The tree looks good overall and I would agree that it needs more light. I am giving my grafted Fukushu kumquat 6 hours of lamp light starting at sunset. I has proven quit valuable. The tree is growing 3/4 inch per day at present time.

C35-Fukushu-Node53 · More Info

C35-Fukushu-Node53 · More Info

Steve

C35-Fukushu-Node53

was it an accident or you wanted to break that citrus

The citrus was broken intentionally to encourage the new grafted bud to grow. While the tree rejects the main trunk because of its damage, the rootstock top still produces food for the tree. The grafted bud is positioned and given extra light so the roots put it energy into the new bud/branch instead of the damaged broken top. The tree will discard the old top when it is done with it. Most people will cut the old top off after the bud gets a good amount of growth. I am not though.

Steve

poncirusguy,

Thank you very very much. I am learning. Best wishes.

Steve, bud53 is grown in to a beautiful young tree :)

Hi Matt, are you sure you know how to use the gritty mix to its full potential?

What did you use for ingredients and how do you know how often to water? It's a trick and it takes time. I have never got the knack for it to this day, so I play it safe and use the 5.1.1 instead. I must say going from a bagged mix to gritty can be very different.

I used screened 1/4" reptibark, screened turface, and screened chicken grit.
It's taken some getting used to. When I'm in doubt, I stick a skewer in for 15 seconds and test it with my lip.
Seems my plants only need watering about once a week or once every 2 weeks.
I killed a lemon seedling by leaving it out when we got rained on for a few days straight. It rotted the roots. So I learned you can still over water.
My other identical seedling survived and gets watered bi-weekly and is doing well.

So, getting the hang of it I suppose. All my plants seem happy in it since putting them in it about 3 months ago

This tree looks the same as it did a month ago, with just 4 good leaves. but I just noticed what looks like the start of flower buds at the tips of some of the branches.
Should I pinch these off? I'm afraid any energy not spent to growing more leaves is going to kill it.

Matt, if you are taking good care of it and not overwatering, give it time to come back. I remember once I waited for 2.5 months for a lemon tree to leaf out. Give it lots of light, not scorching sun, warm roots and it will leaf out.

My sweetlee tangerine tree was killed in the winter of 15/16. I came up from the roots 6 inches under july 2017 taking 1.5 year to recover. Wait

Should I leave the flower buds be? Thats really my main concern now, I'd hate for it to waste valuable energy on flowers as a 'last hurrah' if it could instead be diverted to leaf growth.

Matt, I know what you are thinking and feeling right now about that tree :)) post a picture of the tree with flower buds, let's see how many of them are showing up.

Show us your container as well.

Here is what Oscar Tintori one of the worlds foremost container growers says about terracotta pots for citrus growing.

"The choice of pot, whether plastic or terracotta, is obviously up to the individual. Bear in mind, however, that a plastic pot although more practical, may cause the soil to heat up more in the hot weather and get colder in winter. A terracotta pot on the other hand, will enhance the beauty of the plant, is more resistant to temperature change and will allow the soil to transpire more efficiently."

Silica, I am not against terracotta pots, l like them, as long as they have lots of holes in the bottom.

Silica - Terracotta will get colder in winter than a plastic pot because a terracotta pot transpires resulting in evaporative cooling while a plastic pot does not transpire at all.

Sunshine, my Oscar Tintori post had nothing to do with you. People on this forum seem to have negative positions concerning terracotta. I, as you, like growing in terracotta, Personally, I have never had any problems with terracotta. Going to Tintori's web site one can see all of Oscar's trees and the lovely terracotta container s they are in. Few in this world have more knowledge and success with container citrus than Tintori.

Vladimir, cold should never be a problem with container citrus unless you leave your trees outside during the winter season. A home or greenhouse should be plenty warm for a container---- plastic, terracotta, or wood. Anyway, I was only pointing out what Oscar Tintori had written in his book.

Silica, although terracotta are colder than plastic pots, I am not convinced it matters much when it comes to growing citrus.

Here's the 2 main stems with buds, theres a few tiny branches with some at the end but not as many or the size of these.

Looks Ok, now wait and don't make wrong moves:)) meaning disturbing roots, overwatering or underwatering. Giving it an adequate light will make it to leaf out, you can remove the flower buds. Do you have fertilizer in the growing mix?

big thorns on a little twig?

I fertilize with foliage pro, 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.
I'll thoroughly drench the soil in my shower with a spray head, and then after it's sat for about 30 minutes and drained, I'll water again with the fertilizer.

Seems to be working OK for all my plants so far.

Up the feed to 1 teaspoon per gallon.

More than 1/4 is needed, more like tablespoon or more, just as Steve say's for the active growing season...1/4 is a good amount for the winter when growth slows unless you have them under lots of strong lights though...)