Jenny, This tree will definitely need to be kept in check with regular pruning. It has a large crossed branch that I will prune off next season.

That's one happy bee! Oddly enough this year, I only saw a few bumble bees (they liked my hosta blooms) and I don't even think I saw any honey bees at all - including when my milkweed was blooming. The milkweed was covered with honey bees last year when it bloomed and gave me a bunch of seed pods that I collected. This year, nada. I'm thinking it may have had to do with the protracted spring and low temps we had this year, followed by weeks of rain. :-\

jenny where did you get the keraji?

Bklyn, I got the Keraji from BriteLeaf Nursery. I pre-ordered (reserved ) it back in March .

Jenny, I let the native milkweed grow in my yard and most years we have a lot of honey bees and bumbles covering them. Do you grow the milkweed from seed?

thanks , I should have read up earlier was just scanning, I sent them an inquiry, not listed on website but who knows, if it survives an 8 zone i could eventually try to make a home for it especially if grafted to trifoliate here in 7B with protection

PT adds 5 degrees F cold hardiness, 10 F to sensitive for me to grow in my area of -5F

jinnylea - I bought a 1 gallon swamp milkweed plant last year, had to repot it multiple times (it's now in an 18" pot), overwintered it and it came back (plus I collected seed pods from last year although some had started to bust and released a few seeds, and those landed in nearby pots and resulted in a few new plants...lol). I actually bought some seeds earlier this month for a bunch of different kinds including the common & tropical. I know some will have to be cold-stratified so will need to work out how I'll handle that (i.e., whether to winter sow or just do the refrigerator method). Everything I have here has to be in a pot because it is a rental. I have a monarch chrysalis that will be eclosing in the next couple days (it's been 12 days and I'm starting to see some dark spots and wing definition) so am juggling all sorts of things here...lol

As an update - here is my NZL (entry) freshly potted in a 10" yesterday in a modified 5:1:1 -

(the sprig of reddish new growth to its right is from my ST)

Here are my other new FW plants - premium Thai (Kaffir) Lime (left) & Thorny Key Lime (right) -

I haven't repotted them yet but got some 12" pots for them.

My variegated pink lemon has a bunch of bare branches but is now sprouting along them and has a bunch of bloom buds -

And some obligatory OT pics - first plumeria blooms (back set on 8/23/18 and front set this morning (8/27/18) -

And a hummer to top it all off!

Nice looking plants. Best of wishes for a great NZL. Being an environmentalist I am glad that your Hummer is a humming bird and not an H2.

Steve

NZL grafted to Seville sour orange.

Steve

Jenny, you and I LOVE the same plant..lol I just planted 6 MilK Weeds since I love the fragrance and the butterflies they attract! You have such a way of growing nice things and even Plumeria which I can never grow.

Did a butterfly actually lay that in a potted one? Amazing!

Mike

Sun has set below the west hill and trees so my plant goes under a lamp that shines on the grafted growth the most. The lamp shines till midnight and comes on at 6 AM. When the sun rises high enough the tree will go into an east window

Steve

Brite leaf put the Keraji back online after I inquired its available and I ordered one, I also inquired as to their standard rootstock and they use Rubidoux and/or US 852......I didn't inquire if they'd sell a US 852 but they might.....

Wow, some very nice citrus in this thread! I cannot believe that August is almost gone. I just fixed a major irrigation issue so many of my trees will be looking better as they get rehydrated. Here are a few pics taken today in Danville CA.

Smith Red (on Carrizo) with a dwarf MexLime in front:

South Cocktail on Carrizo:

Santa Teresa Lemon on Volk:

Redblush Grapefruit - finally sweet and ready to juice!

LOL @ Steve - no APVs (or APV-wannabes) around here. Just tiny, very territorial and skittish dive-bombing birdies. :-D Glad to see your NZL graft doing well and hope you keep us updated on it!

Mike - Yup, I think we like many of the same plants. It makes it hard to choose due to the space constraints - i.e., this is what I'm working with outside -

And yup - this monarch laid eggs on my (2nd year) potted milkweed -

and I found a 4th instar cat on a leaf which is the one that is currently in my Kritter Keeper as a chrysalis -

molewacker - am curious whether your in-ground ST has extra large leaves (compared to your other citrus) or whether some of us are getting the large leaves on our STs due to sun amount and/or rootstock and/or as an artifact of being potted?

As a fruit update, my oldest Eureka lemon looks like this this morning (slowly turning yellow and has gotten softer and somewhat squeezable now) -

Anyone have an idea of how Eurekas hold on the tree (i.e., whether it's better to pick at the above stage or let it go and it "gets better")? I have another smaller one on the tree that is still hard to the touch. The tree finally aborted the cluster of 4 and a cluster of 2. This tree had been purchased from FW in 2016 as a "choice" (which were supposedly 2-year olds) so the grafted tree is 4 this year (I believe it is grafted on Cuban Shaddock - i.e., no trifoliate leaves but huge lemon-like leaves + huge thorns on rootstock shoots).

Jenny, GEEZ, I can't believe that. Now you have me looking for dried out pods and I am getting set to plant a few seeds myself. I can't believe that they even flowered in a pot for you. That gives me hope. Do you bury the pots for winter? How do you over winter them? Wouldn't it be nice if you could put a see through dome over that area and make it into a greenhouse for winter? Wow, very nice.

Jenny, FUNNY you should say that the morning glory vines are growing all over your trees, mines too.LOL. I have to rip them off almost every day and yet I don't want to destroy them since they look so nice climbing the fence.

Where did you get that Australian Lime? Now, I need one too. lol

Jenny - Where did you get your Australian Red (Center/Blood) Lime from? It is beautiful and very interesting.

Nice healthy looking plants everyone. I love seeing all the photos.

Oh my guy's beautiful August pics !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jenny your caterpillars are much more beautiful there lol . There has been so many Monarch butterfly's this year but I haven't seen the caterpillar. Jenny love that you wrapped your fruit it really does work well . Always Jenny your tree's are outstanding !!!!!!!! . Love all the varieties you have .

Jinnylea oh how I love your greenhouse very jealous!!!!! You have so much space in there to work with and how I love to look at your in ground citrus tree's . Jinnylea your doing such a fantastic job with your tree's lovely .

Molewacker all I can say is beautiful , what a yard you have !!!!!

Brian

Mike - the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) which is what I have right now, is hardy to Zone 3, so no need to protect the pot or anything. The only thing that I have found with it (and have read about it) is that since the milkweeds are summer bloomers, they tend to resprout from the base later in spring, so you think they are dead but they are just slow to come up (mine didn't start sprouting from the base until about the 1st week of May). The common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) which is something I want to try too next year, is also hardy to Zone 3/4. It's the tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) that is the tender one, only hardy to about Zone 8/9 and that would have to be something to either overwinter inside or just start seeds and replant every year.

And to Mike & ladylotus - I got that Australian red center lime from Logee's! It wasn't cheap though! Bought it last July (2017). They are currently backordered. I credit Laura and Vladimir who got them in 2016. The one thing I found with it despite its small size was that it did flower this winter and early spring and gave me a bunch of fruits so far, so at least they were selling fruiting plants. "Fruiting" in terms of (I expect) you not fertilizing them as much as your regular citrus and growing them in "the understory" (not full sun). Mine is sitting near the NNW side of the patio so it gets some sun in late morning and early afternoon and that's pretty much it.

Took another pic of it yesterday (and have had to battle the morning glories that want to engulf it...lol). It is actually in an 8" pot up on a stand -

These were some flowers on it back in June -

It's a pretty plant but the thorns are very long! It grows like a finger lime (which is one of its parents) but the fruit looks more like a lime/lemon except small in size with thin skin. I think my fruit will be done soon. Am curious if the skin will actually turn red.

Brian - Thanks! But I will always defer to your amazing trees. They are something to strive for! And in that case, I know patience is the key. :-D

Jenny, I have milkweed growing. I planted it last year and it came back well this year - even bigger. I think it’s swamp milkweek. I also think it’s native. My daughter and I have been collecting all the caterpillars we find because when they get big, the birds eat them. We have two big butterfly habitats full of them - 20+. We have five in the chrysalis stage and released two monarchs today and one yesterday!

Thanks a lot, Laura,you turning me in a butterfly,that,s different.

Lol Bob! Actually my daughter named him ;)

Laura - I can only handle one cat a time! I got so much else (hobbies) going on. At least you have a little helper! :-D Looks like the one she is holding is a female. That's great that she is keeping a scientific diary of them (me too - out of habit after being a scientist for so long... but just as a text file...lol). My chrysalis has started darkening and the butterfly may eclose by tomorrow (today is 14 days since it became a chrysalis). I remember being not much older than her bringing home an eastern tent caterpillar and raising it in a bug collector until it spun its cocoon and hatched into a moth. lol

Lol Jenny. Those cats are a handful...they eat so much!! Every morning I have to bring in fresh milkweed and make sure there are no eggs. If I find an egg, that cutting goes in a separate area. We have so many eggs that it’s hard to find a branch! By the wa guys...my plants have lots of seed pods...I can send some to anybody interested in growing milkweed.

Laura, you really have that much? I would love a few seed pods. I don't think I'll find enough of them around here. In fact, don't laugh, but I have been driving around looking to see if I can find some. I found two near my golf course which I am waiting for ripening,.This time around I am going to make some potted ones. How in the world do you even begin to hatch butterflies? That's incredible. Kuddos to your daughter!! Is there a tutorial on how do even start? Love that butterfly she is holding. How beautiful! I know I have the potential to attract many because I have a couple of ponds and have seen a couple in my back yard without the milk weed. Beautiful and tell your daughter please she is one of a kind for doing such an amazing thing.

Jenny, those dam morning glories! I just cut them back two days ago and now they are all over my ponderosa again.lol I am getting one of those limes now that you told me. I had no idea they had them. I go there so frequently that it never occurred to me to even get one. A member here even offered to get me one. I love your trees by the way and all your plants! Thanks for that info on milk weed. I have always like them since I was a kid. Here I am today some 45 years later and I still love them.I would like to try the tropical ones. Great idea. If you would like a brugmansia let me know. I have a spare, you too Laura.

Mike

Here ya go guys - just hatched a little over 30 minutes ago (1:15 pm ET) -

Have been taking some pics and videos of my ONE "newborn". lol

These are examples of some milkweed sprouts that came up recently after a few seeds from last year landed there and eventually germinated -

Will probably dig them up and put them in a catch pot with some other seedlings that had sprouted in a my other pots. lol

Laura - last year I was panicking because I had been treating the milkweed with insecticidal soap due to those damn orange oleander aphids so I had to carefully select sprouts that I knew I hadn't treated and then make sure I rinsed well regardless. This year I was so far able to nip them in the bud very early (I think having the excessive rain helped plus I make sure to really spray the milkweed down with the hose when I water), so I had enough "food" for my one.

Mike - with those morning glories, when they get to blooming I never get chance to get back to them to snap off the seedpods and by the time I do, of course it's too late and pods have split and spread seeds everywhere. Ah well... They are pretty but they grow fast! Also regarding that lime - I hope they have some in the nursery (seems they are out of stock online). They are neat plants!

Well - I went to look at my Eureka and check the coloration on the other side of the oldest lemon and off it fell into my hand! So I guess it's done. LOL

Not even gonna cut it open yet. Just have to stare at it for awhile. It's a culmination of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and $$$$$)! hee hee

My Meiwa kumquat fell off my tree today. It was about as orange as you fruit above. It tasted good. I think the flavor will improve when the tree gets much larger.

Steve

Steve - do you have any others on the tree or was that the only one? Glad it at least had a good taste!!! I think that is the goal for most if not all of us! :-D

Jenny

I have about 30 and I have eaten 3 so far. The tree is developing a graft line rejection due to incompatibility. It will be dead within 2 years at most. I however got 4 seed grown Meiwa trees of which 3 have flowered and one has set 2 fruits. Yesterday I made graft Meiwa to C35 and US897 rootstocks.

Steve

Thanks for that update Steve! Hoping your other seedlings will also give you some early fruit and do keep us updated on those latest grafts - especially the US897 one.

Congratulations Jenny. Sorry to hijacked the thread guys. They’re sort of related as monarchs come to my citrus blooms for a drink ;). Mike, email or PM me and I’ll send you seeds.

This is all of my citrus collection, really too much but has to live with. Cara Cara naval fruits are actually larger than a grapefruit, these guys are just friggin big. I now have three trees started, all from that Walmart five dollar reject table

My wife hide-out

My shortened L/N starting new growth. It was shortened to about 2 feet from 4+.For me it is a good start, hopefully it growth into a nice bushy tree by next summer.

Great collection guys! Bob, very impressive!!!

Bob, I am with Laura. Great looking trees. good work! They look so nice scattered about. You could take a nice walk in between them and pretend you are in an orchard. Here's the thing. I'll bet your wife loves sitting near that Brugmansia at evening...Nice

Laura, thank you and I will. ))

Laura i like yours better, you give your tree's more TLC!!!!

I got to ask all members just one question: What is your ultimate requirement as what your tree's should look like and how many fruits should you expect when your tree produce at age. Mine should be about 5 feet tall and produces about 25 minimum. Is this wishful thinking?

Some members already has a few.

Bob, that would be perfect for me. Unfortunately, my tangelo is a monster, but the others should be able to be tamed that way ;)

Bob At 5 ft tall and 4 ft dia. you should get a minimum of 50 oranges a year, 2000 Meiwa a year 5 pomelo a year 75 mandarins a year, 100 Meyer a year, 20 grape fruit a year. For me I plan on growing my lemon tree 12 feet by 7 ft by 4 ft. and I hope I get 200+ lemons a year. My valentine pomelo I hope I clear 100 fruit per year. My miewa trees will be held at 8 feet max with a 5 ft diameter. I am hoping for 1000's of fruit each year. My fukushu will be the same size with bigger fruit, maybe 500-1000 fruits.

I have 3 New Zealand lemonade trees, 1 on C35, 1 on US897, and 1 on Seville sour orange

I have 5 Meiwa trees. 1 on Kuharske Citrange and 4 grown from seed. 4 out of 5 have flowered with 2 of them producing fruit, and 1 ripening fruit multiple times.

I have 3 fukushu kumquat trees. 1 is on C35 and 2 are from seed with 1 of those given to a friend.

I have 1 valentine Pomelo.

CREDITS 2 seed grown Fukushu kumquats and a Meiwa kumquat on Kuharske are from Cory

1 New Zealand lemonade on C35 is from Pip. 1 Valentine pomelo on US897 is from Tom.

I grafted the Fukushu on C35 and the NZL on US897. LoA grafted the NZL on Seville sour orange. I have what I set our for and have more things just as interesting as my original choices.

Steve

Steve, that is incredible, nice going. Who is going to get the crown? The way things are going it could be anyone.

Bob. Is that a Brugmansis on your deck and how to you like the fragrance ?

Mike, yes it is, they smell strong from six to six mornings. These plants were all rejects from people around here, plumeria,s , bougainvillea,s and a bunch of others, even a tomato that looks like having flowers.

Just a couple because it's hard to get good pics out in my green jungle...

Santa Teresa today (3 gal rootmaker pot):

For comparison, the is the same tree when I got it back in April of this year, note the tag to get a sense of scale:

My first successful graft, NZL on an unknown (probably lemon) rootstock (that I have kept around just for practice and curiosity that I might someday find out what it is):

Next graft I did, owari to some kind of sour orange seedling from a fruit I bought at the international grocery, is pushing new growth just over 3 weeks old:

My 14-year-old Meyer got root pruned and put into a 5 gal rootmaker pot this summer, and responded with the most leaves it's ever had, and a new set of flowers and baby fruits:

congratulations on your grafts and post pruning growth. Your NZL growth after 3 weeks looks identical to my NZL also 3 weeks old.

Steve

Wow lucky! Your ST is loving it. Congrats! I noticed that ST seems to be a more assertive grower - pretty much sprouting the most when compared to the rest of my citrus. Good luck with that graft and glad to see your Meyer rewarded you for tweaking it under the hood! :-D

Jenny thank you for the information on the Australian Red (Center/Blood) Lime. I've been doing some reading and it seems there is also an Australian Red Finger Lime. I cannot discern if there is a big difference or if it is really the same tree just different companies naming them differently. Do you happen to know anything about them? I've ordered from Logees plenty of times but there plants are so very small and expensive you are right.

Laura, do you or did you have a lot of Brugmansia's? I believe you and I traded plants/cuttings quite a long time ago. It took me awhile to get back on GardenWeb after they switched to this new format.

Bob, love your question. If I could live in a dream world. I would like my citrus trees to be 6 to 7 foot tall and very narrow with fruit growing up the entire trunk to the tip. That way I could have many varieties without having to worry about space. LOL.

Love all the photos everyone.

ladylotus - many of us have been trying to get the Australian red finger lime (most U.S. nurseries only have the green) but it is not the same as this. In fact, there are 3 out there that have similar names but different fruit shapes and/or leaves and are different hybrids. I posted the below [in another thread[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/red-lime-tree-question-dsvw-vd~5107692) about these limes -

jenny_in_se_pa(USDA7 Sunset 32)

There
is a huge thread on this where the 3 different limes with a similar
name, get hashed out and you will find folks that have at least 2 or all
3 - https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4949487/ordered-a-red-lime-tree-on-a-whim-anybody-growing-one?n=136

In summary -

The generic "red lime" appears to be this (or similar) - http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/excalibur.html

The "blood/red centre lime" appears to be this - http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/australiannativecitrus/bloodlime.html

And Saltysea mentioned the finger lime, where no one can find the red
varieties here in the U.S. (at least yet). Vendors are mainly selling
the green one (with clear vesicles) - http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/microcitrus_australasica_3672.html

As a note, I have the red centre one. It's still in the adorable
stage but has a similar growth habit as the finger lime (with the tiny
leaves and many long thorns). Got it from Logees.

Hope that helps to clarify because it IS confusing!!!

Thank you so much. Yes that does clarify things very well. I appreciate you taking the time to add this information to this thread.

Looks nice. I hope it grows well for you.

Steve