5, 10, 20, 30? What's Your OLDEST potted plant?

My oldest is a 30 something year old Pony Tail palm.
It's been in this pot for 20 years.
Andy P

Sarah...wow...that's the largest plant in such a small pot that I've ever seen! But I'd be afraid to move it...looks like it LOVES it there! haha (Do they like being pot-bound?? Or no roots to speak of??)

Hill...your citrus tree story is very neat....I'm curious as to which state the citrus tree frowered in? What conditions?

Andy P that is a fine ponytail palm!
Hill5422 Do you know what type of citrus? In 86 I planted two grapefruit seed and the trees don't bloom. I don't care about the blooms but they become so rootbound that I have to remove them and whack the roots off and add new soil to keep them in a pot. They are 7 feet tall, with pruning and almost unmanagable now. As well as horrible thorns. I did not learn early on to nip off the thorns. Do you have to repot? If I don't , the leaves shed and I am afraid the plant police will get me.... : ))

Podster--When the tree was given to me, I *thought* I was told by the ex-boyfriend's mother (absolutely lovely and extremely intelligent plant woman, BTW) that it was an orange when she shared it's history with me, (not sure what kind of orange though), but when hubby got to meet the tree some years back and looked it over, he seemed to think it was a grapefruit and still refers to it as a grapefruit. We are able to agree that it IS a citrus, though, lol.

Now I have to wonder if it IS a grapefruit since your known grapefruits appear to have the same blooming issues that mine does. The one time mine has bloomed, I guess the conditions were just right for it to do so and I have never been able to replicate them, even with high phosphorus fertilizer. I have applied Messenger to it for the first time ever this year in the hopes that it will be motivated to flower. Nothing has happened yet.

I like your trees. They are trimmed up and shaped very nicely. I feel a twinge of motivation to do the same with my tree now. When I have repotted my citrus in the past, I have simply moved it up in pot size. I have never trimmed the roots when repotting it. As a result, my citrus could probably be considered out of control also. It is now in a huge pot and it takes a dolly to move it around the yard. It's height is probably over 8 feet, but I may rectify that shortly. Hubby HATES to move the tree because of it's thorns! He always says the tree 'bites' him when he messes with it, lol. Apparently I need a thorn nipper also. Would that be the same instrument that you can remove the thorns from a rose cane with and wouldn't they just grow back in some fashion anyway?

As to repotting my tree, like I said I have only repotted it 3 times in 15-16 years, but it needs a new pot again now, not really because it has out-grown it's old pot, but because I want to put it in a nice ceramic pot. The plastic pot it is in now is about to fall apart and is looking ugly. Anyway, when I find the right pot for the tree, it will probably be about the same size as the pot it is in now. I had never considered trimming the roots before, but I am now interested in doing that as I am happy with the size the tree has attained.

Connie--the tree flowered while here in Stephenville within the past five years. I believe it happened in the same season after I had repotted it to the pot it is in now. I had hubby set the tree in one of our front flower beds that spring. Our house faces to the west where the afternoon and evening sun can be brutal in the summer. The citrus, however, seemed to like the hot and dry conditions, but it needed a ton of water while in a pot in that particular bed. Other plants in the flower bed with the citrus were lantana and sage because they are about all that can take that kind of heat and direct sun, but they are in the ground and didn't require the multiple daily waterings that citrus did. It was pretty demanding with it's water requirements. Well, low and behold, that crazy tree had buds on it one day and then it flowered. I eventually had hubby move the tree to the backyard in a spot that now receives part shade so as to reduce it's water demands (got it back down to once a day watering), but no flowers have ever appeared again.

I may have to rethink its positioning in the yard and put it on an irrigation system if I want blooms on a regular basis, if that is even possible.

Ok, I'll stop my verbose rambling now. :-)

Thanks...Hill! No gardener ever thinks a "lesson" on gardening is rambling! ...Just more info for us to learn from!
I think you are right...citrus needs LOTS of water and sun....

I listen to people saying, "This plant won't grow" or "won't flower" etc. and it happens to me also...and then I look up the requirements and notice I'm not treating it well! That's why people in the world are growing taller each year...we learn more about nutrition, etc!!

I bought 3 castor bean plants--all the same, the red one-- in early June...I think....and planted the 3 in different places. One gets sun but is in caliche...it's about 10 inches now. The second I planted behind a rock that's 2 feet tall, and it doesn't get enough sun...it's 10 inches. The third I planted in sun and "okay" soil and it gets good water from a sprinkler head....and...well...it's 5 feet tall! Next year I want to plant some in great soil with full sun and water and see what happens! I've heard up to 15 feet in one year.

Thanks, Connie... :-)

Well after all that yakking I did about it, I thought I might share a picture of my citrus. Here is my 37 year old, 8 foot tall, 'out-of-control' citrus tree as it appears this morning:

Connie, I'm afraid to re-pot the Pony Tail. As you can see, it is already touching the ceiling when on that 22 inch stand. If I re-pot it, it will grow like crazy and have to become a floor plant. My dog Sarah would love that, lol.
Andy P

Hill...wow....that is one, large pot plant! And looks very healthy too!!
Sarah...you might enter that in the Book of World Records...isn't that really VERY large for a PP???

Connie, not at all. Check the PlantFiles. Now some of the ones there are VERY LARGE.
Andy P

Hill ~ your tree looks so familiar, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a grapefruit. Your DH may be right. Mine looked like that before I trimmed it up. I also pruned the tops as it was unmanageable for me to move. I think if you trim the root ball back, you will find it requires less water. This is a plant that you can visibly see when it needs water, mine takes a droop. I improvise with tools and use a drywall saw to cut the roots. As brutal as I have been with the root system, it hasn't ever seemed to hurt the trees. I just use a Wiss shear to trim the thorns. I am not sure the rose thorn nipper would be sturdy enough for these buddies! A friend who has done tree grafting tells me it is unlikely they will produce fruit as they are probably from a hybrid seed. I quit trying to move mine in but when we have a frost, I lay them down and cover them. He tells me I could actually plant them in the ground but I have not decided where. He says they will not be hurt badly in this zone. Good luck if you decide to prune.

podster--I know exactly what you are talking about when you say how the trees droop when they are needing a drink. If mine doesn't get water by midmorning every day, early that same afternoon the leaves at the top start to curl up and a little later in the day the droop is evident in the whole tree. The good thing is that it recovers quickly once it receives water.

My tree is so special to me, because of its age and the special lady who gave it to me, I wouldn't even chance putting it in the ground. I thought I almost lost it one year when I tried to overwinter it in a tiny makeshift greenhouse DH fashioned on a southern facing side porch for me in an effort not to have to drag it into the house for the winter. For many years I decorated it like a christmas tree (along with a traditional christmas tree) with lights and ornaments when it came inside for the winter. Well, that tree was NOT happy on that side porch greenhouse that winter (the temperature fluctuation was just too extreme and practically uncontrollable) and dropped all of it's leaves and played dead in protest. Apparently it preferred coming inside the house for the winter months and joining the family, lol.

Poor DH had been lugging it in and out of the house for years each winter all the while it was biting him with its thorns. (No more though--we are going to lop them off when we obtain the shear you mentioned.) We finally fashioned a small shed in the backyard several years ago with a floor heater and grow lights and we now drag it in there each year before the first frost and take it out after the last possible frost date passes the following spring. I am afraid that if I tried simply laying it down in the yard and covering it for a frost period, it might play dead again, plus I'd probably panic wondering if it was going to survive the freeze I was trying to protect it from.

Thanks for the info about the hybrid seed and how that relates to fruit production. That is good to know since this tree is definitely not a graft. All I really want are those sweet smelling citrus blooms appearing routinely for me, but, if that is not going to happen (though I wonder what went right that ONE time) then I will just have to be happy with it as a host for the Giant Swallowtail. I just love to find those cats disguised as bird poop on it, raise them to adulthood and release them. You can't beat that with a stick!! :-))

The oldest potted plant I have is my night blooming cereus. I have posted this on another thread, but a woman gave my grandmother a piece of it in the 1920's and it has continuously been in the family since them. I am the last family keeper of it. Have send pieces of it all around the USA. Just recently sent Chantall a piece of it and yesterday got a d-mail from a 15 yr. old in Fox, AR who is passionate about plants. Am sending a piece, plus several other things that I have to Fox, AR as soon as I have an address. It is wonderful that young people are still interested in growing things. Hope you are having a great summer. Stay out of the heat as much as possible. Good gardening. Liz

Wow, LC2, 1920! My mother has a Christmas cactus that was her mothers, and her grandmothers, also.... I'll probably end up with it (that's a lot of pressure), Mom turned 75 this spring! I'm so sentimental....

Liz, These plants can become monsters. How do you keep yours going? I have had two now, gave the first one away as it never bloomed. I had to try again and although it is young there is still not hint of a bud. What's the secret?
No heirloom plants to inherit here but maybe I can pass mine on and someday they will say... that was Grannies...
ConnieW ~ Did I miss it? Did you get your fern repotted. Everything go ok?

think on it:

Hill? Have you braved the citrus tree yet? I am curious if you survived the battle.... pod

Podster,...what??!! Are you crazy, LOL??!! In this heat??!! Methinks that will be a fall/cooler weather project, but thanks for asking. :-))

I did notice this morning that SOMETHING has been chewing on a few of my old tree's leaves. I couldn't find the SOMETHING(S), but I bet there is an Orange Dog or two lurking about. I have seen quite a few Giant Swallowtails passing through the yard in the past few weeks, some even around the citrus. If I can locate them, those cats will be coming in the house with me before a predator finds them. Hopefully they are still safe, just well hidden in the leaves for now. And that is a good enough reason for me to wait for cooler weather for the repotting battle to begin, too.

Kenya

Speaking of butterflies...I've seen a lot lately that are almost white...until they alight...and they they are pale, pale yellow. They are not large. What are they?

Connie, I asked DH and he said he couldn't really say without a picture, but he thinks you may be seeing the 'Cloudless Sulfur', or some type of sulfur butterfly.

Do any of these look like what you have been seeing?

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=cloudless+sulfur+butterflies

In other butterfly news, I found the SOMETHINGS that had been eating on my old citrus. I am proudly raising at least 4 Orange Dog cats (sounds like an oxymoron, eh?) in my kitchen as of this afternoon. DH said he will continue to check the tree for me for more. I am so excited! I have been waiting all summer for some. :-D

Well Kenya, I am going to show my ignorance. I love butterflys and know what cats are. I even understand the puddling they like to do and the food sources they like. Why on earth are you raising them in your kitchen? and how? Could you post a picture of the odc's?

I do understand not repotting till cooler weather. I usually do mine in the spring. It makes summer watering easier!

Doesn't everyone raise their cats in their kitchen? :-))

I guess it is just convenient for me, because that is where I spend a large part of my day. We don't have a screened in porch or a garage to put them and all my DH's bug rearing cages are 'at the office' so to speak, for use during his day job, LOL--he's an entomologist. I suppose I *could* leave them on the plant in their native habit, but I so enjoy caring for them and protecting them from predators and my kitchen is a good place for me to do so.

I posted pics in the appropriate forum. Here's a link to the thread:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/635566/

Here is another thread showing a gulf fritillary I brought in and released later:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/630641/

There will be no repotting of the citrus until all the cats are safely grown and have left home. :-)

I guess I've raised "cats" in the kitchen... 4 legs, furry tail, meow.
Truly, I find your passion fascinating. Thanks for sharing the links too. That is neat!

Hi Podster! We've raised 5 cats (and 1 dog) in the kitchen as well LOL!!

I'm just learning about cats and butterflies. I have a huge Lady Margaret passion flower vine and I've been watching the whole process (cat to butterfly) this past week. Fascinating!

Anyway, here is Jack, my 25 y/o 8' Ficus Benjamina. Jack has traveled with me from Bellaire, TX to Fernandina Beach, FL, with many moves in between. He's been a real trooper, only lost most of his leaves once. He did not like that apartment!

Was Jack psychosomatic (sp)? Did you hate that place too?

I certainly did. That apartment was the worst place I've ever lived. I guess he was feeding off of my emotions. Apparently he's pretty darn happy now!

My...the FB is fantastic! I used to always have one...but lately I haven't....
Did yo urs lose a lot of leaves when you moved? Mine always did....but then they came back...

Jack lost almost all of his leaves when I moved here - had maybe 20 - I didn't think he would make it. The main problem I have now thirps/thrips(?) - pesky little critters. Here is Diane, she's 3 y/o and 5' tall.

A 50 yr old junniper bonsai. My mom found a 20 year old misshapen junniper at the Moana Nursery in Reno about 30 years ago. They were happy to get rid of it since it wasn't selling. She took it home, shaped it into a bonsai and now I have it on my deck.

That sounds delightful... a family heirloom plant. As a bonsai how large is it and how often do you trim?

My jade plant was a 3 inch snip from a friend's plant 24 years ago. I pruned it a bit during the first 5 years or so and planted the pieces in the same pot. When it got top heavy it got a new pot, now in it's 4th or 5th pot. It lived in the house and moved with us a few times, bloomed on one branch about 3 years ago, the oldest branch I believe. We moved it out to my new greenhouse 2 or 3 years ago and it hasn't been back inside. It is so happy that now it blooms for several months all over the plant, then keeps giving me a few more bloom clusters for about half the year. I don't think we could get it out of the greenhouse now without breaking it. I water it once a month with a slightly diluted liquid fertilizer solution in the winter and usually twice a month in the summer but sometimes it just gets plain water or water from the fishtank in the greenhouse. The pot is starting to look a little bit small again, and when it needs a new one it is going to take two of us to do the repotting.

That is a magnificent jade! I have never seen one bloom so much. My stepson had a fairly large one. His sisters teased as he would put it in the shower under a light spray and flash the light switch on and off (lightening) and make crashing sounds (thunder). Said it contributed to the jade plants' well being. Yours looks most happy! pod

Mine gets a shower now and then but no lightening or sound effects unless the Lord provides them! My plant had no red in it's leaves until after it was in the greenhouse a few months. We put it out there to make room for the Christmas tree, so it got used to the brighter light gradually, and when summer came it had red on the edge of every leaf. Here is a closeup of the blooms before the plant got the red leaf edges. They look like little stars and last quite a long time.

Beautiful blooms MaryE... I have to keep repeating, no more plants pod, no more plants... : )))

Mary,

I'm so glad to see you say you water the jade only once a month! I was killing mine with watering, I think.

Connie, overwatering is the cause of death of most houseplants. Your Christmas cactus that you mentioned earlier probably needed about half as much water as you gave it. The leaves on these fleshy leafed plants can supply a lot of the water to keep the plant alive and they will get a bit wrinkly looking. Then, if the soil is dry water it. If the leaves get wrinkly when the soil is damp, don't. Long term overwatering makes the roots rot and if repotting doesn't solve the problem then the best thing you can do is take cuttings and start over. Be sure your plants have good drainage.