Ben, your newly transplated plants look good. What size did you plant them in? Toni

Ben:

As always BEAUTIFUL!!!!
ItÂs always a pleasure looking at you trees.
By chance could you get a close-up of your calamondin?
IÂm interested in how big the fruits get when mature. TIA Gina

Thank you so much for your lavish praise Gina.
The cal on the picture is still a baby grown from seed but I have others that are grafted and have fruits.
And here they are:

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And another one:

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Gina:
On the right is Joe RealÂs calalmondin He gave that to me while it was still about 6 feet tall. Now it is over 12 feet and growing.
BTW on the left is a Page mandarin.

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Toni:
I am not sure what pot size I planted them. I think the cal and kishu were planted on a 5 gallon pot and the Daisy on 7 gallon. And thanks for the compliment.

Thank you Ben:

ThatÂs just what I wanted to see. I purchased one over
the summer it was in a one gallon pot, I transferred it
into a 5 gallon and the thing took off with lots of blooms
and fruit which is now the size of a quarter, but they
seem to be round like oranges and yours look more like
tangerines. Will the shape change over time? I have got
to find my camera. Gina

Ben, I watch your picture everytime when I open this site and admire your talent. Anjou

Gina:
Ordinary calamondin matured fruit are the size of a quarter and maybe much less but mine are an exception to the rule.And that's why I bought them because I was attracted to the size of their fruit. Yes I've seen the shape may vary like a tangerine or an orange depending what country they originated (I think).
Hey, Anjou I like your comment very very much but talent? What talent? But thanks so much!
Benny

Ben:
If you share you fruits as you so unselfishly share your knowledge.....
You must be the most popular guy in your neighborhood. Gina

WOW! As always, amazing - the scent of your yard must be HEAVENLY! Ooooh, bottle some up & send it to Maryland. I have a few open flowers on my meyer lemon on the deck and I can smell them as soon as I get past the door........yum!!!

You guys (and dolls) are awesome. You make me feel good. Just for that here's some more of my citrus past.

Page mandarin

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A Satsuma

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Another Satsuma

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Dancy mandarin

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I just want to plop myself down in your yard and start peeling satsumas : ) Beautiful and delicious!
Karyn

Karyn:
I love your comment. You can do that anytime! And thanks!

Gina:
Actually noone knows in my neighborhood I am a 'nut' about citrus.
Well my next door neighbor sometimes ask for sugar or salt and some lemons and that's it. And sometimes I gave them some of my Fuji apples.
Another neighbor gave me lots of doughnuts and bread almost every week and in return I gave them apples and lemons.

Steph:

OK Maryland, here's a bottle of calamondin flowers scents addressed to Steph.

Oh, thanks a lot you nice people. You make my day for today.
Thanks for the nice comments.

Benny

Ben, once again your trees are amazing..that one mandarin is loaded w/fruit. Do you pluck fruit or wait until they drop on their own?
Do your trees go dormant in winter? If so, which months?

Toni:
I know that you don't praise very often and your above praise is much felt. And so of the others of course.
Thank you.
Normally if I have many fruits on the tree I usually get one once a week until the taste convinced me it is sweet. If it is sweet enough, then I start harvesting them and put them on the table. But if I only have one or three of them on the tree, my experience tells me to wait till they dropped. But usually I touch the fruit and wiggle them a bit. If they hesitate to let go, I leave them alone for another week. And try it again.
I once was had a Chandler pommelo that was so big and pretty and very yellow that I thought I was sure it was ripe annd ready to eat. But when I cut and taste the fruit it was so tart and uneatable. Since then, I waited till they dropped from the tree to play safe.
Some say that you lose some juices if you wait that long but I don't care. I still eat them with my heart's content.
At least they are sweet.

Toni:
To me 'going dormant' is a relative term. Some trees lose their leaves, some trees specially citrus stop growing.
But mine still growing new buds and some even flowers during winter. So I really don't know. But some just stay green and not putting out new buds. But maybe because they have fruits on their belly that's why.
So I don't know. Maybe because they are protected in their loose greenhouse if you call it that with open sides but their soil and leaves are warmed by Christmas lights during the nights' cold. I put them on a timer which they come on from 2 am till sunrise when the temps deepened to lower 40's or higher 30's (sometimes).
I could have set the timer much earlier but due to the cost, I minimize the setting.

Ben,

The picture of the page mandarin shows it in a pot...but it's pretty tall, has it rooted through the bottom into the ground? If still in the pot, what size pot, and is it a dwarf or regular size?

jc

JC:
My page is planted in an oak whiskey barrel. I think it is 25 gallon. I've seen plants planted in half whiskey barrel twice as big as mine, the trunk and the height. I don't know if it reaches bottom yet it is too heavy to move or to carry. When I checked the sides the roots has not reached the sides yet so I am still OK. It is also dwarf.
I have a standard Daisy citrus tree that is higher than her yet the trunk is 1/4 the size. I also just transferred her to the whiskey barrel perhaps 1 1/2 years ago.

Ben, I've complimented your citrus before..mabye you don't remember..but I honestly think your trees are the best I've ever seen. And fruits exceptional. I can't say how they taste, but they sure look yummy..(S) Your other plants look great, too, like bananas, etc.
As for dormancy, I should say citrus slow down in growth in winter..at least they do here in IL..I can't speak for warmer states like Ca and Fl. But like your trees, mine also flower and continue fruitng during winter, so they're not totally dormant..Another reason I say citrus are semi-dormant is because of lack of sun. Last winter was really bad, and I can't afford to set up too many lights, especailly w/the new electric prices going up..U know?

BTW, what is a Daisy citrus? What type of fruit? Do you have a pic of that treee? Why do they call it a daisy tree?

Anyway, please don't think I don't like your trees. Okay? LOL Toni

Toni:
Daisy is a type of mandarin which I don't know much about. I took fancy because it was one of the forum member's favorites and when I saw one at Home Depot with full of fruits and 5'8" tall for $20 I could not resist.
Anyway yesterday I look at my citrus as I've been neglecting them for so long now I was surprised how they looked. Here's some pictures and more will follow.
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Here's some more pics of my citrus:
{{gwi:622555}}From L to R
Kinnow, Kishu , Sanguinelli

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front row from L to R
Trovita orange Yosemite gold, Mel gold, Washingto navel
At the front front is a lemon grass
Back row:
Calamondin, cara-cara, guava

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Washingtn navel

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Chandler pommelo

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Satsuma

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One and only fruit of my kishu mandarin

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Sanguinelli blood orange

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Kinnow mandarin

Ben your trees look great as always! What do you use as a potting medium?

John

John:
I don't have a definite kind of potting medium
I use whatever is available on hand.
I mix orchids mix, pine bark, or red tree bark,vermiculite, course sand,garden soil, steer manure, if I have osmocote I threw that in, CHC and others. As long as I know that the water easily drains fast I am happy with it. Don't worry if you are missing 2 or 3 ingredients.
It is the maintenance that makes my plants thrive.
For the moment I am using miracid fertilizer. I added STEM and epsom salt once every 3 months or so. Depending on the season.
Perhaps right now, I am going to be easy on fertilizer because winter is coming. So just play it by ear. Your hunch is usually right. Your citrus don't ask much. Just well drained soil, plenty of sunshine and fertilize just once in a while.
I think the most troubling to most beginners are they used to worry a lot about their citrus. As a result they overwater a lot. I think the best way to take care of them is semi-neglect them. they will let you know whe they want something like if they are thirsty their leaves wilt but don't let it go beyond this. Water once you see the top soil is dry. If they need fertilizer their leaves starts to turn a bit yellow. And so forth. My trees usually tell me so I correct them.
I sAVED ALL THE INFORMATION i GATHERED HERE AND REVIEW THEM ONCE IN A WHILE.
After a while you got them memorized.

Toni:
HereÂs my Daisy mandarin

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fruits

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Toni:
I looked it up and hereÂs what I found:

The fruit:

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Origin
California, USA: a hybrid mandarin recently developed by the US Department of Agriculture. It is a cross between Fortune clementine and Fremont mandarin. Imported into Australian quarantine 1991 and first released to selected nurserymen in 1995.
Type
Early to mid season maturity, seedy.
Market
Fresh, domestic. Very different in appearance to Imperial mandarin and would enter the market several weeks after the beginning of Imperial season. May have export potential due to highly coloured skin, good eating qualities and an extended marketing period from on-tree storage. Daisy juice is also highly palatable with a complex flavour.
Internal quality
Very good flavour with little rag and a sugar:acid ratio which has received favourable comments from preliminary taste testing. Acid levels do not decline significantly as the fruit ages on the tree. This helps to maintain flavour over a long period. The internal characteristics can be explained by the parentage of Daisy. Fremont (clementine x Ponkan mandarin) is an early, sweet mandarin. Fortune (clementine x Dancy mandarin), is a very late, high acid mandarin type and the blending of these two have produced an early/mid season, good quality mandarin. Seed number ranges from 15-20 per fruit. Segments separate easily.
External quality
Fruit is medium to large (6-8cm in diameter), round with smooth skin. Skin thickness is 4mm and is not difficult to remove. Skin colour is red-orange and almost 'glossy' in appearance. Fruit will hang on the tree for a long period without an obvious deterioration in external appearance. Internal quality begins to deteriorate by mid August in the Sunraysia region.

Ben, I wanted to ask, how do you water your citrus? Do you do so w/a hose or water each indivudally? I don't think you guys get enough rain to keep them watered, right?
And thanks for the info..Sounds like quite a few seeds in the fruit, or is this about average? Thanks, Toni

I water my plants with a hose. I water my plants full blast if I see them in the morning with top of soil dried up leaves and all. That should take care of the aphids clinging to new buds.
And if I take my fancy only when i think about it, I have a wine whiskey barrel filled it with water check pH add battery acid if needed adjust to pH6.5, add 1 packet of miracid, mix them with a paddle and hose them to my plants.
I bought me a self primimg pump at Sears that can be attach to a water hose I use this to pump water to my plants. Been doing this for 3 years now.
I think this is my secret and not the type of soil I am using because I have different kinds of mixes and the result is the same.

I thought I'd upload this pic. It is the same tree as my first pic here.

Look what I did to my roof just so the banana can grow. It is growing like crazy ever since I transferred it to the ground.

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I'm feeling sorry for my container orange tree and have decided to take it out of the pot it's been living in for the last five (5) years and put it into the ground. What time of year is the best time to do the transplanting?

HAVE YOU EVER seen a 63 year old GREEN grandma?? That is green with envy..
The Satsuma tree, wow!
I am salavating as I write. Can I grow them from cuttings?
What is the specific kind of satsuma is yours?...
How old are they before they bear their first fruit.

I LOVE FLORIDA. I know there is nothing wrong with Apples, pears, plums, and cherries. The common trees of my home states gardens. (WASHINGTON)
BUT THERE IS NOTHING SO SCRUMPTOUS AS TROPICAL AND CITRUS FRUITs.
I am having so much fun here. I cant seem to get enough gardening fruits, and I love to eat them too.

What are the chances of getting a cutting from your wonderful tree...opps I guess I should ask if they would grow from a cutting?
I have been told some citrus will grow from cuttings and some won't.
I have been looking for one for a year now ...the few I found were out of my price range.(above $30.) If I am out of line in asking please forgive me.