North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Bob Randall <YearRoundGardening@comcast.net>]

Hi

Most citrus go through a juvenile period where they are thorny and do not 
blossom.  The period can be 3 years or maybe as much as 20.  Assuming that 
your lemon has some sun, it will most likely flower when you have a trunk 
several inches thick and the tree starts to bend over at 7 feet or more.  At 
that point the new wood at the top will likely have fewer or no thorns and in 
subsequent years the fruit will increase.  In short, wait.



Bob Randall
Houston 



On Feb 17, 2013, at 4:29 PM, Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net> 
wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I've no advice to give you on the lemon tree; but, as I noticed nobody  
> else seems to have answered this and you seemed concerned as to  
> whether this was OK to post, wanted to reassure you that your post  
> looks perfectly fine to me.
> 
> Occasionally it's just that nobody has a good answer.
> 
> 
> -- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
> Fresh-market organic produce, small scale
> 
> 
> On Feb 15, 2013, at 12:10 PM, Dave Moulton wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> I've been getting NAFEX now for years, but never participated, so  
>> forgive
>> me if I am not doing it right, like spamming everyone needlessly.   
>> (If I
>> am, it's just because I don't know how not to, so sorry in advance).
>> 
>> I am looking for advice about my Galgal lemon tree.  I got it from my
>> father, who planted it from a seed that I believe he received from a  
>> NAFEX
>> member in India.  On his property in a colder region of Texas, the  
>> tree
>> never had trunks/shoots that survived the winters.  After several  
>> years
>> (10?), however, the root ball was enormous (50 lbs?).  I dug it up and
>> planted it in my backyard in Houston.  I think it's been there now  
>> about
>> 3-4 years and I now have some trunks that have survived 2-3 winters  
>> and are
>> about 3" thick.  It produces beautiful, large leaves, and looks  
>> healthy,
>> but It has never blossomed.  All my other citrus blossom profusely
>> (Washington navel, Mexican lime and Mandarin).
>> 
>> My citrus-growing Portuguese in-laws and their friends said lemons
>> sometimes have to be pruned and topped to make them blossom.  So, my
>> Galgal, which was making a mess of my yard, covered in thorns that  
>> could
>> probably kill you if you ran into them, and over 10 feet tall, got  
>> topped
>> and pruned last weekend down to 3 sturdy trunks, for better or worse.
>> 
>> Does anyone have any ideas on how to make it bloom? I figure it only  
>> gets
>> another couple of seasons to perform before it meets the Grim  
>> Woodchipper.
>> 
>> I did an internet search for NAFEX and Galgal, and got a post from Dr.
>> Chiranjit Parmar (posted below).  I'm thinking he might even be the  
>> man my
>> father got the seeds from and even if he isn't, he might know what  
>> to do.
>> If you know how to contact him, please let me know or forward this  
>> email
>> to him.  (I'm copying this email to the email he listed, but since  
>> the post
>> is old, I'm not getting my hopes up).
>> 
>> Thanks!
>> 
>> Dave Moulton
>> Lemonless in Houston
> 
> 
> 
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