Above is part 1, now part 2, the big push started just about 4 years ago, buying just seeds, they grew and grew made nice seedling tree's, did not tag them, mistake? Maybe.

Been with the old gardenweb as persimmonbob, that's all i am interested in, Container growing under guidance of Al, moved to Citrusforum up forum ( username: Boneyard), learn a lot there, that forum went under than back to Houz and the Tropicalfruit forum.( username: Luak).

When i was heavy in oriental persimmon, i also bought a Spanish variety, little did i know how that tree actually got me into citrus in an accelerated growth into citrus, there were only a handful that grew that one. Word got around and in no time i exchange that budwood to citrus.

Sofar, i have send out in the last 3 years around 50 packages, i do not know how many States, it has't stop yet.

This pretty much sums it up, here is the tree that started the whole thing.

I started about 7 years ago when a friend gave me a few meyer lemons from her tree. I grew up in South Florida and loved citrus, but always saw them in the ground. I had no idea they could be grown so successfully indoors. The tree this lady has/had was old and thick. It produced many lemons. I then ordered my oldest lemon tree - Alexander. I did not discover this forum until a few years later when looking for advice. It was downhill after that LOL...I discovered all these other varieties...and well, here I am with a house full of trees! :) . My daughter's class is coming over to do a botany/citrus field trip in May to see them!

Got a Nagami kumquat at the grocery store. A little bit of research sent me to Meiwa

Steve

I too, was born in Florida and have always loved all types of citrus. 2 years ago, I found lime trees for sale at my local Lowes and purchased one for my mom for Mother’s Day. Soon after, I retu and purchased a key lime for myself and also ordered a eureka lemon. Naturally, they both died as i had no idea what I was doing. I started growing seedlings while lurking on this forum and researChing what I did wrong.

Last February I began buying grafted trees, starting with a tiny Genoa lemon. I now have 10 varieties of lemon, 2 blood orange trees, a key lime and a Murcott mandarin.

Kelley, before you know it, your house will look like mine LOL! I still have your branch dangling from the tree....I will send it soon! I guess now we have another cold wave coming, so I'll wait again. Bob, you too. I owe you a ponkan branch. I'll get it out when I ship Kelley's.

I currently live in the town where I grew up on the 8b/9a line in Louisiana, the area is on the northern edge of the states historical commercial citrus groves, which were wiped out due to several record cold winters in the 1930's and 40's, leaving the modern Louisiana citrus industry relegated to a small area in the southern most part of the state and at only a fraction of the size it was a century ago. Though commercial citrus was wiped out in this area, it seemed when I was growing up almost everyone has a Satusuma tree in their yards, when I finally bought a house of my own that I planned to keep long enough to be worth it, I planted my own, and it has sort of branched out from there, adding some less cold hardy citrus, like Meyers Lemon, Cara Cara Orange, etc.

I grew up in a citrus grove in southern CA back in the 50's. Late in life I'm an Oregon Coastie which sadly is not conducive to citrus. Three years ago bought a Meyer Lemon hoping to capture a bit of SoCal back in my living room. One thing led to another. Now have 22 citrus trees (mostly mandarins), eight 2'x4' banks of fluorescent lights and an indoor greenhouse. Two more mandarins on their way next week.

Bought a house with two mature giant navel orange trees about 22 years ago. Was amazed by how productive it was, planted (aka dug a hole right in the middle of my lawn, plonked tree in, forgot all about it!) two lemons that then made the orange trees look like slackers, we couldn't give them away fast enough! Thought this is easy and branched out....nope!

KC

I started out with some seeds from a Ponderosa lemon. Fortunately, they seem to like my soil and grew in spite of what I did to them. I always wanted an orchard so I added some other citrus and non-citrus, Volunteer sprouts come up from where I throw out the pulp after juicing the Ponderosa lemons so I have transplanted them all over the yard and now I have 21 Ponderosas at variable ages on my little 0.65-acre lot. Let me tell you, weed eating around them is a bear!

I grew up on the southern tip of Anartica, called New England. Here I will be lucky if I get weather good enough to produce anything after the sea breezes stop flowing well into June. Only to be re visited by August making my summers very short. And depsite this, my Mom bought me an Orange Tree when I was a teen about 20 years back after I had told her how much I loved the fragrance on one at the greenhouse in full bloom. That tree literally was placed right next to my bed right in the south facing window and the fragrance would put me to sleep. I would practically take it to bed with me. It was like a pet.lol. From there I killed just about every tree and plant I got through every winter and would have to start new until I found the 'garden web' looking for help and I too had also joined the 'containers forums'.

Citrus trees were always my passion even though I failed every year until I learned much at that forums years ago. It was Al too that taught me more than anyone could of ever shown me and I blame that forum for helping me keep plants, in particular continerized citrus trees healthy and happy year after year. I joined this forum over ten years ago and have enjoyed being a part of it, making long lasting friends, helping others learn what I have learned and seeing the achievments of others as I also too learn from them to this day. My confidence grew and from there I became a citrus, orchid, houseplant, tropical plant and cactus and succulents addict.lol

Now I have citrus trees and plants in the bathroom, sun room, bed room, porch, living room and kitchen. I think I might of missed one room. Walking through my house is like walking through a garden, only with plants that actually thrive now.

Mike

Good story, Mike.

I bought my first 3 citrus plants at a somewhat local mail order nursery's spring clearance sale, for $1 each, on a lark, not knowing what I was getting. One thrived and was a calamondin! That was 10 or so years ago. I returned to the sale several times over the next few years and bought meyer lemon, navel orange, key lime, Rangpur lime, sour orange -- even a Buddha's Hand -- what ever they had, just to see if I could grow it and what it was like. Some died & were repurchased, some I grew successfully and gave away (the calamondin, Rangpur lime, sour orange and Buddha's Hand) .

Right now I have a meyer, a key lime, one which should be a tangerine, one which should be a Mexican lime, and another which should be a navel orange ( I say "should be" because the tags disappeared, but the tags aren't always correct on the clearance rack anyway. One of the three has bloomed and set fruit, so later this year I will know for sure what it is!) Also a seedling grocery store lemon.

I would really love a clementine type, but I've never seen one at a bargain price (part of the appeal for me!) I have a satsuma stem from Whole Foods in water, and it still looks okay, but I am indecisive about which plant to try to graft it to.