|
| Hi, I purchased a meiwa kumquat tree for my container garden back in june and everything seems to be going well except one thing. It really doesn�t seem like it has grown at all! 6 Wonderful smelling flowers bloomed shortly after it arrived, the flowers fell off and left 6 pieces of fruit, 4 fell off but 2 survived and finally ripened two weeks ago. Aside from the flowering and fruit there have been no visible signs of growth, it�s the same height, there are no branches forming and it still has the same 7 leaves it arrived with. I am in zone 7 and it�s in a 2 gallon pot using al�s gritty mix and it looks very healthy aside from this whole not growing thing! Any ideas? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 19:05
| How often do you water and fertilize? Josh |
|
| Summer i was watering every few days but now maybe once a week? I test the soil with a wooden skewer generally. Been a while since I fertilized. I read that fertilizing should be done during the spring and summer. I use Foliage Pro |
This post was edited by doomahx on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 20:39
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 22:46
| Ah, well I think this is the limiting factor, then. With the Gritty Mix, you'll want to provide a consistent stream of nutrients, at a reduced rate, throughout the Winter. You're two steps ahead already, with the skewer and the Foliage Pro. 1/4 teaspoon per gallon would be a fine start with the next watering. There are good reasons not to fertilize in the Winter *if you're using peaty or heavy soils that don't
Josh |
|
| Thanks for the info! Should i be using the solution with every watering then? |
|
| It has 7 leaves? So its just a little twig? It has been putting all of its energy into making fruit. Pinch off the flowers or fruit if it blooms this spring. It should then be able to grow. Depending on lighting it may not start to grow much untill the days get longer. |
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 12:13
| Dooma, yes with every watering :-) Josh |
|
- Posted by oceandweller 8B (My Page) on Fri, Jan 11, 13 at 9:12
| Kumquats also need a fair amount of sun to full sun to do the best. You have to think, most are grown farther south where the sun is brighter. |
|
| Just wanted to give an update. I started using diluted solution of fertilizer with every watering as suggest and within a few weeks two new branches shot out. The leaves on the new branches are almost full size now but it seems like growing has stopped again, is this normal? Do trees generally have growth spurts with periods of rest in between? Something else i noticed is that the new leaves are starting to curl on the sides, what could be causing this? They are starting to look a bit like the leaves in the attached picture as far as shape. (this is not my tree though, just an example) |
This post was edited by doomahx on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 6:53
|
| Try leaving it in one spot for a while by preference if you have a south west exposure. Maybe somebody who knows more about the silly skew or dowel watering tactics can help you more.... to me it looks like your sipping it when you water. |
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 11:43
| Dooma, closely examine the leaves for evidence of pests. Also, you might try adding vinegar to your water and watering without fertilizer. Oh, and yes, citrus grow in spurts/flushes. Josh |
|
| Thanks for the fast responses. I assume I'm adding vinegar to lower the PH? For PH testing purposes should I be testing the water alone before watering or should I test the potting medium along with it? Basically, does water PH = soil PH or is there often a large enough variation to warrant testing both consistently? |
This post was edited by doomahx on Thu, Feb 21, 13 at 5:54
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Thu, Feb 21, 13 at 16:35
| Don't even bother with the pH of the mix. Just focus on the water and the fertigation solution. I would test the water, then add vinegar until the pH is between 5.2 - 5.8 (and record how many teaspoons were needed). Try a vinegar + water combo without any fertilizer this time. Consider it a slight flushing. Resume fertilization with the next watering. Incidentally, I just acidified my water this morning and gave my citrus a thorough watering.
Josh |
|
| Can I use any type of vinegar? I have rice vinegar and cider vinegar but no white vinegar lol |
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Fri, Feb 22, 13 at 13:19
| I wouldn't, personally. Just white vinegar. That said, read the label - compare what the rice/cider label says and what the white vinegar label (check online) says. Josh |
|
| Looks like another few months of smooth sailing has come to an end. The weather has been getting nice so I decided to start keeping my kumquat tree outside as night temps are now in the upper 40’s and 50’s. It seemed happy for the first week but now I’m noticing the leaves are becoming dull, discolored and losing their gloss. They aren’t really turning yellow or brown, just more like the green color is fading to a whitish color and the leaves have become a bit rough rather than shiny and smooth. Any ideas? |
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Thu, May 9, 13 at 16:33
| Do the leaves look like this, by chance? If so, it's nothing more than a bit of sun-bleaching. Move the tree into the shade (or dappled sun) and it should begin to improve immediately. If this is not how the leaves look, post a pic and we'll attempt a diagnosis. Josh |
|
| Mine don’t seem as yellow as some of yours but the color fading is similar. I took it out 3 weeks ago and I gave it 3 days in the shade before I put it in a sunny spot. As it’s already been out in the sun for two weeks will it still benefit from some more time in the shade? |
|
- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Fri, May 10, 13 at 9:38
| I think it will benefit from some additional shade. The leaves in the pic above were burned at the end of the season when the sun's angle had dropped enough for the light to come through an open place in the trees. Anyhow, post a pic when time allows. Josh |
|
| Sorry it took me so long to respond, been very busy and almost forgot i posted a thread! Here are the pictures. |
|
| Picture 2 |
|
| Picture 2 |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Container Gardening Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.