Lemonade tree (forum)

Mike starts with ...
Is anyone available to help me with my tree. In the period that we have had this tree, I believe it has not grown an inch. I am at my wits end. The tree is about 18mths old but just won't grow. Please help me as I have white thumbs not green.

Time: 26th September 2007 4:02pm

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About the Author Mike3
Eagle Vale NSW
#UserID: 334
Posts: 2
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EatAust says...
Citrus are fairly hungry and thirsty plants, I've found. I've had a tahitian lime that just did nothing for a while (it was in a pot), and then got hugely rained on for a week; and after that, took off like a bat out of hell.

I would recommend getting some citrus food from the nursery and start dumping a good bucket of water on it every second/third day at least for the next few weeks. Mound up some mulch around it so you've got a well leading to the roots of the tree; that'll keep the water around it. Also nip off most of the flowers that come up, so it can concentrate its energies into new growth rather than reproduction (that's assuming it's trying to flower!).

I found using almost uncomfortable levels of water stopped the dropping of my early tiny fruits, too; it's flower, get to the baby fruit stage, and then just lose the lot. Absolutely soaking the pot so it overflowed stopped that ...

Good luck! I've just bought a lemonade tree and will be following my own advice this time!

Time: 27th September 2007 10:47am

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About the Author EatAust
Tarago, NSW
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Mike says...
EatAust, thanks for the advice. I shall be putting it to the test thanks again.

Time: 27th September 2007 4:17pm

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About the Author Mike3
Eagle Vale NSW
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Posts: 2
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EatAust says...
I was asking my mother - a very experienced gardener - about my citrus plantings. I was planning to put a weeping hose across them to keep their water intake up, but she recommended I just heave a bucket on to them every couple of days - citrus, she said, like huge water dumps all at once, rather than a constant small drip.

I must say this does accord with my observations of them, but it does make things a little more challenging when watering :). Instead of turning on a tap and letting it ooze, I have to go fill and lift buckets. Honestly, you'd think I was trying to keep fit or something :)

Anyone else got similar observations? In all honesty, the citrus are going right next to the garden's water tank (the house tanks are completely separate) so filling a bucket every couple of days isn't going to be a hassle for me. For others ... how do you manage your citrus?

And a final question - is greyish water collected from the heating-up shower (mostly clean, may have some soap/shampoo splashings) suitable for citrus?

Time: 3rd October 2007 10:36am

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About the Author EatAust
 
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