!

The two big trees have long vicious spines, one of the smaller ones has
a few rather feeble ones, and the rest are spineless wimps - or they
were last time I looked.

Ah well, another seven or eight years - It'll give me time to save up
for a bottle of gin and another of Martini.

was bought a small lemon tree a few xmas' ago and with my tiny old house it did fine on a sunny southwest window. It never went outside but still flowered and grew a number of small lemons. looked very healthy, happy, putting on lots of new growth but unfortunately it didn't take to the move in October year before last as i had no sunny window that was was cool in winter and so it died. Could have been a combination of overwatering too, but believe it was more down to the heat of the house in winter and lack of sun as i managed to keep it alive previous winter in the kitchen which was always cold due to the pathetic excuse for a radiator.

I'd agree with what people have said above only water when soil dries out and give good drainage, but make sure its cool in winter. However i used two different feeds, one for summer and one for winter, as thats what this book recommended. Its called 'success with citrus', think you can get it through a company called Orange groves uk, should have the number somewhere if u want, so let me know

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

We sell lemon trees and we have a Meyer's lemon in our small conservatory
greenhouse. It thrives on benign neglect and produces masses of fruit but
it is watered infrequently and sparingly. The key to growing many of these
things is to think of the conditions in which they occur naturally - olive
trees, lemon and orange trees etc. are all used to sharply draining rocky
soil with searing heat and very little water indeed.

I've just been playing with an el cheapo digital camera and have posted
some pics, mainly of lemon trees, though other things haven't escaped.
(Small page with 'click to see a bigger picture'.)

--
Rusty
Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/