"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
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"Dioclese" NONE wrote in message
m...
"jellybean stonerfish" wrote in message
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On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:59:09 -0500, Dioclese wrote:

Okay. I live in Central TX. Last winter, the frost killed the one
year
old lemon tree sapling's singular stalk. Out of hope, this past
spring,
I watered the bare pot anyway. 3 independent stalks appeared almost
foot tall now, obviously from the same root structure. I'm choosing to
let all 3 grow for at least another year before choosing one for final
choice.

I brought in the pot to the house a couple of days ago. The pot is
about 24" tall and 9" in diameter. Its sitting where the lemon gets
about 3 hours of sun per day from a partially open window blind. Is
this enough sun? How about watering? My house has electric heat.


Not enough sun for good growth and fruit production.

Not the answer you asked, but..
Often a cutting of the desired variety of fruit is grafted to a hardy
root stock. This means that there is a good chance that the stalks you
are growing are not of the variety you desired.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting

In most cases, one plant is selected for its roots, and
this is called the stock or rootstock. The other plant is
selected for its stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits and is
called the scion. The scion contains the desired genes to
be duplicated in future production by the stock/scion plant.

stonerfish

History. Grew the lemon tree from seed. Came up that spring, grew till
winter. First frost killed the apparent growth. After last frost,
watered liberally, no response. Following late spring, cut the dead
growth which was all of it on the surface, one stalk. Continued
watering, 1, then 2, then 3 stalks appeared on the surface a few weeks
later. Now, its almost winter. There is/are no scion(s). There is no
grafting. There are no other lemon trees with a a mile that I know of.
New growth came from the original rootage from all that I can determine.
--
Dave

Your plant will be approximately the same as the scion that grew the lemon
where you got the seed. This means that it will have the characteristics
of leaves, fruit etc of the scion but as it doesn't have a grafted root
system it's roots may not be as hardy or resistant to rot etc, as one you
bought as a plant, which is one reason nearly all citrus are grafted.

I say it will be approximately the same because having gone through a
cycle of sexual reproduction its characteristics are not exactly the same
as the parent(s). Obtaining consistency is the second reason that citrus
are grafted because the scion is reproduced asexually so it is exactly the
same as the parent.

It may well produce good lemons in good conditions but not with only 3
hours per day of sun. Also a heated house is not a good environment for
plants as the humidity is frequently too low. Citrus do not absolutely
need humidity like some plants but it means that it will tend to dry out
especially in a small pot, and for a tree that is capable of growing to
12ft high and wide (or bigger)yours is a small pot.


David



Thanks for the sunshine part answer.
Yes, I am and continue to be concerned about low humidity due to heat
produced by the house heating system. Maybe a small humidifier in proximity
with the plant may work?
The research I did regarding transplanting lemon sapling and trees indicates
a low tolerance to such. Minimum 2 years between such transplants. I did
move the original to the newer taller pot. My final location will be the
front yard. Did not initiate planting of seed there due to my 2 dogs. The
house is surrounded entirely by one continuous fence, gate in front, gate in
back. Until I feel the sapling is large enough and enough time has passed,
I won't be transplanting to its final location.
--
Dave

If it looks like fish, smells like fish, its not
a cantaloupe.