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tommyg 01-12-2012 02:47 PM
Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
I am a relatively new gardener. I started about three months ago and am still learning tons. I have gotten the Citrus "itch", ok that didn't sound good. And I was wondering who else is growing Citrus and what kinds, and if you could share some basic info or pics of your garden.

I have:
tangerine tree (9 inches tall)
Meyer lemon tree (10 inches tall, but bush form, with buds)
Nugami Kumquat tree (24 inches tall, has four fruit on them, waiting to ripen)
Small Navel orange variety (14 inches tall, with small buds)

Please share if you can and show the rest of us your varieties and how you're growing your plants. Anyone had fruits on their citrus plants already and tried eating them? I live in Massachusetts so anything that is somewhat hardy and can be grown indoors I am willing to try.

I will share pictures when I get home.
I have some on my blog: Sunroom Gardening

Thanks!

Richard 01-12-2012 02:54 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
I am growing every type of citrus. Here is a guide I wrote for gardeners:
Guide to Common Citrus
Keep in mind that citrus grow from seed do not produce fruit that is true-to-type. Seedlings on the other hand can make good root stock to graft a scion of the true variety onto.

harveyc 01-12-2012 04:12 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Tommy, I'm growing a dozen or so citrus, mainly focusing on mandarins, some navels, etc. and a Nordman kumquat. There is a very good citrus forum at Citrus Growers Forum :: Index with members from around the U.S. worth looking into.

Richard, I'm looking to start a debate but many citrus seedlings are true to type. Nucellar seedlings are what allow rootstock to be grown from seed but the same principle allows many edible varieties to be grown from seed, but it's often 7 years or more before they bear fruit.

tommyg 01-12-2012 04:22 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
thanks! but I like the bananas.org people lol
I'd like to hear the debate myself.

fmu65 01-12-2012 04:53 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
It is so funny you mention this. I got one from my work (a Meyer lemon) and it bloomed like crazy. I have been hand pollinating and babying it the best I can under grow lights. It gets liquid seaweed with iron (to lower the pH), along with other supplements and food. It dropped most of its fruit but here is what remains!
[IMG][/IMG]
I have had a couple of mealybugs show up, but I have been treating them with alcohol on q tips and wiping the leaves with room temp water afterwards.

tommyg 01-12-2012 04:56 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
that's awesome, hope mine will continue to grow. my buds are growing.

Richard 01-12-2012 05:20 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by harveyc (Post 185355)
Richard, I'm looking to start a debate but many citrus seedlings are true to type. Nucellar seedlings are what allow rootstock to be grown from seed but the same principle allows many edible varieties to be grown from seed, but it's often 7 years or more before they bear fruit.
You get the same genotype, but not the same phenotype -- which is of course what counts in citrus cultivars. To paraphrase: if you grow seed from a self-pollinated edible citrus, you will get edible fruit but not the cultivar that the breeder choose for propagation.

Richard 01-12-2012 05:21 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fmu65 (Post 185357)
... It gets liquid seaweed with iron (to lower the pH), along with other supplements and food. It dropped most of its fruit ...
Be sure to give it the proper balance of potash.

dekkard 01-12-2012 06:32 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
My wife says our Meyer Lemon tree produces the best lemonade in the history of the world. I am impressed at the size and juiciness of the fruit although I am allergic to it. It is pretty maintenance free for us in Z9b. Hope yours are a success.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-12-2012 06:39 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
A number of people on the site disagree with your claims Richard....myself being one of them.


Tom, I know you will have success with your citrus trees and there is never only one way of growing anything. You don't have to get technical about adding exact potash amounts either, to ensure your success. ;)


I've grown many citrus trees from seed...including kumquat, keylime, and lemon. I've even mailed some of my Kumquat seedlings to some garden pals in the US and they survived the trips. :goteam:


Something important if you're growing in pots is some good quality well-draining soil and a pot with good drainage holes. Having your citrus trees in soggy wet soil will be the death of them. :eek:


I found good sunlight and regular feedings were the key to success in growing citrus trees. Being an organic gardener I use DNF Fruiting & Blooming formula. You can use what you like though Tom, as gardeners have different preferences and that's ok. :)


Especially new gardeners...you learn so much more from just experimenting and trying things your way. The best garden advice I ever received was "STOP listening to other gardeners"!!! :ha:


Looking forward to seeing your pics, Tom. How exciting that you're growing a few different types.


: )

Richard 01-12-2012 06:44 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 185367)
A number of people on the site disagree with your claims Richard....myself being one of them.
That's ok. Feel free to discuss it with one of the geneticists at the UCR Citrus Research Center.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-12-2012 06:59 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Of course this is always your typical response to scare and intimidate new gardeners into thinking that yours is the ONLY way of doing things. It is not, however.


I sure hope that new gardeners will continue to share their ideas and feel free to discuss how they might like to do things, even if it doesn't coincide with other people's ways...including my own. ;)


Frankly I find citrus trees ridiculously easy to grow, like many other fruits trees. Just add water, food, and sunlight and your success is practically in the bag! :D


: )

Richard 01-12-2012 07:26 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 185370)
[color="DarkOrchid"][b]Of course this is always your typical response to scare and intimidate new gardeners into thinking that yours is the ONLY way of doing things.
You apparently mis-understood my post. Please do not interpret a disagreement of fact as intimidation, insult, or insistence on one way of doing things -- none was intended.

Please chill out. There is no justification for adopting the persona of a Flame Warrior over the discussion here.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-12-2012 07:34 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Sorry Richard but I never read your links because most of them are simply inaccurate.


I've witnessed you running many of Jarred's newcomers off the site, leaving them angry and frustrated. Too bad it goes on. :(


Anyway, I believe this thread is about citrus trees...another thing you're notorious for, hijacking other people's threads.


Sorry for the interrption, Tommy. Back to your topic...


: )

tommyg 01-12-2012 07:39 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
I have found one space in the room that gets more sunlight.
If you had a choice , sherry, would the citrus or bananas benefit more from that spot?
I ask also because my kumquat fruits are there and more sunlight might help them ripen


Thanks

Tom

Richard 01-12-2012 07:40 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 185379)
Sorry Richard but I never read your links because most of them are simply inaccurate.
I've witnessed you running many of Jarred's newcomers off the site, leaving them angry and frustrated. Too bad it goes on. :(
Anyway, I believe this thread is about citrus trees...another thing you're notorious for, hijacking other people's threads.
Sorry for the interrption, Tommy. Back to your topic...
This is completely uncivil and uncalled for. Please recuse yourself.

harveyc 01-12-2012 07:43 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Quote:
Richard, I've read otherwise quite a few times and know folks that have grown citrus from seeds and obtained the desired results. I have not personally spoken to any geneticists but there is quite a bit of scholarly work online. This isn't very detained but still sufficient, I think:

Hort 403 - Lecture 32

Nucellar Embryony

Apomixis - development of an embryo without the fusion of male and female gametes.
Polyembryony - occurrence of more than one embryo in a seed.
Nucellar embryony - embryos form from nucellar tissue.

Nucellar embryony in citrus means that most embryos are vegetative not zygotic.
They are produced from nucellar tissue and are therefore clones of the mother tree.
Pollination is needed to trigger nucellar development.
Nucellar embryos begin development as soon as pollination occurs while zygotic embryos take four weeks to develop; thus, nucellar embryos crowd out the zygotic embryos.
There are various degrees of nucellar embryony.
Some cultivars produce only nucellar embryos, and some vary in the percentage of nucellar embryos.

Three citrus types produce monoembryonic and therefore zygotic seed
'Temple tangelo'
'Clementine' tangerine
Shaddock, Citrus grandis (pomelo)

There are some important implications of nucellar embryony.
Rootstocks such as 'Rough Lemon', 'Sour Orange', and P. trifoliata can be produced true-to-type from seed.
This is important for nurseries because virus is not transmitted through either nucellar or zygotic seed.
Thus, nurseries can produce virus-free, clonal rootstocks from seed.
Virus can be eliminated from infected clones.
However, because nucellar seedlings are juvenile it takes a long time to obtain productive clones.
These can then be propagated by budding from the indexed nucellar mother tree.
Breeding of citrus is made difficult because of the difficulty obtaining genetically variable populations.
Is there some reference online that you can give that relates to what you wrote above? I'd like to read it.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-12-2012 07:44 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
Oh yes Tom...the more sunlight you can provide, the better. ;) Warmth is a good thing too.


Soon, you'll be putting them outside! :goteam: Don't be surprised if growth is slower in the colder months. Things will pick up in spring when everything goes into vegetative growth.


: )

harveyc 01-12-2012 07:45 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
By the way, I tried to grow three "Sumo" seeds last year but they seemed to be albino seedlings and died. Only one sprout from each of the two seeds emerged.

tbaleno 01-12-2012 07:49 PM
Re: Anyone else growing Meyer Lemons or Kumquats?
 
I have a meyer lemon in my house. The humidity is around 10 and it dropped all its leaves. I'm pretty much ignoring it in my basement to get it out of the light while the humidity is so low. I heard that lots of peoples trees loose their leaves over the winter because of the cold and drop in humidity. I'll have to see if it comes back to life in the summer.


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