Newborn poncirus help

20 years ago

This is an almost-a-citrus and also a very-newbie question, so I ask your indulgence. I have a baby poncirus sprout sitting in a ziploc bag of dirt on my table right now, and very little idea what to do next. I'm not sure what variety I've got because I, er, *cough* borrowed some fruits from the zoo (the elephants voiced no objections) and they've got various different trees in the same area. This fruit came from a small, contorted, curved-thorned tree growing almost in the shadow of a full-sized straight-thorned trifoliate orange. So I guess it will either be a flying dragon, or not. :) As long as it stays small enough to keep in a pot on the balcony for a couple of years while I dream of someday having a yard, I don't mind either way. (It's actually thanks to this forum that I figured out what those trees were when a friend and I saw them there last year, and that I've been slowly growing more convinced that I absolutely must have one.)

This little sprout (and it has a friend on the way) is getting close to being too tall for the baggie. It keeps wanting to touch the sides. It's hard to say how many leaves it has; they're pretty small and haven't really unfurled yet, but there's a little puff of baby foliage at the top of the stem. When is it ready to come out of the bag, and where should it go? I've found some threads on germinating, and some on raising the seedlings, but I need some help stepping over that line. Seems like I'll need to put it in a small pot, and I can pop a baggie over the top for humidity, but I'm not sure what sort of dirt it would like at this stage of tininess, and at what point I should start fertilizing.

All I have in the apartment right now are potting soil and Miracle-Gro for the house/balcony plants, so I am a clean slate for advice on what to purchase (hopefully in smaller quantities, proportional to the size of the plant and my small chance of success). I will sterilize a small pot and await your wisdom.

- Lali

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Comments (3)

birdsnblooms
20 years ago
Hi Lali,
Plain Miracle-Gro might be too heavy, especially for a seedling.
I use black soil, sand, Perlite and Peat. I know you can buy small bags of Perlite, but I don't know about sand and peat. I buy 40 and 50 lb bags of these mediums, but w/over 400 plants I'm always repotting or adding fresh soil. (S)

You'll need a small pot, say 4", to begin with..Don't keep the soil soggy, let dry between waterings, but not to the extent the plant dies. Good luck, Toni
lalibellule
Original Author
20 years ago
Wow, perhaps someday I'll have the space, funds, and experience for 1/8 of your plant menagerie, Toni. That is amazing.
I'm about to throw some ~4" clay pots in the oven, so I should be set as far as that goes. (Terra cotta, helping prevent overwatering since... last spring when I got them.) I'll need to hit some more stores to locate perlite, the only way I've seen it so far is with MG already in it (that scares me). I'll check for peat in smaller quantities as well.
I guess it will just get its nutrients from the organic matter at first? I'm not sure at what point it's going to need more. Should I mix some controlled-release in now, or make some extra-dilute MG and wait for a certain size/number of leaves? I'm also thinking of adding some chamomile tea, which I've seen recommended to prevent damping-off so I'm assuming it wouldn't be harmful.
I can tell this plant will occupy me through the winter while everything else is napping.

- Lali
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birdsnblooms
20 years ago
Hi Lali,
Wow you are dedicated, baking your pots..LOL. I love my plants, but I just wash containers out w/soap and water..then again, my citrus are in plastic tree pots so they can't be baked..
I've never seen peat in small packages, but it goes by state. Each state/city differs. I hope you find it.
Everyone here feeds differently. Because I'm in z5, I give a last feeding of Osmocote and spray foliage w/Fish Emulsion in Oct. Then I don't start feeding until spring or when I see new growth spurts..But Lali, you're in z7, so you can probably get away w/feeding later than I.
If your tree seems like it's dormant, then withhold fertilizer..
If you're careful watering, you should be able to get away w/the soil you have your tree planted in..You don't want the soil to stay wet..it needs to dry between waterings. I also notice soils differ. I've bought MG soil that was heavy, and also found some that was light weight containing a lot of peat. If your soil contains peat, then all you have to worry about is something for drainage like the Perlite and/or sand.
Some of my citrus grow in winter while others go dormant..I don't understand it since they're in the same type of soil, same light..lol..
Good luck w/your tree..Toni