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kvetchlambkin

Trees from Stan McKenzie arrived!

8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

Hi everyone! A few people wanted to see the trees I purchased from Stan when I finally received them in the mail. They shipped out June 1 and arrived June 4 with priority shipping (super quick!).

You can tell he's experienced because all 3 fit in one skinny tall box and came out with no broken limbs and leaves except the leaves from my unpacking. Soil in each pot was intact and felt cool to the touch but not overly damp or overly dry.

Page, Ponkan, Okitsu Wase (left to right):
^Graft on the Okitsu is pretty high up. These are the first grafted trees I've ever purchased. I don't know if that high graft line is a good or bad thing.

He said the Ponkan is grafted to a trifoliate hybrid but no other details about which hybrid. The graft on that one looked just right. Lower than the Okitsu but not too close to the soil line.

^Page trunk, maybe I'm too inexperienced but I don't know where the graft line is. He said it was grafted onto trifoliate.

^Also noticed this on one of the Page branches. Scratched at it but didn't come off. The aged bark attached to that branch is also that dark gray color so I thought maybe it got dirty over time and wasn't washed off. I'll have to try washing it tomorrow when I have time. One possibly negative thing I noticed on the Page was the trunk leaning to the side. I pushed the trunk to the opposite side to look at the roots and saw they don't radiate out. It looked like the roots were laying on its side towards the right like a person's legs if someone was laying on a couch. I'll know more about its root system when I bare root it.

All the canopies are all scrunched upwards from being wrapped up by newspapers so I don't have any good photos of what they look like yet. I put them outdoors under shade and will take more photos after they unfurl themselves.

I forgot to measure the height from the soil line but each tree is more than 1 foot tall. At least 1.5 feet each or a maximum of 2 feet tall. Overall the leaves all look a very healthy green with no signs of mottling/nutrient deficiency. Not much pest damage except a few leaf tips nibbled but I didn't have time to give them thorough inspections yet. The Ponkan's top leaves are from a recent flush from the color and size of them too!

Even though these are the first mail order trees I've purchased, I can tell from the complete initial lack of issues that he is probably one of the very few people sending you more quality and value than you'd expect from his prices! I realize this probably sounds like I advertise for him lol. But I'm pretty shocked to find very few problems with the trees especially since I'm a huge Scrooge and would normally choose the less expensive option.

Comments (28)

  • 8 years ago

    Beautiful kvetch! I am so happy for you!

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Amy (montreal, canada)
  • 8 years ago

    That is great! All the trees I have from Stan are doing beautifully. I’m sure yours will do wonderfully also.

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Laura LaRosa (7b)
  • 8 years ago

    Thank you Amy! I'm glad I waited long enough to make an order with Stan.

    Thank you Laura! I'm glad to hear your trees from him are doing wonderfully. I can't wait to watch mine grow after I up pot them!

  • 8 years ago

    Can you post the contact info for this seller?

  • kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Alanna Migliacci
  • 8 years ago

    Congratulations on your trees Kvet!! They look beautiful and healthy!

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Kelley_GA8a
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Kelley - Thanks! I just hope the cooler weather ends so they can start growing

    Jenny - Thanks! :D my cats kept sniffing around and one even tried crawling into the narrow box. The trees still must've smelled like Stan's greenhouse farm! I'll be sure to post updates on them

  • 8 years ago

    Thanks for the photos and notes.

    I do not see Page listed on Stan's site, so I guess it's one you have to call to ask about, like NZL?

    I'm wondering if the grey might be due to some insect damage. Haven't seen it on my citrus, but I think I've seen it elsewhere.

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked hibiscus909
  • 8 years ago

    Sry for replying so late hibiscus! I did ask Stan about other varieties I was interested in that wasn't listed on his site. It didn't sound like he had many of them so that's probably why they weren't listed. I tried scratching the grey and it was moist green underneath so it's become part of the bark. I'm guessing it's insect damage or possibly even winter damage? For now it doesn't seem to be affecting the tree in any way other than visually

  • 8 years ago

    I contacted Stan recently, looking for something very hardy, evidently he had such a bad winter that for the first time much of his trifoliate for grafting that was left outside bit the bullet, he said its the first time it ever happened to him

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked bklyn citrus (zone 7B)
  • 8 years ago

    I'm so sorry Brooklyn! I stopped going on gardenweb around the time you posted because of my sisters wedding so I finally saw your comment today. When I had contacted him about his trees in May, that's what he told me too. A lot of his newly grafted trees didn't make it over the winter, he didn't seem to have that many satsumas either which are hardier too! Did you end up finding anything you wanted from Stan?

    I also wanted to update the trees with photos to keep record of them with this discussion. The Espoma perlite I got had particles that were too small for my liking so I couldn't repot/up-pot all of them.

    ^Page still in original container & mix. New growth above the branch with super large leaves.

    ^Okitsu Wase satsuma still in original container & mix. Pushing the most new growth out of all three.

    ^Ponkan bare rooted & up potted to 10" white container some weeks ago. Wasn't root bound but figured it'll be cooler in the larger white pot and it really is! Towards the late afternoon, the soil in the Page pot was 88F while the Ponkan soil was 84.

    ^Ponkan, photo taken yesterday. Finally pushing new growth!

    I spray them down with the garden hose every few days because there seems to be spider mites in the yard on my vegetables. Other than that they're all doing really well and look healthy. The Ponkan was the only one I bare rooted so far and I'm here to report that it had a healthy looking fanned out root system.

  • 8 years ago

    Kvet, they look great!! I’m still waiting on a NZL from him. Hopefully he’ll have a few ready by the end of the year.

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Kelley_GA8a
  • 8 years ago

    Looking good,

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked bklyn citrus (zone 7B)
  • 8 years ago

    Thanks Brooklyn!

    Thanks Kelley! I hope you end up getting one from him. It's a relief to purchase a tree knowing it will be healthy and won't come with any problems!

  • 8 years ago

    Nice looking trees, Kvetch! Good new growth, the more leaves, the better!

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked sunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I haven't been on in awhile so here's another update on my McKenzie trees! And also the Meyer lemon living on in the last cutting.

    ^Page 9/21/18 still in the original container & mix...I'm horribly lazy. New growth and the white dots at the ends of the new growth are also blooms! :) I checked them today and the flower buds are now pea sized yay!!

    ^Okitsu Wase 9/27/18 I went out to take pics of this tree bc I completely forgot to take photos of this one! I probably overlooked the Okitsu because it doesn't have any new growth like the others.

    ^Ponkan 9/21/18 Pushing out new growth but no flower buds like the Page. The main leader was finally staked a few days ago.

    ^Meyer Lemon cutting that the original mother is living through, also taken on 9/21/18. The Meyer really does like to grow out as a bush! It continues to try making new branches from other nodes instead of choosing one branch to lengthen and grow.

    I'll continue to post updates of these trees on this thread. I love seeing threads started years prior just to see how much they've grown since the first photo.

  • 7 years ago

    They look amazing, so much new growth, Kvetch! Thanks for the updates! My Meyer lemon dropped 90% of it's leaves after I brought it indoors.

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked sunshine (zone 6a, Ontario,Canada)
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Mine kind of did that last year too! But not 90% like yours. I think that amount of leaf loss would give me a heart attack

    Last year, before I brought the mother Meyer indoors, I actually repotted it while I had it half transitioned it to outdoor shade and I think that made it easier to fully move it indoors later. It was already taking a break to settle into the new container mix and focus on the roots so I didn’t lose too much. I may do that again for my Page & Okitsu since they haven’t been up potted yet. If I do that, I’ll make sure to let you know if it works again :)

  • 7 years ago

    Stan is the man!, last year i bought a pomegrante and an owari satsuma. They came in fantastic shape. But now my owari is having issues and its most likey from over watering it. But he sells top notch products

  • 7 years ago

    Nice trees. I visited Stan a few months ago and was VERY impressed with him. He's a super nice guy and really knowledgeable. I'm planning another shopping spree there come spring.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Hi everyone! So sorry for not updating in such a long time! I haven’t forgotten the wonderful community and people here though :) I’m going to try to jump back into the forum thing if I can somehow juggle my time and energy!


    ^Okitsu Wase 5/3/19: Was kept in a northern facing window with a porch right outside blocking all direct sunlight and very cool temps of 50ish. It kept the majority of its leaves. I left it outside on the northside of the house when night temps began regularly hitting 45F. I put it in full sun on the southside a month or so after that. I fertilized it a bit late albeit with Dr. Earth 555, Espoma PalmTone, and a bit of Osmocote Plus for the micronutrients. I also had some rabbit poop mixed with rabbit food hay that I half mixed into the soil surface. No signs of pests yet and I hope it stays that way!



    ^Ponkan 5/3/19: Same exact conditions, transitioining, fertilizer as the Okitsu Wase above. One difference is that while trying to train one of the branches during winter, I accidentally broke it and had to cut it off. So it’s a bit shorter and less full looking but it still kept most of its leaves overwinter. It is now beginning to flush new leaves!




    ^Page 10/13/18, 11/3/18: it began declining after I bare rooted and root pruned it. I discovered the Page had black roots underneath bark that peeled off easily. The tree also had very thin, hair-like roots in some spots that were black. Some roots were thick and healthy but began to fade into that grey/black color. Checking the symptoms on this site (http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/C107/m107bptrunkrootdis.html) it seemed to be Dry Root Rot. Main cause of this condition isn’t well known but seems to be caused when infected by Fusarium solani. My other trees don’t seem to have this fungal disease yet but it’s something to watch for the next time you inspect your tree’s roots. The Page didn’t make it past December. I’m a bit sad, I was really excited to try the reputated Page flavor.


    ^Meyer 5/3/19, 5/13/19: Overwintered in a west facing window receiving direct sunlight for the latter half of a winter’s day. It was in a warmer room around 60-65F and contracted spider mites from another plant I had brought in. Small enough to wash its leaves right under the tub faucet. I used the strong water pressure of the tub faucet to blast them off. Repeated 3-4 times over the course of two weeks and they were mostly gone. I transitioned it the same way together with the Okitsu/Ponkan except I took it out later when nights were 50F. It flushed many buds while on the northside. It is now on the southside and the bud cluster all bloomed around the same time! It’s gorgeous! I’ve given it the same fertilizers as the Okitsu and Ponkan. Still no signs of any major spider mite infestation on it anymore

    My plants might be a bit slow and behind everyone else’s plants but I loved how easy it was to care for them this winter! I hope everyone had a successful winter with their trees :)

  • 7 years ago

    Kvetch, slow or not you did a great job. Live and learn right? Eventually you begin to understand what they like in winter. I am at the stage where if I can keep them alive until I can put them out again, I'm fine with a few dead branches, falling leaves and a few pest problems.

    Thank god I don't get the falling leaves or pests, but boy do mines grow slow until I can pit them out, and even now. I don't get the warm sunny days like a few here get in fact 40's and 30's for the east few days again. I can not even get a couple of 70 degree days until about June at this rate. Just cold and drizzly and cloudy. Stinks. Mines are just waiting for the summer since they can't grow in the spring anymore(

    So, good job! Thank you for updating us)

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
  • 7 years ago

    last year I brought them out around may 1, this year around April 15th, not doing that again, no losses but pretty much just sitting, thank god I use 5-1-1 with the constant rain, Next year May 7th it may be wet but its warmer also.........they coming in before October too

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked bklyn citrus (zone 7B)
  • 7 years ago

    bklyn citrus I definitely agree! I’d rather they sit inside and do nothing where I can see them

    Thank you so much Mike for your encouragement! I’m glad there’s someone who feels the same way about it :) I really hope you get some decent weather this year. I’ll be crossing my fingers for you!

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I put my Grafted Meiwa kumquat out March 15th and the rest of my citrus (4 seed grown Meiwa, 2 grafted NZL, and 1 grafted fukushu kumquat) outside April 3rd and I was glad to get them out of my house.

    Steve

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked poncirusguy6b452xx
  • 7 years ago

    I am sorry about your Page Kvetch. It’s so disappointing to see one of our belove tree die. I also lost a couple of trees last fall and I agree with Mike. We must live and lean everyday! I already take some notes for next fall to avoid the same situation.

    Don’t worry about your other trees. Spring is coming and they will do wonderful outdoor!

    kvetchlambkin (nyc 7b) thanked Amy (montreal, canada)
  • 7 years ago

    Hahha thank you Steve for sharing! They are so cold hardy!


    Thank you for your encouragement too Amy :) I‘m grateful my other three are hale and hearty so I’ll just have to do the same and take notes on what worked for me. I will be moving in with my boyfriend this year and downsizing on space so one less tree might end up working out lol!

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