Fruit tree bonsai insight

[Leprichan]

Hello all, I have some lemon, orange and apple tree seedlings I am looking to bonsai, looking for some insight

I am getting ready to start transplanting into individual pot's in about a month ish. Never really dealt with fruit trees before so tips and tricks are welcome.

 

[sorce]

Just that citrus and Apple are completely different.

I keep my citrus indoors like a tropical...
Highly neglected for about 4-5 years.

It's locked in the @Tentakelaertje vault.

But I just wired it the other day really successfully, usually it is very rigid, I threw caution to the wind and have it hell, and didn't snap anything.
That's new!

Mine is in Napa 8822, and depot pine fines, dries fast.
I must water every 2 days, but can do everyday, and stretch it to 3 sometimes.

Way better this way than in soil....

They attract mites real good, and the leaf shape and texture makes it hard to smash them.

Sorce

 

[Leprichan]

Just that citrus and Apple are completely different.

I keep my citrus indoors like a tropical...
Highly neglected for about 4-5 years.

It's locked in the @Tentakelaertje vault.

But I just wired it the other day really successfully, usually it is very rigid, I threw caution to the wind and have it hell, and didn't snap anything.
That's new!

Mine is in Napa 8822, and depot pine fines, dries fast.
I must water every 2 days, but can do everyday, and stretch it to 3 sometimes.

Way better this way than in soil....

They attract mites real good, and the leaf shape and texture makes it hard to smash them.

Sorce

I know they are very different, been doing some research, thanks for the substrate info. With so many to play with, my head is swimming with ideas for sizes and designs. Want to do at least 1 four foot or so grafted multiple fruit. Been studying up on grafting.

 

[JoeR]

Lemons are very easy to take care of. They sort of want to grow straight up and not branch out at first, so you have to cut the leader off to encourage low branches. Also from seed, the seedlings will have very different characteristics. I have three lemons currently, but they are are VERY different in terms of color and especially leaf shape and size. One has large pointed leaves and the other two have small, rounded ones.

They lignify quickly so you must wire them ASAP.

 

[Leprichan]

Lemons are very easy to take care of. They sort of want to grow straight up and not branch out at first, so you have to cut the leader off to encourage low branches. Also from seed, the seedlings will have very different characteristics. I have three lemons currently, but they are are VERY different in terms of color and especially leaf shape and size. One has large pointed leaves and the other two have small, rounded ones.

They lignify quickly so you must wire them ASAP.

I was planning on wiring them when I transplant them here shortly. I just acquired them, my mom planted a bunch of seeds, then she lost track of what was what. This is a grapefruit tree she is growing.im surprised she kept it alive this long, I need to repot it proper with better soil type. I believe that it will make a good 4-5 ft tree for her. With me house sitting for her while she takes my rv on about a 9 month trip, I have inherited responsibility for a while.

 

[JoeR]

Oh and they smell great when you cut or crush the leaves


And plan on waiting years and years for them to fruit.

 

[Leprichan]

Oh and they smell great when you cut or crush the leaves


And plan on waiting years and years for them to fruit.

Isn't that what this is all about, playing the waiting game

 

[Nwaite]

I have a few that are almost a year old. How long should I wait till I start pinching the leader?

Lemons are very easy to take care of. They sort of want to grow straight up and not branch out at first, so you have to cut the leader off to encourage low branches. Also from seed, the seedlings will have very different characteristics. I have three lemons currently, but they are are VERY different in terms of color and especially leaf shape and size. One has large pointed leaves and the other two have small, rounded ones.

They lignify quickly so you must wire them ASAP.

 

[Cypress187]

I hope that snail isn't real

 

[Leprichan]

I hope that snail isn't real

Yea, he got into the miracle grow

 

[sorce]

I have a few that are almost a year old. How long should I wait till I start pinching the leader?

I think mine hasn't gotten any thicker since I cut it....and I let it grow and started taking care of it well last year, even kept it outside.

I wouldn't cut it till you got the trunk you want.

Sorce

 

[JoeR]

I have a few that are almost a year old. How long should I wait till I start pinching the leader?

I dont really know, I go based off of size really.


Here is an example. This is the one with the very large pointed leaves. I snipped the leader off of it to fit in my new setup maybe two weeks ago? You can see that it sent lower branches out; if I haf cut it lower it woulf have been better, but I eas just trying to make it fit under the light. Its deceptively large, over a foot tall.

 

[Nwaite]

Mine are still really small.

I'll pop them in some good soil asap and let them grow another year I gess b4 I do any thing.

Thanks for the info ninfoe!

 

[M. Frary]

start pinching

For lemons I think the proper term is squeezing.

 

[sorce]

Thanks for the info ninfoe!

One of those real LOLers!

Classic!

Sorce

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Just one minor thing... you know that if you grow citrus from seed (just like any cultivar) there is no guarantee that the tree will have the same characteristics as the parent tree.

 

[sorce]

I believe growing them in a Coca Cola bottle greatly increases the chances, maybe get rid of that Pepsi bottle!

Lol.

I love when people grow in these!

Sorce

 

[pitchpine]

Isn't that what this is all about, playing the waiting game

Also, it's not just a matter of years but of height. Citrus from seed won't start flowering until they reach a certain size

And really it's even more complicated than that because it's really about the "node count" or number of leaf nodes away from the roots the foliage is. So if you're growing in less than full sun and have lanky growth, it will need be even taller than a tree grown under ideal conditions before it even starts to think about fruiting.

The size required for fruiting for citrus from seed depends on the species. Lemons I think are one the high side of the range, whereas some species like key lime can fruit in about 3 years from seed under ideal growing conditions (full sun, warm, we'll fertilized, and no pruning). Calamondin orange is about the same, but I have a calamondin from seed that's about 13 years old and has never flowered because I've been pruning it for shape and size due to limited space available.

Laura

 

[JoeR]

Here is a lemon that I worked on today. You can see where I cut the main leader off; I left no stubb because they have no dieback at all. Its 'wiggle' was from a similar method to the screen that members here use, turned out nicely.

Theres trunk and nebari buried under there too!