I have just been given a small lemon tree. It is bearing small green
fruit which presumably developed last year. Do I remove these or will
they develop into ripe fruit this year?

"Graham K." wrote ...

I have just been given a small lemon tree. It is bearing small green
fruit which presumably developed last year. Do I remove these or will
they develop into ripe fruit this year?
...................................

Citrus can take almost a year for fruit to grow to useful size, so no, do
not remove them as they should be big enough to use later in the year,
probably nearer Christmas. The only exception is if your small tree has too
many fruit growing and whilst they usually abort excess fruit, sometimes
they don't and it can weaken the tree. We had this with a Tahiti Lime which
then took two years to recover.

Do you know how to grow it? Ericaceous compost with added drainage material,
no water tray underneath as the roots in water will surely kill it. Lots of
feed too as gross feeders.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On 09/03/2011 17:19, Bob Hobden wrote:


"Graham K." wrote ...

I have just been given a small lemon tree. It is bearing small green
fruit which presumably developed last year. Do I remove these or will
they develop into ripe fruit this year?
..................................

Citrus can take almost a year for fruit to grow to useful size, so no,
do not remove them as they should be big enough to use later in the
year, probably nearer Christmas. The only exception is if your small
tree has too many fruit growing and whilst they usually abort excess
fruit, sometimes they don't and it can weaken the tree. We had this with
a Tahiti Lime which then took two years to recover.

Do you know how to grow it? Ericaceous compost with added drainage
material, no water tray underneath as the roots in water will surely
kill it. Lots of feed too as gross feeders.

Thanks for that.

On 09/03/2011 17:35, Graham K. wrote:
On 09/03/2011 17:19, Bob Hobden wrote:


"Graham K." wrote ...

I have just been given a small lemon tree. It is bearing small green
fruit which presumably developed last year. Do I remove these or will
they develop into ripe fruit this year?
..................................

Citrus can take almost a year for fruit to grow to useful size, so no,
do not remove them as they should be big enough to use later in the
year, probably nearer Christmas. The only exception is if your small
tree has too many fruit growing and whilst they usually abort excess
fruit, sometimes they don't and it can weaken the tree. We had this with
a Tahiti Lime which then took two years to recover.

Do you know how to grow it? Ericaceous compost with added drainage
material, no water tray underneath as the roots in water will surely
kill it. Lots of feed too as gross feeders.

Thanks for that.
Another question.
It is in a 12" pot. The label says 24" pot which is too big to bring
into the house in winter. Is it OK to leave in the smaller pot?
Thanks in anticipation.

"Graham K." wrote

Another question.
It is in a 12" pot. The label says 24" pot which is too big to bring
into the house in winter. Is it OK to leave in the smaller pot?
Thanks in anticipation.
.....................................

Eventually it will need a large pot but if it's only small and doesn't look
under-potted then it should be OK for a couple of years. We have ours
outside normally by the end of this month against a S. facing wall but watch
the forecasts and take them back inside if frost is due. It's amazing how
quickly they start growing away once outside with a good dose of sequestered
iron and feed.

BTW an older tree will usually have flowers and fruit at all stages of
growth all at the same time.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 17:54:36 -0000, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:



"Graham K." wrote

Another question.
It is in a 12" pot. The label says 24" pot which is too big to bring
into the house in winter. Is it OK to leave in the smaller pot?
Thanks in anticipation.
....................................

Eventually it will need a large pot but if it's only small and doesn't look
under-potted then it should be OK for a couple of years. We have ours
outside normally by the end of this month against a S. facing wall but watch
the forecasts and take them back inside if frost is due. It's amazing how
quickly they start growing away once outside with a good dose of sequestered
iron and feed.

BTW an older tree will usually have flowers and fruit at all stages of
growth all at the same time.

You mention ericaceous growing medium, but would you also say to use
rain water? Or do you find the sequestered iron does the trick?

Right about overcropping: in ignorance, I let mine produce over fifty
little lemons, and the poor thing nearly died.

--
Mike.

"Mike Lyle" wrote ...

"Bob Hobden" wrote:

You mention ericaceous growing medium, but would you also say to use
rain water? Or do you find the sequestered iron does the trick?

Right about overcropping: in ignorance, I let mine produce over fifty
little lemons, and the poor thing nearly died.
.............................

Strictly speaking they don't need ericaceous compost they just prefer it and
if you use it you can then use hard tap water to water with. However, I do
use rain water if I have enough. (I have some plants that demand it)

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On Mar 9, 5:00*pm, "Graham K." wrote:
I have just been given a small lemon tree. It is bearing small green
fruit which presumably developed last year. Do I remove these or will
they develop into ripe fruit this year?

Some citrus fruits take nearly two years to develope/ripen. You can
get flowers and fruit simultaneously on the tree in these cases.

I have found citrus plants in containers to be exceedingly fussy about the conditions they are given. They can give up the ghost just on not getting the watering and fertilising regime just right. And you do need to have just the right kind of location to keep them indoors away from the frost. Ours always ended up with a bad case of scale insects too. The only citrus plant I found hard to kill was one I grew myself from a grapefruit seed.