Hey Vladimir...I will check Mahonies and see if they have a large selection again. 4 Winds has been pretty much useless that past couple of years...Never anything I want in stock((

Mike, I went to Briggs in North Attleboro.

Good to see you back again.

Much different than over on the east coast but here in San Diego I haven't had an issue with getting citrus. Home Depot, Armstrongs and local nurseries all seem to have lots of trees. I haven't heard anything about a shortage from any of the nurseries around here.

Noticed that Lowes was low on trees a couple weeks ago.

No problems here in Ottawa Canada . First nursery we visited yesterday had cara cara, 3 or 4 types of lemons , key lime , Bearss lime , navel oranges , pineapple orange , and finally grapefruit which just happened to hop right into the trunk of my car .

Brian

Brian, you will NEVER be disappointed with a grapefruit of any kind if you like the fragrance and the ease of growing citrus! Good for you buddy! I love it. IT's amazing how people in Canada can have more access to citrus in that area AS COMPARED TO MINES..Between that and thunderstorms, I am beginning to think I am living in the wrong area..lol..Hugs buddy Beautiful and I am sure it will be very happy with you.

Vladimir, thanks my friend. It's good to be back. I too wish we had more citrus choices than we do around here. Even if Home Depot or Lowe's should carry any, they are tiny things for over 25 bucks or Monrova out of my price league. Very discouraging! God forbid any of us should see Costco sell any..

Hi Mikey you would love it here but you would really hate the winter's . The one thing about living up here is you really have to know your hockey lol. Mikey you cannot believe how many nurseries and hardware stores carry citrus around here granted a bit more expensive then what you can get them for . I payed $ 35.00 for the grapefruit which I think is not to bad considering the US and Canadian exchange rate which is about 25% . Gorgeous day here buddy wall to wall sunshine actually starting to get a little sunburn. I repotted my little grapefruit tree which had an amazing root system.

Hugs right back my friend.

Brian

Brian, I think a plant like yours would also sell for $35 - $40, here in the northeast US.

Brian, GREAT job! It looks like it's going to be a winner for you. It already looks very happy in that pot and it looks just beautiful! I'll bet it will love that lightning associated with those storms you get.lol I love the pot too! Where in the heck did you get that color pot? Seems to me everything is better up there, even the weather. It's sunny here, but my very HUGE disadvantage is living to close to this stinking cold ocean. The temps of this water is only 42 degrees. That puts me squarely the the path of these Easterly winds that make me a good 20 degrees colder than inland which also prevents warmth and thunderstorms. I am at 55 while just west of me sits 65...This is causes by the inland air heating up and with very light winds not enough to push the sea breeze out, the warmer air rises pushing the cold air underneath it. Very common for my area and just too often for my liking. The trees have been cut down all over preventing the wall that once stood to prevent that cold air from moving so far inland. I have had to give up my figs and now possibly my citrus. My growing season is getting shorter and shorter..NOw my trees only have 3 months if that to get solid temps above 55 so that gives me only 3 months of growing season...UGH..lol

Therefore, you need to come for a visit in August when the ocean is warm and my trees are going gang busters..Who care about the six pack, I'll settle on a full cooler of COLD watermelon...ha

As for the trees being available there? Not jealous at all.....lol I wonder where that tree came from originally? It's a beauty

By the way, exactly y what mix is that tree in. It looks good buddy! Did you add perlite? Lots of drainage for sure)))

Mikey Buddy don't give up I think they are calling for a nice hot summer . Mikey it's 68 degrees and the dark clouds are beginning to roll in and can you believe that there might be snow flurries here tonight with a night time low of 25 F . That east wind off the Atlantic must be horrible at this time of year I don't think I would be able to handle that cold dampness , I take it your area suffer's from lot's of fog . One day I am going to have to check out that beautiful Massachusetts coastline, I haven't been near the ocean for at least 20 yrs now and would love a nice clam bake. .

Mikey I picked up some potting mix yesterday along with the tree . I've used this mix now for a few years and have had zero problems. Mikey I picked up the pots half price last yrs stock they were getting rid of them very nice color and price $ 5.00 , hugs buddy

Vladimir nice to know that I payed a fair price . There were $ 60.00 tree's available also but didn't seem that much larger and then there was even larger tree's going for a lot $$$$ price no way .

Brian

I have not been shopping for Citrus, so don't know if there is any shortage. There is a good nursery that I know of that tends to have a large, multi-ethnic following of..., Italians, Greeks, Portuguese, Arabs, Spanish-speakers, etc. that is good for citrus (and figs) but have not made it out there this year. I have just about every Citrus that there is anyway, already (yes, it is an ADDICTION!), but never had a grapefruit (though I have a pomelo tree that I started from seed). Well, I saw that Ruby Red above and just ordered one of those, LOL! Spend the day transplanting all my Seville/Sour Oranges into bigger containers (all started from seed and the easiest Citrus from seed I have grown, and the CHEAPEST!) Every time I make a 'mojo' sauce (it's a Cuban thing), I can't just throw out the multitude of seeds, so throw them into dirt and they just GROW like crazy!

P.S., I think if I had a forecast of 25 Degrees tonight with snow flurries, I'd hang myself. We've having a barbecue now.

Around here, it is pretty standard fare to see just meyers and keys, and when they are gone, you are out of luck.

But I just checked Harris and they don't list any kumquats in stock, so now I am worried.

Brian:

I am not familiar with that particular blend of promix, but I picked up a bale of a different Promix a few years ago and it is fantastic!

Do you use the LP15 straight? I am doing my citrus in 2:1 promix:perlite right now.

Around here, a citrus that size would sell for $25-$35 at a 'nursery' and a little less at a bigbox.

What is the greenhouse attitude in Canada? How common are they?

When addicted they all look good lol it was a miracle I only walked out with one . I hope you enjoy your Ruby Red subtropix it's supposed to be a very nice variety of grapefruit.

Brian

Hi hibiscus it's the all purpose pro mix and I have used it for yrs and love it . I use it straight I don't add a thing. Not a lot of people in this part of Canada have greenhouses I think because of the costs to heat them here . I couldn't imagine a hobby as this without a Greenhouse I wouldn't be able to live with the mess these tree's make inside my home .

Brian

Brian, what Citrus are you growing and which are your favorites?

P.S., I don't have a "greenhouse" but the detached garage was converted into the

winter home of my Citrus, Oleanders, and big palms (south-facing, glass panels) It gets cold, but is frost free in a typical winter.

Hi subtropix sounds like you and I have a handful!!! . I like you have huge palm's , gigantic bird's of paradise lychee then the citrus Page , Blood Orange, Tango , Shasta Gold , Valencia, Navel , Pomelo, Minneola Tangelo, Meyer Lemon , Eureka Lemon, Key Lime , Bearss lime , Variegated Lemon , Ruby Red Grapefruit , Kishu and 2 Gold Nugget Mandarins coming in a couple of weeks and I have a fig . My 12 x 16 greenhouse is filling up very quickly . I have many duplicate's of the varieties above . I would have to say my Page and Minneola are my favorites , Shasta and Tango a very close second . I've tried grapefruit before and failed only because of overcrowding in a older Greenhouse I had . Page ripen's very well up here so sweet . Which varieties do you own and which ones are your favorite? Does your detached Garage have lot's of windows and do you use supplement lighting ? A small glimpse of inside the Greenhouse , in the center of the GH is my Tango which is flushing huge right now .

Brian

Gorgeous!!!!!

Not much supplemental lighting, just a lot of glass on the unobstructed, south side. There is actually a lot of sun in the Winter (Winters in the past seemed much cloudier!)

My largest collections are of palms and Citrus. Of the Citrus...I have:

Valencia Orange

Moro Blood Orange

Poncirrus

Washington Navel

Key Lime

Persian Lime

Meyers

Etrog/Citron

Kumquat (Meiwa)

Calamondin

Ponderosa

Seville Oranges

Eureka Lemon

Kaffir Lime

Mandarin

Ponderosa Lemon

Pomelo

Ruby Red Grapefruit (on order)

The only Citrus I can plant outside is the Poncirrus.

Figs can go into the ground though.

Favorites? The oranges and kumquats.

I'm jet lagged and although with a pounding headache, am up at 5am! Vladimir, I will check my local nurseries and report back. Last year I did hear from them that they were having problems getting citrus, so it may not be a recent problem, but perhaps worse now. Brian...LOL...isn't it funny how those trees just hop in your car??? It happens to me all the time! ;-). I "rescued" on like yours about a month ago from my local nursery along with a limequat - both were totally defoliated from improper care and shock. I did get a nice discount on them. About three weeks ago I repotted them into 5-1-1 and although the limequat did not miss a beat (it had a huge root system and was root bound - I removed the bottom inch of roots), the grapefruit had a tiny root system and is still recovering. I hope it makes it. I got home in the evening yesterday and after greeting the dogs, ran out to see my trees. The tiny grapefruit does not have any brown limbs, but has not started growing yet. Hopefully it is recovering from he shock but will like its new pot. Subtropix, you also have quite an extensive collection. I'm glad to be around other citrus crazies like me ;-)

My wife suggested, and I think she may be right, that it may be a regional issue because the nurseries around here probably get their trees from the closest sources, which would be those located in Florida.

That could be, but FW is also out of a bunch of varieties. They even removed one variety of Mediterranean lemon from their website. The ST lemon is always sold out...I'm so happy mine is growing some lemons now...I hope a few stick. Vladimir, I hate to sound like a broken record (nor do I have any stake with Harris ;-), but my baboon lemon is an absolute superstar. I hope the lemons taste good bc the tree is a champ. It lost maybe 3 leaves all winter, grew, flowered, set lemons, and is now in full bloom again. I love my Meyers, but compared to this tree, they are extremely sensitive. I don't know if the lemons will be as good though - likely not - but still good for many dishes.

Very nice setup subtropix sounds like a perfect growing environment. Very nice that the windows face south no need for a Greenhouse for you . Your situation is probably better than mine , my greenhouse is just way to humid right now . Very nice collection of everything lol , I guess the palm trees and the figs are the last to come in . How tall are your palm's ? I have a 12 ft phoenix date palm.and a sago . I hope you enjoy your new Ruby Red grapefruit. Love to see a couple of pics.

Hi Laura hope that you had a fantastic trip looks like you had fantastic weather , love your pics of the citrus on the other thread . Italians really love their lemons and blood oranges. Laura if anyone can bring those tree's back from the brink would be you very lucky tree's. Funny Laura some years every nursery around will carry citrus then another year comes and not one will have them . I'm lucky here there are always 2 nurseries that have them. So Laura what is your wish list this year ? I have 2 Gold Nugget Mandarins coming very soon very excited .

Brian

Brian, I am undecided but probably first on my list is a gold nugget. My budha's hand got chewed up by my parakeets this winter (it was tiny). It is alive, but is not looking good. I would love to get a large one of those. I have also been lusting over the Genoa lemon on FW, but don't know....all of my lemons (ponderosa, bearss, Lisbon, ST, and Meyers) are blooming and setting fruit....I probably do not need another lemon, but then again, I also don't need any more trees ;-)

Orangelime, I still have a twelve foot Queen Palm; I had two other tall ones but must have had bud rot in those polar vortex winters. No use crying over it, I got FOUR more much smaller ones. They grow pretty fast and are a heck of a lot easier to lug around than those in plastic garbage cans. I have maybe 5 large Sagos and a few other cycads (cold hardier ones like Dioon and Coontie).

I have two large Canary Palms (started from seed) and a a few large Butia/Pindo Palms (they grow very fast despite a slow reputation which I don't quite understand).

P.S., Love those terra-cotta pots from Italy but hate how fast clay dries out, and in a DRY climate like Italy no less.

I went to the nursery that I have usually bought citrus and they had one left that was sort of on display. I did not ask when they would get more. They received a huge order over the winter though - all from Record Buck farms. I have to say that the trees I have gotten from RB are all great. Many are rooted cuttings, but a few of the grafted ones that are tall are absolute superstars. When you factor in the shipping costs of FW, they turn out about the same if not a bit less even for the grafted trees. However, they do not have the selection - even the blood orange I got from them was labeled only "blood orange" so I will have to wait till I have fruit to decipher which one.

Hi Laura I totally agree with you , the Record Buck grapefruit I bought was extremely healthy and it had a great root system . I almost bought that day a grafted pineapple orange tree so close but it was the price that made me decline.

Subtropix what an amazing collection of palm's your place must look beautiful in the summer with all those palms . Love the pindo and Canary palm's . You will have to share a couple of pics with us thx.

Brian

My new lemon tree is from record buck farm and it has been just amazing. It didnt show any signs of shock from being shipped and has done nothing but grow and flower! I am so happy that I ordered it. It was on sale too, $23 for the tree and $15 for shipping. There was even some warmers in the box to keep the tree warm! I am waiting a little bit but I want to get a ponderosa lemon from them. I order them through amazon and if they ever went with the prime shipping I would own one of everything they sell haha!

I had no idea they shipped through Amazon! I went to my local Home Depot today and found a big shipment of citrus...,small but healthy. They only had key limes, Meyers, and a few navel oranges. I bought a key lime but gave it to my uncle. It was so very tempting!

I have been keeping my eye out for citrus in Indiana but haven't found any yet. If I did, I would probably get one of everything I found! haha!

Yeah the seller is Hirt's but the everyone in the comments (mostly) got their trees from Record Buck Farms in Florida. Some of the people got a tree from someplace in California, but they live closer to California then Florida.

Hey Orangelime I'm also an Ottawa boy. Very impressed with that greenhouse setup. I bought my girlfriend a Meyer lemon for Christmas from a nursery in Kitchener (where I live now but moving back home soon) and it's already producing lemons despite being just about a foot or 2 high. Just curious where you buy your stuff in Ottawa because I can imagine this won't be my last citrus purchase. Also, did you have that greenhouse custom built or is it from a supplier?

Thanks!

Andrew

Hi Andrew nice to hear from a fellow gardener from Ottawa . Andrew the greenhouse was from a supplier from British Columbia we did choose to have a double door . Andrew there are a few places that carry citrus on occasion 2 places in Gatineau across the river Emery and Botanix then in Ottawa Rona usually carry citrus and Richmond nursery normally have them . Alot of times in the spring the large hardware stores with garden center's have citrus . Andrew just be careful citrus collecting is very addictive lol , see what i mean my bursting greenhouse.

my lychee finally has fruit growing All the tree's really need to come out for a wash I am hoping that the weather will break soon .

Brian

There is obviously a shortage of citrus here in Massachusetts and it looks like the local garden centers/nurseries are having a tough time getting them.

I went to a local garden center (Russell's) and they had no citrus and the buyer said she did not know when they would be getting them. I called another place (Weston's) and they said they had none and were expecting a shipment of only limes and lemons next week from one of the Carolinas.

Brain - just amazing , i have to get a greenhouse/solarium this year . Took all my plants out . As for garden center availibility , here in Toronto the common varieties are available mostly from record buck farms .

No shortage here in CA, but definitely none of the variety you all seem to get! I go to a local nursery as well as some of the chain stores, and they all carry the same kind: Meyer, Bearrs, Navel orange, Rangpur, Mexican lime, kumquats, and some mandarin types. I have never seen Calamondin or variegated lemons, or lemonade or any of those!

All we get in Massachusetts, when there are any to be had, is Meyer lemon, calamondin, Persian lime (sometimes), key lime and one or two others.

Brian, have been wanting to ask you about that huge palm tree. Is it a date palm? Your trees are beautiful!

Hi Sunshine the palm is a phoenix roebellinii date palm I hope I spelled that right . I've had it 15 yrs it's really gorgeous but a slow growing palm.

Brian

Sunshine I was able to find a pic.

Brian

Thanks Brian! you have magical garden (greenhouse) :)