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Roger starts with ... My 2 1/2 yr old finger lime has started to fruit, however the fruit falls off within weeks of developing. There are approx. 20 small fruit on the tree again and I would love one of them to develop through to full maturity. Any advice on how to stop them from falling. PS also have many new flowers coming on as well. | About the Author baldrick Darwin 12th December 2008 8:10am #UserID: 1168 Posts: 16 View All baldrick's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Mark5 Blacktown 15th December 2008 6:58pm #UserID: 1008 Posts: 34 View All Mark5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Wayne Mackay 15th December 2008 7:32pm #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Roger says... Wayne, thanks for the advice. We now have approx. 30 small fruit in the tree, not sure how many will survive after the heavy rain last night though. Some of the fruit are not about 5mm inlength and fairly plump. Now just ahve to pray that they grow to maturity...and that my other plant flowers and fruits! | About the Author baldrick Darwin 16th December 2008 10:13am #UserID: 1168 Posts: 16 View All baldrick's Edible Fruit Trees |
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ange says... I have a finger lime...it is essential that they get good regular watering to hold the fruit on. My first flowering proved fruitless as the tree was not getting alot of water at the time(is in a huge pot). Next flowering I really looked after it and was rewarded. Just like all citrus water is important at fruit set. | About the Author ange Bundaberg 20th December 2008 4:17pm #UserID: 174 Posts: 3 View All ange's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author baldrick Darwin 9th January 2009 10:12am #UserID: 1168 Posts: 16 View All baldrick's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jantina says... Sounds good Roger, I'd like to try it on mine, can you tell me how much epsom salts to how much water you used? My fingerlime was near death and I have moved it to a warmer spot and repotted it and it has put out some lovely new growth.I wouldn't want to kill it with kindness now that it has a new lease on life! | About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 9th January 2009 1:30pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author 9th January 2009 6:00pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 9th January 2009 6:23pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author 9th January 2009 6:35pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Wayne Mackay 9th January 2009 7:17pm #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Roger5 9th January 2009 8:15pm #UserID: 1836 Posts: 1 View All Roger5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author baldrick1 Darwin 20th January 2009 9:36am #UserID: 1893 Posts: 16 View All baldrick1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Wayne Mackay 20th January 2009 1:19pm #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Mark5 Blacktown 21st January 2009 3:34pm #UserID: 1008 Posts: 34 View All Mark5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Simon says... Too much N can also effect the amount of fruit set. I just found a new site they seem to be selling good varieties. www.gourmetlimes.com | About the Author Simon10 Lismore 1st December 2009 3:35pm #UserID: 3059 Posts: 2 View All Simon10's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Mark5 Blacktown 6th December 2009 3:05pm #UserID: 1008 Posts: 34 View All Mark5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Roger says... I have no idea when to pick the fruit. We had some unusual weather here and the fruit all dropped and I had die-back on some of the branches. I pruned the tree and it is now startign to come back with new shoots. I also replaced the potting mix with a recommended type. Unfortunately we got one bag that had too much iron in it and it killed our avacodo - still have the rust coming out in the water. Hoping that the limes start fruiting again though. | About the Author baldrick1 Darwin 9th December 2009 3:28pm #UserID: 1893 Posts: 16 View All baldrick1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Marlene says... My finger lime (grafted 18months since purchased from Daleys) has flowered about 4 times but the fruit just drop off, how are they fertalized by bees or ants or what. It is again in flower and holding its 10mm fruit so am off to put some epsum salts on and see what happens. When is the best time to repot? | About the Author Oldie Eastern Melbouirne 27th December 2010 12:00pm #UserID: 4698 Posts: 6 View All Oldie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Perth 27th December 2010 4:11pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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fruitist says... Sunrise is a hybrid of finger lime with calamondin which is a hybrid of Mandarin and a Cumquat. The root stock to use for grafting Sunrise is another citrus. One way to find out is to cut off the top and let the root stock grows. Sunrise has no thorns. BTW, anyone here has seeds for Desert Lime (Eremocitrus glauca) and Kakadu Lime (Microcitrus gracilis)? | About the Author 30th December 2010 1:55pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Marlene says... Have only put on one teaspoon of Epsum Salts and watered in, it is still in the 15cm pot it arrived in as I was waiting for it to stop flowering, it is getting enough water at the moment but still most of the small(5mm) fruit turn yellow and drop off. If staring at them will keep the 5 that are still there on then they will reach maturity. Currently it is showing growth as well. | About the Author Oldie Melbourne 18th January 2011 1:18pm #UserID: 4698 Posts: 6 View All Oldie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Roger says... My finger lime has started to fruit again. Unfortunately we had to move it out from under the shade cloth and into the garden. We had some very heavy rain which knocked off all but 4 fruit. Am hoping that they will stay connected until they reach full maturity. My other tree is still not showing any sign of flowering yet. Still hopeful though. My tahitian lime refuses to flower after the first time. Now 8 years old. Growing well and teasing me | About the Author baldrick1 18th January 2011 1:59pm #UserID: 1893 Posts: 16 View All baldrick1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 19th January 2011 6:35pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hey BJ - looks good! But in all honesty - is there any advantage in growing one of these (over and above a West Indian or Tahitian lime) in a climate were water is precious do u think? Most of the "cheffing" references refer to it's good looks on a plate - but I can't afford the water to grow something just because it looks good (and yes I do have a rainforest pearl, a W.Indian and Tahitian Lime - so far the W.I/Key lime wins hands down..).. Would appreciate your honest opinion :) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mid West WA 20th January 2011 12:55am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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BJ says... The relevance of growing these guys depends on how you use your citrus. The little balls are great in salads and strewn across a lot of foods, not just for aesthetic reasons, but because they aren't wet and wont make your food go soggy, just releasing their flavor when crushed on eating. They are also a good size to add to things if you only need 1/4 lime. I often only use 1/4 tahitian lime in drinks and things and the rest dries off in the fridge - with these guys you just use the whole thing. Also, a few of these guys are quite good eating out of hand. i tried the Ricks Red recently and it is definitely a really nice little snack on its own - I wouldn't class our 'Rainforest Pearl' fruits in this category though. Here, I dont really take much care of it and it performs about equal to my Eureka Lemon, the two of these being my best cropping citrus. It is native to this area, so I guess it might be a lot different to your climate. Also - If you are in difficult conditions for citrus the finger lime is said to have the most resistance to phytophera, so is worthwhile trying in heavier soil if you are really looking to grow a citrus. Again, probably not much of a consideration for where you are. The downsides for me are the spikes (I got myself in the eye doing the compost a few times) and the pain (again the spikes) when trying to prune the vigorous mass into shape, and the haven it provides for chewing and sucking insects. So, I guess my answer would be that you would have to decide yourself whether it is worthwhile growing based on its performance for you and what you are looking for from the tree... | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 20th January 2011 8:38am #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 20th January 2011 8:43am | |||||||
amanda says... Great info BJ - thanks. I actually quite like to eat a Meyer lemon out of hand sometimes (except for the heartburn it gives me!) - so the Ricks Red sounds good. From your description it sounds like u a 'foodie' hey..?? :) (ps - be careful with your eyes - a rosebush thorn got one of mine and I ended up in the emergency dept! They said I was lucky - if you puncture through to the liquid part of the eye-ball there is a very real chance of losing the eye..eek!) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mid West WA 20th January 2011 2:51pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 20th January 2011 2:54pm | |||||||
Diana says... Hi BJ and other Brisbanites, I hope you and your houses and gardens are OK. Mine are. We are on a little hill, which was cut off Tuesday night to Friday afternoon (the pictures is the main road behind us last Wednesday, where it was cut off to the west and east). No power for eight days until yesterday afternoon. Apart from a short term tummy bug (apparently rife around here according to the doctor), the main casualty is the contents of the fridge and freezer. There were three harvests of peeled and blanched carrots, potatoes (luckily we ate most of those already), cabbage, celery, parsnips and things made out of bananas in the chest freezer that had to be chucked out. Now we have to buy carrots :( It could have been much worse. Thank goodness not more people died in Brisbane (only one I think). I saw a few people doing stupid things in floodwater. I have just got a ricks red finger lime- I'm glad to hear that it's yummy. Diana.
| About the Author Diana Brisbane 20th January 2011 4:49pm #UserID: 3004 Posts: 284 View All Diana's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 20th January 2011 4:51pm | |||||||
BJ says... Hi Diana, We're up on a hill, so we just get local flash flooding, where the water runs down the hill and pools in our yard and under our house. I will make another thread for suggestions on plants that wouldnt mind growing in a bog, or if I should just turn it into a small pond. Is your Rick's Red grafted or a cutting? | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 22nd January 2011 9:56am #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 29th March 2011 12:13pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Marlene says... Gee I am envious of you guys and your finger limes, I re-potted my grafted Ricks Red a month ago, all the fruit fell off (even though it was only 5mm long) and it has not flowered since where before it was never without a flower, but fruit still fell off. I gave it a good feed of Epsom salts for a while before re-potting, then when nothing seemed to happen I gave it a decent dose of Magamp when I re-potted it.. The new foliage is nice and green and the old seems to have greened up a bit but also some of the ends of limbs have lost foliage - do I prune it, I would guess it has only grown 2% sine I bought it 20 months ago. It has been a mild summer down here so have left it in a morning sun position. Would like to confirm I have done the right thing please. | About the Author Oldie Melbourne East 7th April 2011 11:32am #UserID: 4698 Posts: 6 View All Oldie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author TARNI 2nd November 2011 8:02pm #UserID: 6069 Posts: 1 View All TARNI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author FL Judy Central Florida 13th June 2014 10:38pm #UserID: 10076 Posts: 1 View All FL Judy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Lizz Perth 23rd September 2014 12:37am #UserID: 6968 Posts: 4 View All Lizz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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jakfruit etiquette says... Thorny new growth from above the graft, sounds like watershoots, ie young vigirous growth spurts, leaves should be id to sunrise lime. Thorny growth from below the graft, but reaching above the graft union sounds like rootstock suckers, leaves different to sunrise lime. Remove the rootstock suckers, you can leave the watershoot if you want the plant to fill out rather than get taller. | About the Author jakfruit etiquette vic 23rd September 2014 8:54pm #UserID: 5133 Posts: 915 View All jakfruit etiquette's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Tommoz Dural 15th December 2014 10:27pm #UserID: 7219 Posts: 340 View All Tommoz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author sternus1 Australia 16th December 2014 12:59pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Lime lover Toodyay 5th August 2017 7:19pm #UserID: 16635 Posts: 1 View All Lime lover's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author BJ11 KENSINGTON,3031,VIC 8th August 2017 1:58pm #UserID: 3414 Posts: 215 View All BJ11's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Oldie says... Seems like my RicksRed has had a new lease of life since I Epsum salted it but only seems to be flowering on old wood. How often do you apply Epsum or citrus fertiliser. Getting cold down here in the last few days - should I move my Finger Lime and Kaffir lime into an unheated glasshouse? My tree is going on 5 years old and heavily leafed and one sided in flower. | About the Author Oldie Melbourne 22nd April 2018 5:35pm #UserID: 4698 Posts: 6 View All Oldie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Fruitylicious1 says... Hi Oldie With potted citrus trees you can fertilize your plants every 4-6 weeks during the growing season but at a lesser rate compared to specimens planted in the ground. Alternate between citrus fert and dynamic lifter for better result. Apply epsom salt twice a year during spring and summer at a rate of 2 tbsp per 10 ltr of water, or if there is a perceived magnesium deficiency as evidenced by a yellowing leaf with an inverted green V shape on a leaf with a yellowish background. Certainly, you can move them in an unheated glasshouse if you are uncomfortable leaving them outside during winter, though they will survive outside in a sheltered sunny spot like a courtyard. I have seen numerous citrus trees in Melbourne situated in the front yards of home owners growing happily. Happy gardening :-) | About the Author Fruitylicious1 TAMWORTH,2340,NSW 22nd April 2018 7:26pm #UserID: 16885 Posts: 709 View All Fruitylicious1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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People who Like this Answer: Oldie Original Post was last edited: 22nd April 2018 7:27pm | |||||||
Oldie says... Hi Fruitylicious1 thanks for that reply. Just wondering if I put my Ricks Red in the unheated glasshouse what is going to fertilise the flowers that are about to burst out or don't you need one to get fruit? Just looked up my first forum entry and guess what my finger lie is around 8 to 9 years old and am yet to eat some of the fruit. | About the Author Oldie Melbourne 12th May 2018 11:02am #UserID: 4698 Posts: 6 View All Oldie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Fruitylicious1 says... Hi Oldie Finger limes are suppose to be self fertile. In your case if there is a lack of pollinators like bees and the like you have to hand pollinate you finger lime. The normal tool is a small sable brush or an artist brush or a cotton swab will do. Another thing that you have to consider is avoid fertilizing when they are in flower up to when the fruits are at least 1cm long because they are known to abort flower and fruit if fed during flower and fruit production. Like most Australian native plants they only need a miniscule amount Phosphorus. The ratio of the fertilizer mix is ideally 15N-4P-K11. Notice that the middle element phosphorus is only 4% compared to the other two elements. It is also prudent to fertilizer your F lime in small amount about 3x a year. Don't over feed them because it might cause them to die back. Another thing worth mentioning is the potting mix being used. It is recommended that we should create a well draining potting mix for F limes to avoid waterlogging. A good mixture would be 40% premium potting mix, 15% perlite, 15% pine bark and 15% peat coir or peat moss plus a handful of coarse river sand. Happy Gardening :-) | About the Author Fruitylicious1 TAMWORTH,2340,NSW 14th May 2018 8:08pm #UserID: 16885 Posts: 709 View All Fruitylicious1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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People who Like this Answer: Moony1 Original Post was last edited: 14th May 2018 8:27pm | |||||||
| About the Author Oldie Melbourne 18th May 2018 10:23am #UserID: 4698 Posts: 6 View All Oldie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Treeksie Elanora, Qld 10th February 2019 2:59pm #UserID: 19790 Posts: 1 View All Treeksie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Shauna says... I need some advice please.... I purchased a finger lime dwarf tree at a nursery about a month ago. I noticed when I got it home (Sonora, CA) that it had 2 small limes (fingernail size) and 6 tiny flower buds. I have kept it in the original pot (5 gallon) and was hesitant about transplanting to a new pot because I kill every plant I ever try to grow :-) I also did not know it it was the right time to re-pot. I have been watering, and fertilizing, the plant looks healthy and it's growing. However, most of the flowers have dropped off (1 left) but the 2 limes are still on. This is my first attempt at growing citrus. I wonder if it will produce more flowers before the Fall season and what I should expect regarding more growth? Any advice would be so helpful. Thanks. | About the Author Shauna Sonora 13th July 2019 5:37am #UserID: 20562 Posts: 1 View All Shauna's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Markmelb says... Shauna - finger limes are an Australian Native Plant and would prefer very low phosphorus fertilizer under 2% and not too high in nitrogen - Potassium ok - best to find a slow release and water often when its hot and not much if at all in winter - what fert did you use as its easy to burn their roots - fish or seaweed ferts are ok. Cheers | About the Author Markmelb MOUNT WAVERLEY,3149,VIC 13th July 2019 9:40am #UserID: 7785 Posts: 1192 View All Markmelb's Edible Fruit Trees |
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denise1 says... I presume you have a grafted tree on a dwarfing rootstock. As with many trees it is hard to predict if your plant will commense growth instantly or it may want to sit for many months to first establish its roots. Being dwarfed it will probably not be too vigorous. It is a good sign it wants to flower and fruit at this early stage. If you are in the habit of fertilizing often , then remember to dilute the strength and never fertilize close to the trunk.. | About the Author denise1 auckland NZ 13th July 2019 10:07am #UserID: 6832 Posts: 688 View All denise1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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jakfruit etiquette says... Finger Limes can have a lot of male flowers, ie pollen only. These cannot fruit and will fall off. Only female flowers will set fruit, and Finger Limes can be prone to drop these too. 2 limes from 7 flowers is good. Generally Finger Limes (seedling or grafted) are more sensitive to over fertilizing and water/heat stress than regular Citrus. Apply less fertilizer, but more frequently than for Citrus. | About the Author jakfruit etiquette vic 14th July 2019 12:43am #UserID: 5133 Posts: 915 View All jakfruit etiquette's Edible Fruit Trees |
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