My concern for the long term is one growing faster than the other, although I suppose you could always prune the fast grower. I would not keep them together long term because I would not want to be pruning.

I am not as concerned about the time of year when repotting as are some people, although I do try to do it in the spring, if possible. But if it looks as though waiting 'till spring would be detrimental to the plant, then I would do it now. How intertwined are the roots now? If you wait until spring, they will be more intertwined and the chances of success will be diminished.

separate them now. They will lose some roots but don't trim the foliage. In winter the extra foliage per roots will not pull hard enough on the compromised roots to cause a problem. Keep both trees in shade for a couple of days with only electric lighting.

6b Steve

I agree with Steve.

Ok. I guess I'll attemp that when I disinfect my trees on Wednesday. Here are pics...

Mine are together and doing fine, they are the same size.

Nancy, how long have you had them?

Since March, they are doing ok, I don't know about long term though

Yours look larger than mine.

Yeah, that's what worries me...

Laura, I wanted you to know, that I ordered a baboon lemon yesterday from Harris. How long did your order take to make it to you? Sorry not trying to hi jack your thread!

I don't mind hijacking! They send them very quickly and I think you will love it! Can you post a pic when you get it? Mine has grown a lot. It has stopped now that it is inside, it has not grown, but has also not dropped any lemons or leaves. The flowers are huge and fragrant!

I hope they are here by Friday.....will post a picture soon as they arrive.

I have a question for you, I have holes in the leaves of my ponderosa, I don't see any bugs what do you think might be happening?

May be slugs if holes are relatively large.

Nancy, I have no idea. Vladimir may be right. When did the holes appear? Why don't you post a pic? I have also seen cucumber beetles on my trees occasionally. Although they are supposed to eat leaves, I've never seen damage from them. Oh, and please post a pic when you get it! It is a fast grower!

Earwigs???

I will post pictures this evening.

Laura, I was in the same predicament a few weeks ago..In fact, I almost bought one of those until I saw three different trees within the same pot..I always thought that a 'Cocktail Tree' was one tree with different trees grafted into one....I was disappointed actually so I left it there...I figured it was no different than buying three separate trees at that time..Are 'Cocktail Trees' suppose to be different grafted trees into one?

Cocktail trees are many varieties grafted to on trunk. Receiving 3 trees on each of their own roots is not a bargain unless there is no price difference from that of a single tree.

6b Steve

Mike, these two are not grafted, just planted right next to each other in the same pot.

These pots are labeled "cocktail" trees by Record Buck, but are really just a Meyer lemon and limequat planted in the same pot - what a dumb idea!

Laura EXACTLY what I thought when I had one in my hand..I was quite shocked it was not as Steve describes at all..If it were one tree with different kinds of fruit on it, I would of bought one in a heart beat...In fact, where can one find something like that? Do they xist like they do with apple trees? 4 different varieties on one tree..How nice that would be!

You have to go to a real citrus grafter of reputable business. There may be a reason if these professionals don't graft those types of trees.

6b Steve

Hi Laura I have one of those as you know. I separated them this summer and it was unpleasant, they were really grown together so there had to be some ripping to get them apart. Your will probably be a chore but probably best to do it now before it is too late.

I will post pics of mine in the morning. They are still rebounding from say August I think?

I remember Hobby. I absolutely dread it. I helped my friend separate another two this summer and one did not make it. They were incredibly bound and one came say with very few roots. It looks so pretty now...ugh. I will see what I can manage tomorrow.

Thank you Steve.

Sorry Laura I forgot to take pics, will do as soon as I get home today. Did you tackle it yet?

Root should be separated as slowly as needed, under continuous stream of water. Both tree will be fine then.

IMO it is false and maybe unethical to call 2 or 3 trees in the same pot a "cocktail tree". I also think it is foolish; but that is another issue.

It's super shady John and truly a brutal idea... just a marketing scheme. I got suckered though, I think my trees will recover but it is taking a long time that's for sure.

eSilviu, yes that approach is ideal but I tried my hardest to get mine apart and and some point I just hd to cut or rip... the roots were too entangled to gently tease apart. Hopefully Laura has more luck!

John, you are totally right - unethical and a terrible idea! Hobby, I did spray down my trees (I'll post pics in a new post), but did not have the time, energy, or heart to tackle it yet. It feels terrible now that the little trees are bouncing back from their neglect to shock them again like that. I am not decided on doing it now or waiting till spring. Both trees are quite large now and have been like that for quite a while...it's not like I just got them. Their first owner left them like that for probably a year.

Yep probably a good idea. That's not going to be fun that's for sure. I even did the soak the rootball in a bucket of water method and my root ball was quite small and it was still tough. Here are my separated trees, the limequat and the Meyer. Both are still in recovery big time. I think they will make it though. I added more details in http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4292463/how-are-your-trees-doing-at-cool-and-warm-temps-indoors?n=22

It's a joke..Sheesh, all we have to do is save pot space and throw in two or three trees into one pot of a different species and call it a cocktail tree? Makes no sense..I am glad someone brought this up...If I ordered one from the net or a nursery and got three or four trees in one pot, it would bother me quite a bit and the extra money to get one too..Then to think of what tree would claim pot space over the others and crowd the others out, probably your favorite would die while the one you least like would take over root space..

I consider my self very lucky. I was only interested in figs kumquats and sweet lemons. You will never find those combined in one pot.

6b Steve

Beautiful Chris!!! That's quite a nice one!

People plant up to 4 trees in the same hole in ground on purpose. I don't know if it's ok in pots though.

backyard orchard is what you want to google

Thanks Pip. I'll look it up!

I have the exact same one. I bare-rooted them and gently pulled the roots apart after a good soaking and while keeping a mister on hand to keep the roots moist. What a horrible way to pot plants that are capable of growing into large trees. The two varieties are supposed to be grafted on a rootstock and share a root system. This is just laziness by Record Buck Farms. The two trees look great now and they're both recovering well. Both of them were flowering and starting to set fruit when I separated them so they had to come off. You don't want to consume anything from a plant that has had an ISD treatment for at least 3 years anyway since the insecticide persists in the plant tissues and flowers pollinated by insects can cause havoc (ex. colony collapse syndrome). Get rid of the "soil" it comes with and put it in a 60:40 sand:peat moss soil. You'll have to make it yourself but you can grow anything in it. It's extremely cheap and easy to mix.

Pip if you are still around, this is your NZL in my yard completing its 4 year in ground.Picked 80 lemons over a 2 year period.

.Steve

I'm not a fan of using a 60/40 sand/peat mix. Many better ways to lighten up a medium than using that much sand.