lemon tree rootstock

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by bluesapphire, Aug 23, 2014.

  1. bluesapphire

    bluesapphire Junior Member

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    I have a rootstock lemon tree the graft has long ago died. It is prolific with small lemons the usual thick skin little pulp or juice but what little there is gives a good flavour.
    Can't remove it as its a rental property and it does give a nice shady area in Summer.
    Does anyone have some suggestions for the use of the fruit?
    Is there anyway to improve the quality of the fruit.
    Thanks
    Cathy
     
  2. Gonhar

    Gonhar Junior Member

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    Candied peels. My grandma used to make candied orange and lemon peels. Also used the rind as rennet to curdle milk and
    make cheese. To improve it, consider grafting other citrus unto it.
     
  3. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Hi Cathy
    We had a similar situation , ours was a sad thing full of dead sticks , after going to a citrus workshop we tidied it up and started looking after it and the result was amazing . Ours is a rough lemon popular as rootstock years ago tough as nails if I leave here I will certainly get another growing from seed . It is loaded at the moment and holds fruit for ages yes its thick skinned ect . but very handy tree as its timing is different to the other lemons here .

    I would suggest you shape it up get the dead sticks out (they create wind damage) , spray it with Eco Oil (sorry Eco) , and the big one build a BIG compost / worm heap under the tree , this transformed our tree , the lemons get as big as oranges . Put as many types of organic matter in the heap as possible , I use horse and chook manure seaweed cardboard veg scraps grass cuttings weeds like stinging nettles ect ect , the more variety the better think about providing as many trace elements as you can , these can be boosted by rock dusts gypsum ect .

    I also sprayed it with foliar manganese and zinc and iron and these greened the tree up a lot of course that's more traditional rather than a permy approach but im confident I wont have to do that again now that I have provided the variety at the root zone .

    Different Ph soils will create different nutrient imbalances so sometimes this needs to be addressed as well.

    Of course it could be a different rootstock and may not respond the same but it wont cost much to give it a chance , and will certainly look better .
     
  4. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    LOL - they come and squeeze me through a wringer once a month to make the stuff you know! Aren't you supposed to not heap too much stuff up under the drip line as they are surface feeders? How does that go with a big pile of compost?

    Once you have resuscitated it, can you multi graft onto it just for fun?
     
  5. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Compost pile is one small area of the rootzone not all the way around the tree so most of the roots do the usual thing .
     
  6. Eco Jono

    Eco Jono Junior Member

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    That's a fantastic idea. I can just imagine all the compost leachate goodness sinking into the soil.

    I've dug out the soil from under my hot compost heaps once they are finished as that soil is too good to let dry out and not use etc, but your idea is an improvement over this, thanks :)
     
  7. bluesapphire

    bluesapphire Junior Member

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    Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try composting around the base. The tree is quite tidy as the dead wood had been removed before we moved in. In fact it may have been the grafted tree was cut down and the rootstock has regrown from the stump.

    cheers
    Cathy
     
  8. mohsinj677

    mohsinj677 New Member

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    mohsin

    I also sprayed it with foliar manganese and zinc and iron and these greened the tree up a lot of course that's more traditional rather than a permy approach but im confident I wont have to do that again now that I have provided the variety at the root zone .





    _____________
    Mohsin
     

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