i would like to use rain water for a change - is there anything in particular you have to do with it, or a time to use it by once collected, or can i just put a pot out and wait for it to rain? does it go stale?

when i repotted, i was a newbie to citrus, and just read that they liked well draining soil. i cant remember what compost i used (it def wasnt ericaceous) but i threw in heaps of perlite - it seems to drain ok, but next time i repot it will be in ericaceous. i ahve since bought a tahiti lime and another calamondin which have both been potted in ericaceous thought

i had been using a citrus summer fertilizer, but there was a build up of salt residue on the pot, so the last few waterings i havent added any fertilizer. i cleaned the outside of the pot thoroughly but some of the white reside is still coming through - i dont know if its coming from the soil or if it is just stuck inside the terracotta.

the calamondin in question has shot out a lot of new leaf growth and flowers, and two of them have turned into tiny pea-sized green fruits that will hopefully grow like the other solitary fruit it is a young plant and not very strong, but seems keen on fruiting and flowering. it will probably drop the majority of fruit prematurely, just getting in some practice for future fruiting

my lemon tree also seems to be in a growth spurt, shooting out a load of new foliage! i love how citrus go through growth spurts - nothing for months then in the space of a week you have a completely different plant!