Last year while in Florida I bought one of those lemon trees that you see all over down there. It is a very happy little plant, growing well, strong trunk and nice thick green glossy leaves. Since I knwo nothing about the long term care, can someone tell me overall when to repot, when to expect flowers, what are the thorns that it gets all about, and why do some shoots produce very large leaves at the tips. Thanks!
I would repot only when the root system fills the container it is in presently. Then you can up-pot only one or two container sizes. If the tree is grafted (look on the trunk about 4 to 6 inches above the soil and see if there is a graft line or a bend in the trunk) you can expect flowers in one - two years from the date it was grafted. Thorns grow naturally on many varieties of citrus, especially in young trees. The extra large leaves are also quite common on new growth of young trees. One word of caution: DO NOT OVER WATER YOUR NEW TREE. Water only when the top one or two inches become dry. - Millet
thanks Millet! the "trunk" of the tree is only about 6 inches, then there are 3 branches that come off it - other than that there is no sign of a graft (not that i would know what i am looking for, but i don't see anything that would make me say aha). when i got it a year ago, the 3 branches each had about 4 leaves on them, now it is quite bushy - i did pinch it once it established itself in the pot i put it in when i got home. I do mist the leaves daily, which it seems to love, and i am careful with the water. what would you recommend for fertilizer? thanks again for your reply!
Citrus growing in the GROUND really is not all that fussy about fertilizer. Many growers fertilize with a formulas such as 6-6-6 or an 8-8-8. This is of course a 1-1-1 ratio. HOWEVER, I feel that citrus growing in enclosed areas such as containers require a formula more in line with the trees biology. As an approximate estimation, a yearly loss of the main fertilizer elements per acre in a mature orchard producing 12 tons of fruit, is as follows: N=178-lbs.; P2O5=31-lbs.; K2O=98-lbs. this is a 5-1-3 ratio. These are the amount of fertilizers elements per acre that must be replaced by yearly fertilizing where there is a satisfactory presence of elements in the leaves. There are many commercial products with various formulations. They must be chosen according to the replacing minerals use by citrus trees, which is always a 5-1-3 ratio. In other words, citrus always absorb fertilizer minerals in the ratio of 5 parts nitrogen (N) to every one part of phosphorus (P2O5) and 3 parts of potassium (K2O). I would try to find a fertilizer with a formula as close as possible to this ratio. A little diviation one way or the other is not significient. A good flushing of the container with pure water in the amount of 4 times the amount of water to the volume of the container 3 times a year will correct any fertilizer build up. If you want to fertilize with every watering use 100 PPM fertilizer solution, or you can use a 250 PPM fertilizer solution once a month. For small new trees cut this in half. If you dont know how to find PPM of fertilizer, just come back to this forum after you have selected your fertilizer and a member will be glad to help you. - Good luck to you and good luck to your tree. - Millet
