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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Potted culture; dwarf citrus

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  • From: list@ginda.us
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Potted culture; dwarf citrus
  • Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 22:28:46 -0400

I have a meyers lemon. I find that I don't have too much trouble maintaining appropriate soil moisture when the pot is indoors - I just water it well every week or two - but I do have trouble outdoors, when the soil gets too hot in the sun and too wet in the rain. Unfortunately, I can't keep it inside year-round, as I don't get much indoor sun once the oaks are in leaf.

I solved the problem by planting it in the ground in the summer. It's cold hardy to about 20F, which means I don't have to panic when the forecast is for frost in the fall. I resisted this solution for a while, because it seemed like a lot of work, but it hasn't been too bad. For whatever reason, the roots don't seem to grow much outside of its "space" in the summer, and I just lift the whole thing with a shovel and slide it into a pot around now. (Tomorrow, weather permitting.) Not all that much soil sticks to the roots, so I need to fill the pot, too. My backyard is pretty well drained, with rocky/loamy soil, and the lemon rarely needs to be watered in the summer, and hasn't drowned, yet.

Ginda
eastern MA, zone 6

On Friday, October 24, 2003, at 02:01 PM, gorgon zolla wrote:

We do have three dwarf citrus potted up: a clementine, a Meyers Improved lemon, and a Kieffer lime. We have had these for a couple of years now, and bring them inside during the winter months. These are grafted on proprietary dwarfing rootstocks, and we bought them as whips from Northwind Growers in California. All have bloomed, while only the lime has set fruit. The fruit fell off shortly afterwards, probably just as well given the small size of the tree.

We have had to spray for scaly bugs a number of times.

Maintaining the proper level of soil moisture has been an ongoing problem, in part because we started the plants out in fairly large pots. Rainy weather would overwater the plants at first.

Overall, I find that they are rather fussy as houseplants go, but the foliage and flowers are attractive, and I'm hoping for fruit set one of these days. The trees readily go into a sort of state of shock when their cultural needs are not met, and then they drop leaves and lose vigor. In most cases they seem to come out of this.

Steve Dunlop
Nerstrand, MN
USDA Zone 4

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