The message
from Dave Poole contains these words:

Rusty wrote:
necessary? why would these be better than phostogen?

Yes - it has phosphates and releases them slowly, so one dose of
bonemeal or hoof and horn will last for years. There will be enough
nitrogen in it too.

Well erm ... All Citrus species. do need rather high levels of
nitrogen and slightly lower levels of potash and phosphates. I've had
them growing out of doors in large containers here and their needs
were satisfied with applications of Chempak no 2 every 3 - 4 weeks
from March through to the end of June plus an annual dose of Epsom
Salts ( Magnesium sulphate) in spring. This results in free growing,
floriferous and productive plants.

My lemon trees are doing rather well on a drainage 'rubble' of chicken
and rabbit bones in the bottom of the pots. Like most pip-grown trees
they vary in height, but the tallest of them are about four feet, which
isn't bad for two-year-old seedlings.

True, the shortest is about nine inches...

I've one satsuma - the only pip from a net full of oranges, planted at
the same time, and around a foot high, but 'shrubby', whereas the tall
lemons have a main stem with branches off.

Thanks for the feeding pointers: I'll adjust the régime accordingly.

Now, I suppose I'll have to look around for a disused church to convert
so I can keep them somewhere lofty in the winter...
..
I suspect that there is too much nitrogen in Phostrogen. With too much
nitrogen you'll get lots of soft green growth which may weaken the tree
in the long run.

That's the theory Rusty and probably true if the plants are
'overdosed' throughout the year. However in reality, high nitrogen
feeds in spring and early summer really do give excellent results -
provided of course, the plants are in good health to start with. A
recently re-potted Citrus will not need feeding for the first couple
of months. I should add that if an ericaceous mix is used for
compost, additional horticultural sand or grit needs to be added to
ensure better drainage and good aeration to the rather thick roots.

My favourite mix is 2 parts JI no3 to one part ericaceous to which
about 10% by volume sharp sand or grit is added. Its not quite as
good as that clinker & loam in which imported plants are often potted,
but it seems to give good results over a long period.

I'd be tempted to use bonemeal instead of the grit, or at least, along
with it. many years ago I could have bought a small stone-crushing
machine for the price of its scrap value, but couldn't see much use for
it. I'd like one, now.

--
Rusty
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