Hi all! Great forum.....I love reading about everyone's experiences and can only dream of having such great plants...but that's what life is made of, right? Great dreams. Anyway, I have two tangerine trees that I grew from seed about 7 years ago. I haven't changed their pots in a few years and they are probably mad at me for that. They spend 3 seasons outdoors and come inside for the winter. Once in a while I forget to water them and they dry out so much that they drop all their leaves. One did it last year and one did it this winter. I know, I'm a bad daddy. Once I soak them down though, I get new growth within days. Like I said, it's happened once to each. I think it's time to repot them and would like your input as to the right time to do this and how big of a jump in pot size should I make. I know you usually go up one size at a time but I think they could use more space. they are currently in 8 or 10 inch pots. I can not tell you exactly because they're outside and it's raining like all heck here. One is about 3 feet tall and the other just a tad shorter. Any advise would be appreciated.
when replanting ONLY go up a size or two. citrus dont like to be in pots that are too big. I think you can do it at any time, just be sure not to do much to the roots. They really really hate their roots messed with (believe me, my meyer is throwing a hissy fit at me right now). What type of potting mix do you use? Have you had any flowers or what not from your seedlings? I have just planted a few tangerine seeds, I'm not sure if they come true to seed or not... but I figured I might end up with something better (even though in all reality it wont be as good) I know I'll be getting some flying dragon seeds soon, so within a couple of years I'll use my seedlings and graft to the flying dragon. that way I'll get fruit much sooner!
I've used a standard potting soil mix in the past. Like I've said, I haven't done this much and I am quite an amateur when it comes to potted plants. The 2 trees have never flowered or anything close. As far as grafting goes......forget that for me. I'm much too attached to my "babies" to ever cut them with a knife! If they never flower or fruit....so be it. I will take care of them for better or worse. I will re-pot them though and follow your suggestions on pot size. I am, though, interested in purchasing a few dwarf citrus trees and seeing what happens. I'd like to find something very fragrant to liven up my house.
Lemon dreams..... I understand that all but 2 varieties of tangerines come true to seed so I guess your odds are good. I re-potted my 2 trees today. I used 10" pots (up from 8") and a general potting mix with some sort of fertilizers in it. Looked to be more peat than soil but we'll see how it goes. As you can tell, I'm no pro at this but they do look pretty happy in their new homes.
