I have a lemon tree growing inside of the house. I water it once a week and in the summer time put it outside of the house. It started from 5 inches tall little brunch and now turned into 5'2" tree that growing "wild". What I mean is that all brunches on top are growing widely on the sides, lower leafs are small and turning yellow. The tree doesn't look right to me. As for now it does look like I have to take care of these long branches that spreading in all directions, but I do not know how. Should I simply cut it? Why some leafs on the bottom turned yellow? I'd really appreciate an advice how to take a proper care of this tree Sincerely, Ludmila
The lower leaves may be turning yellow due to old age--leaves only live about 1 1/2 years-- and when light levels go down in winter, the tree will usually drop old leaves that are not supporting themselves. You have obviously done OK with your weekly watering, but watering on a schedule is not best for citrus. It would be better to water only when the top 2-3 inches are dry. As for pruning, you may have to, but it is better if you can avoid it as much as possible. Was the small branch you started the tree from a mature tree that had already produced fruit? If so, pruning will not matter as much. But, if the branch was a seedling, it must reach a certain node count (leaf count), before it will flower-- pruning reduces the node count by the number of leaves that are removed. What fertilizer are you using --does it contain trace elements? Does your tree produce fruit? Skeet
I have no idea where from my “starting” branch came from, it was a gift from a coworker As of now I’m not using any fertilizers, I’m not sure which one I need I also do not expect any fruits in a near future; have been told that it takes a lot of time. All I’m worry about that the tree looks strange: one long stem and on the very top a lot of branches that are growing completely horizontal. Sincerely, Ludmila
Citrus trees if left alone almost always grow into a harmonious round shape. Growth and fruit tend to take place towards the external part of the canopy. Inner growth tends to decrease gradually over time. Generally a citrus tree will normally produce a much nicer tree when left alone, than the a pruner normally achieves. It is extremely doubtful whether attempts at what might be called formal pruning of citrus trees are ever satisfactory. Effects have been made to grow them in definite shapes at variance with their normal habit, but while they will stand much abuse in the form of pruning, it is uncertain whether these various practices have ever brought satisfactory results when compared with trees grown in a normal way. If good trees are planted and kept in healthy condition, they need very little attention on the part of the pruner, unless misfortune overcome them. - Millet
Ludmila if you can't find citrus fertilizer in your area get some miracle grow 30-10-10 about 1/4 tsp per gal or about 150-200 ppm also get some epsom salt for magnesium 1/2 Tsp per gal every 3 months if you trim you can expect branch outs I take cuttings from time to time for grafting and t-budding but lightly, my trees are fruit bearing another product is S.T.E.M. (Soluble Trace Element Mix) it's not the miracle product but it can't hurt I moved into a number of peters professional and jacks professional fertilizers and also a time released 14-6-10 with minors, magnesium, manganese, iron, and sulfur. hopes this helps. isaac
Not long ago I visited the national Citrus Clonal Protection Program (CCPP), and the Citrus Variety Collection, located on the campus of the University of California Riverside (UCR) in Riverside, California. UCR certainly is the world foremost authority on citrus. The CCPP is under the guidance of the United States Department of Agricultural, the University of California, and the California Citrus Commission. Dr. Robert Kruger took us on a tour of their greenhouse containerized citrus collection. This is the collection of trees that supplies the budwood for the national budwood program. The CCPP fertilizes their container citrus trees at 300 PPM nitrogen with each and every irrigation, year around. Quite frankly, I was surprised at the high level of fertilization. Citrus trees are heavy feeders, therefore require more nutrition than most trees, and will require more nitrogen than 150 PPM. Needless, to say, the CCPP's trees are amazing. My best advice to you concerning what care to give your trees, is to read, read, read, and read some more the threads on this forum. Reading will provide you with the information concerning the correct knowledge concerning the types of fertilization to use, the correct way to irrigate your tree, how to control insect problems, the amount of light vs root zone heat, transplanting instructions, plus all the general culture requirements that will insure your tree provides you with many good crops for years to come. There is an exceptional amount of information with in this forum. - Millet
Ludmila, (removed vague insult) a poster seems that 150 ppm is low yet falls to see the added time released 14-6-10 with minors that was also added. You asked a question about fertilizers I hope you found some help. If you PM me so the mail will be received here I will send you a pound of S.T.E.M and enough slow release fertilizer to last you a year for free. I'm closing this out. and I wish you the best. issac
issac (Dale), advising Ludmila to use a 14-6-10 that already contains trace minerals, and then telling her to additionally apply STEM to her fertilizing program would be harmful to her tree. Advice like that could wind up killing her tree. (edited to remove info not relevant to thread) - Millet
Ludmila in order to help you a bit more in learning how to do ppm this calculator is very easy to use. This site also sells S.T.E.M you will need to look around the site for it, here's the link for the Calculator http://www.firstrays.com/fertcalc.htm Hope this helps. iassic
Now why would you use "14-6-10 with minors" and then add STEM as well ? (removed info not relevant to thread) Back to the subject, if your fertilizer already has trace elements you do not need to add STEM as well.
Ludmila your welcome to PM me via mail or private message I'll send you a few other goodies for free. isaac
