tahitian limes (forum)

Greg Moran starts with ...
Hello everyone, I have a Tahitian lime in a pot and it is probably two years old, but I have only had it for around 9-10 months. It got a lot of flowers and little limes all over it and here we are thinking that we are in for a bumper crop but they just didn't get much bigger. I have cut off about half to three quarters of the limes as I thought that maybe the tree was having trouble supporting or growing too many limes but the remaining limes are still really slow to grow, if they are growing at all. I have put on an organic fertilizer, (chook poo), and a little soluble one too. It is well drained and I water it fairly heavily around once a week. Any thoughts? Many thanks GM

Time: 19th October 2008 11:33am

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author Drongo
Gold Coast
#UserID: 1531
Posts: 4
View All Drongo's Edible Fruit Trees

Eve says...
Greg when we bought a Japanese style mandarin tree we took all the fruit off in the first year to give the plant time to establish. Your lime may be settling into the pot.

Is the pot terracotta? If so it may be taking a lot of the water and you might have to repot into plastic and then into the terracotta. Or water more often.


Time: 19th October 2008 2:16pm

Reply | Edit | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author
ACT
#UserID: 0
Posts:
View All 's Edible Fruit Trees

Greg says...
Hi Greg,

In a pot Citrus need watering more often, especially during the warmer months. If you are getting no vegetative growth, but lots of little flowers and fruit then the tree is under stress. As the first thing a stressed Citrus does is reproduce by producing hundreds of flowers.

I would suggest these steps.

1. Get some Seasol with wetting agent and apply that. Potting mixes are well known for drying out and becoming hydrophobic.

2. Mulch around the top of the pot with some straw, sugar cane mulch will be fine. Citrus roots are in the top 10cm of soil, so they dry out quickly.


3. Water every second day.


When you get a lot of new vegetative growth you know you have got it right.

Greg

Time: 19th October 2008 2:24pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author Greg9
Wangaratta, VIC
#UserID: 1510
Posts: 10
View All Greg9's Edible Fruit Trees