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#1
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
Hello,
I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA |
#2
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
"Ed" wrote in message ups.com... Hello, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA Ed, You will find many information and kind people ready to answer your questions he http://citrus.forumup.org/index.php?mforum=citrus --ivica |
#3
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
"Ivica Kolar" wrote in message ... "Ed" wrote in message ups.com... Hello, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA Ed, You will find many information and kind people ready to answer your questions he http://citrus.forumup.org/index.php?mforum=citrus --ivica Ed, What is at the bottom of the pot? Is that saucer? Be aware that citrus should not stay in the water. Overwatering is the main killer of poted citrus trees. Examining weather data for Avoca, PA, I see night temps droping below 13C: http://www.wunderground.com/history/...lyHistory.html Here is the most valuable information for citrus care I have, citing Millet (regular 'citrus guru' at given forum): "You can put the tree anywhere as long as you keep the foliage (scion) and the root system balanced. If the tree is in front of a warm sunny window, then the roots must be kept at 65F, if the tree is kept in a low light area than the entire tree should be kept at least 40F to avoid the possibility of damage. If the tree is under grow lights, then I would recommend that the roots be maintained at 65F+ - Millet" Also, root stops functioning at the soil temp above 90F. In other words, if the soil temp is below 40F (or above 90F) then the root do not function. If the root do not function and the plant is exposed to the sun, eh... --ivica (citruholic, beginner) |
#4
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
"Ivica Kolar" wrote in message ... "Ivica Kolar" wrote in message ... "Ed" wrote in message ups.com... Hello, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA Ed, You will find many information and kind people ready to answer your questions he http://citrus.forumup.org/index.php?mforum=citrus --ivica Ed, What is at the bottom of the pot? Is that saucer? Be aware that citrus should not stay in the water. Overwatering is the main killer of poted citrus trees. Examining weather data for Avoca, PA, I see night temps droping below 13C: http://www.wunderground.com/history/...lyHistory.html Here is the most valuable information for citrus care I have, citing Millet (regular 'citrus guru' at given forum): "You can put the tree anywhere as long as you keep the foliage (scion) and the root system balanced. If the tree is in front of a warm sunny window, then the roots must be kept at 65F, if the tree is kept in a low light area than the entire tree should be kept at least 40F to avoid the possibility of damage. If the tree is under grow lights, then I would recommend that the roots be maintained at 65F+ - Millet" Also, root stops functioning at the soil temp above 90F. In other words, if the soil temp is below 40F (or above 90F) then the root do not function. If the root do not function and the plant is exposed to the sun, eh... --ivica (citruholic, beginner) Fahrenheits, err... Correction for: In other words, if the soil temp is below 40F (or above 90F) then the root do not function. Soil temps and root activity 55*F / 12.7*C to 94*F / 33.4*C = Active roots. Above 95*F / 35*C = inactive roots Below 54*F / 12.2*C = inactive roots Above stripped from: http://citrus.forumup.org/viewtopic....&mforum=citrus I apologise, --ivica |
#5
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
"Ivica Kolar" wrote in message
... "Ed" wrote in message ups.com... Hello, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA Ed, You will find many information and kind people ready to answer your questions he http://citrus.forumup.org/index.php?mforum=citrus --ivica The weblink is a masked weblink form of advertising. The link is misleading. To easily get rid of it use ctrl-alt-del key combination. Find iexplorer and stop the process. Clean your web cache and cookies when done. Dave |
#6
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
Ed wrote:
Hello, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA I did this once with an orange tree. It just got big and thorny with no fruit. After maybe 10 years, I trashed it. I assume you can buy something citrus that grows better in the house. Frank |
#7
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Help with Lemon Tree (grown from seed)
On 9/6/2007 9:24 PM, Ed wrote:
Hello, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two years ago, I took a lemon seed (from a store-bought lemon), stuck it in a pot with regular potting soil, and now I have a 3-foot tall, skinny lemon tree with nice, fragrant leaves and some thorns. My problem is: I don't know how to take care of it from here. Should it be cut back? How tall will this thing grow? During the spring and summer, I leave it in an east-facing window all day, and turn it once a day. It has never been outdoors. It grows rapidly in the summer, and stops growing during the fall/winter. What is the best way to take care of my "baby"? This tree has become my pride and joy, since I never expected it to germinate, let alone grow into a tree! Here is a photo: http://home.epix.net/~tommonger/LemonTree.jpg Thanks! -Tom in Scranton, PA USA Note that you are trying to grow a plant that is not a house plant where the climate is not suitable for keeping it outdoors year-round. That said, citrus is grown in greenhouses in Pennsylvania (at least at Longwood Garden in the southern part of your state). Unlike many other plants, citrus is apomictic. This means that they can form viable seeds without pollination, with the result true to its one parent. Since they can also form viable seeds with pollination, with the result a random hybrid, you will thus not be sure what you have until it finally forms fruit. Putting it outdoors when there is no danger of frost might be good for the tree. Just be sure the container does not receive sun all day long; otherwise the roots will cook. Putting it outdoors might cause it to grow more sturdy and less skinny. Since you are protecting it against frost, you may trim the tree at any time of the year. However, it does not need pruning to bear fruit. You only prune it for aesthetic reasons. Yes, lemons are thorny. You can cut the thorns away without harming the tree. Grow your lemon in a clay pot. Keep the soil moist but not wet. Feed very lightly about twice a month. Use a commercial citrus food; in your area, you might have to mail-order the fertilizer. You can get it in small quantities. Also get some zinc sulfate, which citrus needs but apparently is not longer included in commercial citrus food. (If you have gardenias, they seem to thrive on citrus food with the addition of the zinc.) For a 3-foot tree, use about a half-handful of citrus food and a teaspoon of zinc sulfate at each feeding. NEVER feed when the soil is dry; feed in moist soil and then add some more water to start dissolving the fertilizer. Many might think you are foolish for trying to grow a lemon tree from seed. But it is a great accomplishment if you succeed. I have an oak tree that I started from an acorn; I'm very proud of it. See my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_oak_acorn.html. -- David E. Ross Climate: California Mediterranean Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19) Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/ |
#8
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They can force will grow to small shrubs. Mine is 5 feet tall, and with the shape into a globe. Each summer they take them by benefit outdoors. Be sure to harden before it in direct sunlight. Needs slightly acidic soil. A dose of acid fertilizer once amonth is good.
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