We planted our first lemon and orange plants last year about this time. Our lemon only made 3 fruits to maturity (they are not yet ready to pick.........which I think is a little late, isn't it?) You can see it in the picture below.
But now this container plant has TONS of flowers on it and some small fruit growing already!!!!!!!!
What am I to do? It's too heavy to bring inside!!!!!!!!!!
The fruits on my lemon and tangerine trees begin maturing in late November. They ripen thru December into January. Ripe citrus can be "stored" on the tree for up to 6 weeks, and tends to sweeten a bit as it remains there. The fruit can withstand light freezes but a prolonged hard freeze will coarsen the texture and decrease the juice. I've been harvesting from the trees for seven years now, and have just planted a kumquat. The kumquat grove in the San Antonio Botanical Garden (about 12 trees) were crammed with both fruits and blossoms on Dec. 24 last year (and oh! the fragrance!)
My trees usually start the next season's bloom in early March. The crops this year will be lighter than usual because I was late in finishing the harvest - into February - and thus caused a deline in the number of blossoms. My lemon tree sometimes does blossom lightly about now, altho not this year. You're right on schedule, and can look forward to bountiful and carefree production for quite a few years. Yuska
Here's the tag end of last year's crop. I froze a lot of juice and supplied the neighbors generously prior to this. The tangerine is now so tall I have to wait for the top fruit to fall.
Just re-read your post, and realized I should point out my trees are planted inground, not containers. Tangerines and kumquats can tolerate lower temps than other citrus types, as can the
Meyer lemon which is believed to have either tangerine or mandarin orange in its heritage. The first year I had the lemon tree, I did wrap with old quilts during freezes, but the trees are simply on their own since. If your containers are too heavy to move, consider wrapping them with heavy cloth. If you use a plastic sheeting to keep out moisture, be sure that the plastic does not touch any part of the plant, as the contact will move the freezing temp right in where it will do damage.
This message was edited Oct 28, 2006 6:25 PM
Yes, mine are Meyer too. Last year I did wrap, I knew the leaves which touched the wrapping would suffer, but I figured those would be pruned out in spring.
So will these flowers produce fruit even in the winter, if I cover and don't let the cover touch the fruit ??????
If bees have access to the flowers, the tree will continue to set fruit, even in winter. You could try several things to help your lemon tree to survive without much damage:
1) Several layers of old blankets or towels can be wrapped around the container only and left on during the winter months. Another blanket can then be tossed over the tree itself when frost is predicted and removed on warm days. The advanatage of using fabric instead of plastic is that you don't contact burn with fabric. The downside of using fabric is the loss of insulation when it gets wet or when there is a prolonged freeze, the tree doesn't get any sunlight.
2) Use the method recommended by Neil Sperry with some modifications. Erect a temporary greenhouse large enough to encase the tree and pot without touching any leaves. If you make it large enough, you can use the frame for several years. The frame is made of 1" X 2" s — easier than using 2" X 4"s. Using screws instead of nails allows you to break the frame down for storage. Staple plastic over the top. Cut the plastic long enough to cover all four sides but staple only three of the four sides to the frame. Use velcro, with the adhesive backing, on the top and side of the forth side. This allows you to open the side for ventilation. For added warmth, wrap the tree in small Christmas lights. You can also use a small flood light making sure it is not too close to anything flamable. Fill dark colored containers with water and place inside the greenhouse.
Quite possibly they can, if they are pollinated by insects (usually bees or small wasps) during a period of warmer weather while the trees are uncovered. Not all of the fruits mature, especially where several form in a cluster. Don't worry if you see a few of the tiny globes turn yellow and fall off; it seems to be the tree's way of thinning itself down to a comfortable load.
You can also wrap with corregated paper and cover that with plastic sheeting to fend off rain or heavy dew. If frosts are predicted close together it's okay to leave the wrapping in place for a few days but I try to allow the plants natural exposure to light/air as often as possible.
We thought of the small greenhouse idea, and hunted around for one. I thought I would make one out of pvc pipe, and if necessary it's easy to increase its size with pvc pipe joints. Only question is where and what type of plastic to use?????? Where to buy, etc?
I'm in 8b, our freezes aren't bad and we only get a few per year, so is it really necessary to wrap the entire POT????? It's a very large, cauldron-looking pot (about 20 across at its widest), I'll post a picture tomorrow. Thanks for all the help!
In the summer when I pruned off a limb, I placed in a pot to grow a lemon tree indoors. It's doing well. It would be nice to have that aromatic tree in my dining room. Doing great in full afternoon soon next to the window.
Betty Dee and I are in 8b also. Several years ago here we experienced three nights in a row when the temp hit 19 degrees and stayed there for several hours. I didn't wrap the tangerine ( too large) and the outer 10 or so inches of the branches were killed. Looked awful, cut production and took the tree two years to recover. I don't think a containerized tree would have survived. It's a gamble - severe freezes have happened in milder climates than ours.
Here's my pot. So if I make that little greenhouse around it, do I still need to wrap the pot itself?
I would still wrap it. Terra cotta doesn't have good protection against cold temperatures. The three citrus I had growing in terra cotta all died this year. You have a very nice looking pot, but it's not the best kind of pot for a citrus tree. Citrus don't like wet feet. I think a pot shaped like that would have problems getting rid of extra water. It would also restrict the movement of air through the soil . The best pots for cirtus have a larger diameter at the top.
As Yuska has, I've also discovered that it may take years for a citrus tree to recover from any sress that results in major leaf loss. Back in San Jose, CA, I left a variegated Eureka lemon in my husband's care while I attended a conference. I returned a week later to find a nude water-starved tree. It took about 3 years for it to produce normal sized leaves in near normal quantities. Last November, I returned from a trip to the west coast just hours before an early hard frost was due to arrive. I put as many plants as I could into the greenhouse, starting with the smallest pots and working my way up. None of my citrus trees made it into the greenhouse that night, but I did move them right next to the southern side of the greenhouse. The next day I made room in the greenhouse for them and moved all 6 - 30" fiberglass pots and 3 - 18" terra cotta pots in. Every single leaf fell off those trees. The 3 growing in terra cotta pots died. The other 6 had some new leaves and branches by mid-May (They usually flower and set fruit in early February.). Then they were repeatedly attacked by hordes of grasshoppers who ate all the new growth and started chewing on the bark. I have 1 orange tree that survived the grasshopper attacks and is putting out new growth and 1 Rangapor lime with 5 green stalks (no new leaves yet) that refuses to die. I lost the other 4 for a total of 7dead almost 2 survivors.
After looking at your photo of the potted lemon, I think it's best chance of suviving winter would be indoors or in the garage. Having said that, since you are going to remove the plastic every spring fo store the frame, use the thickest plastic you can find in rolls and cover the greenhouse with several layers to improve the insulation quality. My son has improved his temporary greenhouse by putting a layer of large bubble wrap between an unner and outter layer of plastic.
Thanks! I appreciate all that info. I will have to decide which way to go, but I WILL protect the potted citrus.
I think the ones in the ground (I have 3 small oranges in the ground and 1 in a pot just like the lemon's in the picture above) are more protected, by virtue of the fact that the roots are in the ground. Is that right? I would think I still need to protect the leaves.
Mulch the root system to a depth of ~ 4", but don't let any of the mulch come into contact with the trunk. As Yuska pointed out, in our zone the temperatures can get low enough to kill even those in the ground. The portable greenhouse was meant for citrus planted in the ground. The safest way to go would be to cover those in the ground as well. You may find these two websites helpful.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/citrus/citrus.html
http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/crops/citrus.shtml
