GrapeFruit tree

[LemonBonsai]

So i was walking through my garden centre and this grapefruit tree caught my eye. Then I saw it was 11$! So i figured why not. I plan to repot it right away but i am also trying to make my own bonsai soil. I currently have oil dri (turfus), vermiculite, compost, perlite, and peat moss. I was planning on sifting everything and using 1:1 oil dri and perlite then use some peat moss and compost as an addative. I am wondering if vermiculite would be a better substitute for perlite or a suitible one at that? I will be keeping this outdoors also for the summer its just inside as i just brought it home.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Don't take this the wrong way when I ask... are you trying to grow a bonsai? Or are you just trying to keep a cool tree in a container? I have plenty of cool trees in containers that will never be bonsai, but I enjoy them for what they are. However if you are trying to develop this tree as a bonsai, I think the first thing to think about is your plan for development - developing the roots, getting good trunk girth and taper, creating interesting movement to the trunk and decent branching, etc. This tree needs a ton of growth... and since you are up in Canada you won't be able to let it grow in the ground for a few years. I have some small citrus pre-bonsai I am working with (kumquats) but they have much smaller leaves and fruits than grapefruit.

 

[LemonBonsai]

Don't take this the wrong way when I ask... are you trying to grow a bonsai? Or are you just trying to keep a cool tree in a container? I have plenty of cool trees in containers that will never be bonsai, but I enjoy them for what they are. However if you are trying to develop this tree as a bonsai, I think the first thing to think about is your plan for development - developing the roots, getting good trunk girth and taper, creating interesting movement to the trunk and decent branching, etc. This tree needs a ton of growth... and since you are up in Canada you won't be able to let it grow in the ground for a few years. I have some small citrus pre-bonsai I am working with (kumquats) but they have much smaller leaves and fruits than grapefruit.

Bonsai. Ive read it all already lol "grapefruit trees arent a common bonsai tree" thats why I like it because not everyone is doing one. I want to get it into bonsai soil and more suitible pot so I can let the tree grow. I obviously dont consider this a bonsai yet. Its a beginner tree that im interested in getting out of its current pot, root pruned, put into some proper soil and letting it grow.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Bonsai. Ive read it all already lol "grapefruit trees arent a common bonsai tree" thats why I like it because not everyone is doing one.

Yeah, I'm not trying to dissuade you, but I had fourteen different citrus trees in my landscape in SoCal (including a grapefruit and a pomello) so I have some experience with them.

For your soil mix, keep your mix inorganic and free-draining. They do not like wet feet and a good way to kill your grapefruit is to allow it to get root rot. Otherwise, sun, heat and humidity are your keys to success. As true tropicals, treat them like a touchy version of a ficus. They can tolerate cold, but not a frost. Keep your soil pH low - they are acid-lovers. If you have soft, acidic water you will probably be fine, but if your water is hard and alkaline (like in SoCal) you will want to use an acidic citrus fertilizer.

Otherwise, as you probably know, letting the tree fruit is a huge drain on resources. Not saying not to do it, but with a smaller tree you will get much lower growth rates if you allow the tree to fruit. It may be a consideration. They flower once per year in the early spring (the blooms smell awesome), and the fruit will mature over the summer. In some cultivars, the over-ripe fruit will drop, but in other cultivars the fruit will have to be cut off the tree or it will rot on the branch (like a lemon). It is really important not to fertilize your tree between flower and fruit set, or your tree may drop some/all of the immature fruit. If you want to keep your fruit, wait until the fruit is at least the size of a ping-pong ball (or golf ball) before starting up your fertilizer regimen. Prune in the spring just as the tree is waking up from winter dormancy, but be aware that your pruning will remove flower buds, so if you want your tree to flower and fruit leave at least some portion of the tree unpruned each year.

Also, make sure to dig down in your pot to reveal the surface roots and nebari. All commercial grapefruit trees (that I am aware of) are going to be grafts, so you will want to reveal the graft junction just to see what you are dealing with. I can't see the graft in any of your photos, so it may be hidden in the soil (lower on the tree).

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Very quickly... if you fall in love with the idea of citrus bonsai, also consider:

Golden Bean Kumquat (Fortunella hindsii ). (I gave away two of these trees to people who helped me move )



Or Calamondin (Citrus mitis). Both species have similar care requirements as a grapefruit, but the smaller leaves and fruit may make them more manageable for container culture.

 

[sorce]

Nice, I'd make it an ignorant literati with one giant fruit at the top.

Sorce

 

[LemonBonsai]

Yeah, I'm not trying to dissuade you, but I had fourteen different citrus trees in my landscape in SoCal (including a grapefruit and a pomello) so I have some experience with them.

For your soil mix, keep your mix inorganic and free-draining. They do not like wet feet and a good way to kill your grapefruit is to allow it to get root rot. Otherwise, sun, heat and humidity are your keys to success. As true tropicals, treat them like a touchy version of a ficus. They can tolerate cold, but not a frost. Keep your soil pH low - they are acid-lovers. If you have soft, acidic water you will probably be fine, but if your water is hard and alkaline (like in SoCal) you will want to use an acidic citrus fertilizer.

Otherwise, as you probably know, letting the tree fruit is a huge drain on resources. Not saying not to do it, but with a smaller tree you will get much lower growth rates if you allow the tree to fruit. It may be a consideration. They flower once per year in the early spring (the blooms smell awesome), and the fruit will mature over the summer. In some cultivars, the over-ripe fruit will drop, but in other cultivars the fruit will have to be cut off the tree or it will rot on the branch (like a lemon). It is really important not to fertilize your tree between flower and fruit set, or your tree may drop some/all of the immature fruit. If you want to keep your fruit, wait until the fruit is at least the size of a ping-pong ball (or golf ball) before starting up your fertilizer regimen. Prune in the spring just as the tree is waking up from winter dormancy, but be aware that your pruning will remove flower buds, so if you want your tree to flower and fruit leave at least some portion of the tree unpruned each year.

Also, make sure to dig down in your pot to reveal the surface roots and nebari. All commercial grapefruit trees (that I am aware of) are going to be grafts, so you will want to reveal the graft junction just to see what you are dealing with. I can't see the graft in any of your photos, so it may be hidden in the soil (lower on the tree).

Thankyou for all the suggestions. I do know fruit and flowers drain resources I was wondering if it would be better to pluck that tiny grapefruit thats starting to grow in the above picture. I guess i should to put some more energy into foliage growth. I will dig down as well to see whats going on beneath the surface. As for the soil would 50% vermiculite and 50% turfus work well? Perlite ive heard is slightly more alkaline then vermiculite.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Thankyou for all the suggestions. I do know fruit and flowers drain resources I was wondering if it would be better to pluck that tiny grapefruit thats starting to grow in the above picture. I guess i should to put some more energy into foliage growth. I will dig down as well to see whats going on beneath the surface. As for the soil would 50% vermiculite and 50% turfus work well? Perlite ive heard is slightly more alkaline then vermiculite.

I am not familiar with turfus. Do you mean turface? (The clay product often used for sporting fields?)

 

[rawlyn]

if you are trying to develop this tree as a bonsai, I think the first thing to think about is your plan for development - developing the roots, getting good trunk girth and taper, creating interesting movement to the trunk and decent branching, etc.

Love the grapefruit - I’m a sucker for citrus as well.

Great advice from @Bonsai Nut here (as usual). It’s not clear what sort of pot you have in mind as your tree’s next home, but I can demonstrate from personal experience (admittedly, sample size=1), that trunk and branch girth will probably be “much harder” to develop in a “bonsai pot” than in something much larger.

My calamondin. . .

. . . in autumn 2017, shortly after it arrived via mail order, and was repotted in bonsai soil and training pot - in the conviction that it would soon be a “real bonsai”.



Same tree last summer after I became sufficiently frustrated by the results of more than 18 months of “growth” and “development” to move it to a conventional pot for a while and see what happens.



. . . And now, after spending just twelve months in the crummy houseplant pot - mostly inside my family room all winter. Trunk and branches have probably quadrupled in girth, and photo was taken just after I removed a leader of upwards of two feet. (Pay no attention to the very definitely not recommended soil in that pot - I’m sure trunk would look even better had I applied then what I learned from @Bonsai Nut today ).

Good luck with your tree!

- Mike

 

[LemonBonsai]

I am not familiar with turfus. Do you mean turface? (The clay product often used for sporting fields?)

Sorry I actually meant oil dri which is the same. Clay particles. I was just testing it though and when i water the turface it seems to sizzle and turns the water a dark brown. Is this just the gas exchange or is there some kind of chemical reaction happening lol.

 

[LemonBonsai]

Love the grapefruit - I’m a sucker for citrus as well.

Great advice from @Bonsai Nut here (as usual). It’s not clear what sort of pot you have in mind as your tree’s next home, but I can demonstrate from personal experience (admittedly, sample size=1), that trunk and branch girth will probably be “much harder” to develop in a “bonsai pot” than in something much larger.

My calamondin. . .
View attachment 315091
. . . in autumn 2017, shortly after it arrived via mail order, and was repotted in bonsai soil and training pot - in the conviction that it would soon be a “real bonsai”.


View attachment 315092
Same tree last summer after I became sufficiently frustrated by the results of more than 18 months of “growth” and “development” to move it to a conventional pot for a while and see what happens.

View attachment 315096

. . . And now, after spending just twelve months in the crummy houseplant pot - mostly inside my family room all winter. Trunk and branches have probably quadrupled in girth, and photo was taken just after I removed a leader of upwards of two feet. (Pay no attention to the very definitely not recommended soil in that pot - I’m sure trunk would look even better had I applied then what I learned from @Bonsai Nut today ).

Good luck with your tree!

- Mike

I was originally planning on putting it into a bonsai but but after thinking about it I may either repot it in the pot its in just with different soil or leaving it in the pot its in now.

 

[Trenthany]

Nice, I'd make it an ignorant literati with one giant fruit at the top.

Sorce

I’d like to think you’ve got better taste than that but could be an interesting approach for a grapefruit! Lmao

 

[sorce]

taste

If I ever like grapefruit I'll know I'm old AF!

Sorce

 

[Trenthany]

If I ever like grapefruit I'll know I'm old AF!

Sorce

100000%
My Wierd one that bothers people is that I hate pickles. As in all of them!

 

[Cadillactaste]

Very quickly... if you fall in love with the idea of citrus bonsai, also consider:

Golden Bean Kumquat (Fortunella hindsii ). (I gave away two of these trees to people who helped me move )

View attachment 314977

Or Calamondin (Citrus mitis). Both species have similar care requirements as a grapefruit, but the smaller leaves and fruit may make them more manageable for container culture.

View attachment 314978

Just picked up the first cultivar you mentioned. The kumquat... Any tidbits would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Trenthany]

Just picked up the first cultivar you mentioned. The kumquat... Any tidbits would be appreciated. Thanks.

In FL they grow almost all citrus in pure sugar sand areas for the drainage so look at UF/IFAS commercial info and it’s equivalent for your state. They will know the growing inside and out as well as laying grafting and more. Any citrus growers in your area would also be useful or people they buy supplies from. Going to exposed root it?

 

[Cadillactaste]

In FL they grow almost all citrus in pure sugar sand areas for the drainage so look at UF/IFAS commercial info and it’s equivalent for your state. They will know the growing inside and out as well as laying grafting and more. Any citrus growers in your area would also be useful or people they buy supplies from. Going to exposed root it?

They are a species that can go dormant in my controlled cold greenhouse. That I made sure of before I purchased. Exposed root it? you seem to know me.

 

[Trenthany]

They are a species that can go dormant in my controlled cold greenhouse. That I made sure of before I purchased. Exposed root it? you seem to know me.

View attachment 324443

That is too funny! I was kidding, should’ve known! Can’t wait to see it grown out! So does your husband deal with your trees like most men do their wives/girlfriends purses? She went shopping, bet she comes home with another one or is he into trees too? Lmao

There’s a cypress along the river that if I can figure out how to collect it will look like a mangrove it’s got so many exposed roots. I promised mom if she lets me get it I’ll plant her a new one. This one isn’t exactly holding the bank any more so why not! Figure if anyone will appreciate the potential it’ll be you!

 

[Cadillactaste]

That is too funny! I was kidding, should’ve known! Can’t wait to see it grown out! So does your husband deal with your trees like most men do their wives/girlfriends purses? She went shopping, bet she comes home with another one or is he into trees too? Lmao

There’s a cypress along the river that if I can figure out how to collect it will look like a mangrove it’s got so many exposed roots. I promised mom if she lets me get it I’ll plant her a new one. This one isn’t exactly holding the bank any more so why not! Figure if anyone will appreciate the potential it’ll be you!

Its the only way I would bring something into my collection now would be roots of some sort quirky. Because I wasn't even actively hunting Kumquat until a convo in my messenger turned to trees. And one got me curious...I stated I have no room for more tropical. He was like...they could winter in your control greenhouse. I was curious and reached out to Jason Schley and sure enough they can.

How big is that beast!?!

 

[Cadillactaste]

That is too funny! I was kidding, should’ve known! Can’t wait to see it grown out! So does your husband deal with your trees like most men do their wives/girlfriends purses? She went shopping, bet she comes home with another one or is he into trees too? Lmao

There’s a cypress along the river that if I can figure out how to collect it will look like a mangrove it’s got so many exposed roots. I promised mom if she lets me get it I’ll plant her a new one. This one isn’t exactly holding the bank any more so why not! Figure if anyone will appreciate the potential it’ll be you!

You asked about my husband. He gave up his hot tub for me...and throws cash at me to feed my bonsai kitty fund. So he's good. He actually hugged me when I got the trident clump. Lol