Lemons

Hi Pete,

I'm in North Oxfordshire.

Regards

Ademission

 

Yeah I did spot that I eventually

 

I remember reading somewhere that if a citrus seed produces multiple plants, some of them will actually be clones of mother, grown from outer part of pip. Therefore they are likely to fruit since they would be commercial varieties. So maybe you'll get lucky! I cheat and have bought plants. I have Eureka lemon, kumquat and caviar lime which last year fruited brilliantly. The little blobs floated up and down in the G and T!

 

Hello Carolinel,

It's looking more and more likely that I should purchase known types from a garden centre. How big are the plants that are fruiting and are they kept in a greenhouse all year? Are the fruits full size?

Regards

Ademission

 

I've only just acquired Eureka this year, but my Morrisons lemon did have ok fruit size the year before last - I had terrible Tortrix moth last year. It's 5 foot tall with its pot. The caviar lime is a bush less than 1m but produced plenty of fruit though they are only couple inches long full of little citrussy balls - very different.

 

I bought from Morrisons as well, the plants are as good as you get at garden centres and at less than half the price.

@CarolineL , have you found a use for Kumquats?
I had a few but cant say as I was over impressed.

I might try an orange if I see a decent one at a decent price, I have a Seville orange but its not really edible.

 

@pete I have made a lovely kumquat cake using ground almonds as flour and boiled up kumquats that you liquidise - but that was bought ones, a long time ago! I enjoy the scent from the kumquat flowers so I'm not bothered if they don't set too well. This year my plain leaved one (I also have a variegated one) has flowered its head off - I think nipping off the tortrix damaged buds at the end of last year gave it the pruning it needed.

Seville orange? Grow it and make your own marmalade!

 

Making half a jar hardy seems worth it.

 

They do that in a Mojito too

 

I've been potting my new acquisitions from the weekend plant fair.....a sweet lime and a variegated lemon. The old, €5 Lidl lemon finally pegged out, so a good opportunity to add to the collection Do you find that the variegated citrus need a more shady spot than the plain leaved, @CarolineL?

 

Hi @noisette47 not really. They are both in a just about frost free greenhouse, which, since I'm in Wales, doesn't need much shade
Although the variegated one is not looking as variegated as it used to - no reverted shoots just less white on the leaves.

 

Thanks The sun is noticeably fiercer here than it used to be, and a couple of the leaves burnt to a crisp, but maybe the plant was in a protected environment before I got it. I'll acclimatise it gradually to a sunny spot

 

I am really pleased with my peach tree this year as the late frosts usually get the all the fruit . must not have had the frosts as this year the tree is ladened with 50 plus peach.
They are supermarket size and dropping off now . They are semi ripe but on some the stoned hasn't formed properly They have a split stone and a half inch green grub /caterpillar it seams to have not affected the fruit or perhaps I've been lucky.
Their are still approximately another 50 peaches left . With some of these I plan to chop the fruit up to freeze. I then plan to use it in brandied peach deserts and jam.but later on when it cools down.

I am wondering what the grub is ,if its anything to do with some leaves having peach curl . The leaves turn red curl up and are brittle.they then turn black and drop off.
Maybe their is something to use that will prevent this ? Any suggestions please ?????

 

Peach leaf curl makes the leaves thick,they grow distorted and often turn pink.
Often leaf rolling aphids are mistaken for peach leaf curl, the leaves then roll backwards and if you unroll them the green aphids are inside.
The affected leaves often turn red but they never become thick.

I'm not sure what the maggots are in the fruit but a Google could probably give some advice.
I'd thin out any damaged fruit and just keep the good ones.

My neglected tree has also got lots of peaches this year, I must go and find it and see how it's doing.

 

Yes Pete check it out and let me know , it's odd last year we decided it was no good in the open area surrounded by fields so we said we would chop it down,
It must have heard and decided it would fruit with vengeance.