[Grover Sativa]

Originally Posted by St. Phatty

Would it be OK to let the bare-roots get snowed on & maybe be hit by temps in the low 20's ?

They'll be fine. If there is a hard frost then cover the roots with something as it can cause cracks. Fruit tree roots survive the winter every year (in the ground, obviously.) Some fruit trees NEED cold periods in order to 'rest' and produce good fruit the next year. This is called 'chill time' and every type of fruit has a different amount. Stone fruit, in particular, need this, as do apples and pears, etc... also grape roots - this is why people plant the vine outside the greenhouse and then train it in through a hole. The fruits get protected but the roots get a good chill period in the winter.

NTW - I am a fruit farmer! I have hundreds of apricots and thousands of cherries. I used to look after a vineyard, too.

Good Luck

[Grover Sativa]

Originally Posted by zachrockbadenof

i have a question about lemon and lime trees... i have em in pots, outside in may, brought into a greenhouse room in oct - they grow like crazy... BUT... both r at least 10years old, and never have a had a flower...NEVER... so its now mid feb, should it be pruned back a bit and when to fertilize...

i bought a meyer lemon tree last spring from qvc (don't laugh) , and it had blooms on it, and i got 12 nice size lemons in dec n jan...

thanks

lemons and limes should flower for 3/4 of the year (including all winter)
There should almost always be both flowers and fruits on your tree.

A non-producing fruit tree is a depressing waste of time and energy - just think of all the fruit you COULD HAVE GROWN if you had something that actually produces fruit instead of those trees for the last 10 years.

There should be no sentimentality with fruit trees. (As a farmer a non producing fruit tree costs me money to look after and gives nothing back. It's also a loss of potential earnings.) If they aren't producing get rid and plant a new one that may actually work. Choose more carefully. Home gardeners are often shocked when I rip out a shit tree a plant a good one for them instead but in 2 or 3 years, once established, they have a tree full of fruit instead of a bare tree and are thanking me for doing it...

My lime tree is an amazing producer - even here in the UK. It is in a greenhouse all the time and it is heated from October to March.

My other lime tree has produced 1 fruit in 3 years and my lemon maybe 5.

The non producers have already been dug up and promised to friends - I only want the producer. I have tried maybe 150 cuttings from her but never got one to root. I will keep trying - air layering may be the way to go.

A proper producing fruit tree is a gift from God! I had an apricot on a south wall that produced 1000 fruit a year. Such a joy but in the end it was just too big for where it was and I had to cut it down. It still saddens me now! So many apricots for so many years, though...

[TychoMonolyth]

Originally Posted by Grover Sativa

lemons and limes should flower for 3/4 of the year (including all winter)
There should almost always be both flowers and fruits on your tree.

A non-producing fruit tree is a depressing waste of time and energy - just think of all the fruit you COULD HAVE GROWN if you had something that actually produces fruit instead of those trees for the last 10 years.

There should be no sentimentality with fruit trees. (As a farmer a non producing fruit tree costs me money to look after and gives nothing back. It's also a loss of potential earnings.) If they aren't producing get rid and plant a new one that may actually work. Choose more carefully. Home gardeners are often shocked when I rip out a shit tree a plant a good one for them instead but in 2 or 3 years, once established, they have a tree full of fruit instead of a bare tree and are thanking me for doing it...

My lime tree is an amazing producer - even here in the UK. It is in a greenhouse all the time and it is heated from October to March.

My other lime tree has produced 1 fruit in 3 years and my lemon maybe 5.

The non producers have already been dug up and promised to friends - I only want the producer. I have tried maybe 150 cuttings from her but never got one to root. I will keep trying - air layering may be the way to go.

A proper producing fruit tree is a gift from God! I had an apricot on a south wall that produced 1000 fruit a year. Such a joy but in the end it was just too big for where it was and I had to cut it down. It still saddens me now! So many apricots for so many years, though...

Why not splice a dozen branches onto a non-producer? My old man had 5 different types of apples growing on one tree.

[St. Phatty]

I have a plum tree where the root stock has taken over.

Some people are telling me to cut the root stock branches off.

BUT I was going to cut a few, dip them in Rootone, and try and Root them.

THEN try and graft parts of other trees onto them.


One other note about Plum Trees - THE THORNS.

Sh-t !!! Mucho de Thorns.

I was thinking that kind of plum tree - it's a Brooks - might be a good base for one of my elevated chicken coops.

They're designed so that some of the parts fall off if anything heavy climbs on them.

Not that I want to dump a raccoon skunk possum onto a big patch of thorns. A bobcat though ? Yeah a bobcat can get the thorn treatment.

[midwestkid]

I got carried away one summer and ordered a bunch of tiny fruit trees. Like over 50 maybe?
Spent my whole vacation digging holes...
Only a few survived.
My take away was to spend the money to purchase 5 bigger trees instead of 50 tiny ones.
5 holes not 50.
But I was younger and sillier. Live and learn.
Also at the time - the videos I watched said not to Amend the holes because the roots would just stick around there in the premium soil, rather than go searching for nutrients and spreading. I feel that video may have mislead me.
I definitely feel like I'd do things differently next time.
One year I harvested fruit from a persimmon tree, then cold stratified them in a bag of compost. Germinated them with my cannabis seeds that spring and they popped up.
I am a bow hunter. Deer love persimmons. Grow persimmons = deer bait.
Those are my fruit tree stories...
Mmhmmm (slingblade voice)

[Grover Sativa]

Originally Posted by TychoMonolyth

Why not splice a dozen branches onto a none producer? My old man had 5 different types of apples growing on one tree.

I will eventually try grafting some budstock or a shoot onto something but my grafting skills are basic! I can do it and know I should practice more.

Good shout!

[TychoMonolyth]

Originally Posted by Grover Sativa

I will eventually try grafting some budstock or a shoot onto something but my grafting skills are basic! I can do it and know I should practice more.

Good shout!

lol. I know eh? They make it look so easy.
Cut, cut, slice, insert, wrap. Done.

[Grover Sativa]

Originally Posted by TychoMonolyth

lol. I know eh? They make it look so easy.
Cut, cut, slice, insert, wrap. Done.

Hehe! So true! They do it so quick, too.
That’s it then - I am giving it a go this spring. It’s time to dig out the wax and paintbrush!
I will let you know how I get on.... ????

[TychoMonolyth]

Originally Posted by Grover Sativa

Hehe! So true! They do it so quick, too.
That’s it then - I am giving it a go this spring. It’s time to dig out the wax and paintbrush!
I will let you know how I get on.... ????

YouTube University! It's the best.

[Sunshineinabag]

Good ole willow water is a good thing to have under your belt sorta speak as well. Somebody needs to do something.....I'd love to try real bananas other then cavendish