Lemon tree I.D.

Discussion in 'Citrus' started by Ray from PA, Jul 15, 2009.

  1. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    Hi, a few years ago while driving through Florida I stopped at a roadside tourist trap where they had little "Florida Lemon trees" in boxes. I bought one, potted it and threw out the box, but now I'm curious as to exactly what kind of lemons it will produce. It's a beautiful tree but it hasn't flowered yet, so I don't have any lemons to examine, but I was wondering if anyone else had bought one of these and could tell me what I have. It came in a small green box (about 12" x 2" x 2") and was bare roots in a plastic bag.
     
  2. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    Perhaps the box looked like the ones seen here.
     
  3. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    Great link, those are exactly the ones. I don't see anything on that website that describes the type of lemons I'll get from the tree though, do you know anything more about them? I Googled Reed bros. patio citrus and didn't find any description on the type of tree I have. I'm assuming they're going to be Eurekas, only because those are common commercial lemons.

    It's funny that they say it will bloom in a few years because I've had this one for 8 years now and it still hasn't bloomed. I love it because it's a beautiful tropical tree but I'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to bloom. I have noticed for the past few weeks there's been a mild citrus-y scent coming from the tree, I wonder if this means it's getting close to producing flowers.
     
  4. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    I suggest sending them an email asking which variety of lemon it is and whether it is a seedling tree. If it is a seedling, that may partly explain why your tree has not flowered, especially if it has been continually pruned. Other factors which may inhibit flowering are poor nutrition and a lack of exposure to low temperatures. More information about the tree would help to diagnose the problem.
     
  5. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    Good idea, thanks for all of the info. Whatever I find out I'll post back here.
     
  6. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Because your tree came from Florida, it is most certainly either an Eureka or a Lisbon lemon. You can tell by looking at the foliage which variety you have. The Eureka differs most clearly from the Lisbon in tree and foliage characteristics. The Eureka's leaves are less sharply pointed at the end, and the tree is thornless. Lisbon lemons have pointed leaf tips and the the Lisbon tree is thorny. Lastly, as JK wrote above, if you are pruning the tree, your tree will never fruit. - Millet (1,282-)
     
  7. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    Well the tree has thorns so based on what you said it seems more likely to be a Lisbon. I'm waiting on an e-mail reply from Reed's but in the meantime I'll take a couple of pictures and post them up on here.

    As far as pruning I hardly ever cut the tree. About 4 years ago I cut three shoots off for propagation but no regular pruning. It's probably more likely from my initial ignorance of how to take care of a citrus for the first five years or so because I didn't fertilize and rarely potted up. I've since become much more of a green thumb, and well read on citrus care.
     
  8. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    Here are a couple of pics of the foliage...
     

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  9. Pasquale

    Pasquale Active Member

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    Pruning a lemon tree will defiantly diminish the number of lemons that the tree could produce, but to say that it will not produce fruits is not entirely thru. I have a ten years old lemon tree which in winter time I have to keep-it inside, every year in the fall I have to prune 90% of the new growth in order to be able to get it through the door and every year we have a good number of lemons. Bear in mind that the lemon trees north of 49 are just as a hobby.
     
  10. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Pasquale, the reason that your tree will still produce some lemons despite the fact that you have pruned the tree, is because your tree is already a mature tree, and more importantly, your tree has already reached its REQUIRED node count to become mature. Further, evidently you did not prune 100 percent of all the branches. For Ray's small tree, and for all citrus trees, no matter what variety of citrus they are that have not yet grown to the point of attaining the required maturity node number, pruning back keeps the tree from ever reaching the required node number in order to fruit. Citrus, produce fruit only on new growth, therefore when a tree is pruned, removing the new growth from the end of a branch, that branch will not fruit, until it has replaced additional new growth. - Millet (2,281-)
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2009
  11. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    I just found out it's a Volkameriana. That's really disappointing. I've been raising and caring this tree for 8 years and I just now find out it's a crap fruit, basically a rootstock tree. Stay away from Reed Bros. patio citrus lemon trees unless you want a rootstock tree.
     
  12. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Unbelievable, and the tree is a seedling tree to-boot. Shame on Reed Brothers. - Millet (1,291-)
     
  13. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    I just went to the local garden center and bought an Improved Meyer. I'll keep the volkemeriana anyway since it was my first citrus but I'm very disappointed.
     
  14. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    A Improved Meyer Lemon will be a grafted tree, or a tree grown from a cutting of mature wood (Meyer's root very easily). If the tree did not come with fruit on it, the tree should produce fruit next spring, if not sooner. Citrus are heavy feeders, so be sure to fertilize the tree well for the remainder of the summer. - Millet (1,281-)
     
  15. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    I understand your disappointment. You could always graft more desirable varieties onto the tree. So it's not a total loss. I wonder why they chose to sell this variety. After all, wouldn't the effort to raise more desirable varieties be the same? Perhaps it's because not 100% of the seedlings of those varieties would be true to type from seed and so couldn't be sold as such.
     
  16. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    Thanks Millet, I'm going to repot into a 12 inch clay pot this weekend and start fertilizing with a 30-10-10 with trace minerals.
     
  17. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I believe they sell Volkemericana, because they grow a lot of that variety from seed to be used as rootstock. They also sell a lot of Volk rootstock to the industry. Therefore, it is easy and profitable to just also move them retail to tourists. Bad deal, for the tourist. Even if they sold Eureka or Lisbon (as they should) they would not have to worry,whether they were true to variety or not, as they just use the word lemon on the carton, and don't use a variety name. Millet (1,281-)
     
  18. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    I wonder what they're selling as an "Orange Tree". Sour orange (rootstock)?
     
  19. Ray from PA

    Ray from PA Active Member

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    It wouldn't surprise me if all three of their citrus trees were garbage. I don't know much about lime and orange rootstock but if that's what they're selling as a "lemon tree" then they're most likely doing it for the other two.

    I'm glad I only paid 5 dollars for the tree but what burns me is that I spent 8 years nurturing a tree that won't pay off when I could have spent that time on something worthwhile.
     

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