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ttkidd

some recent purchases

ttkidd
10 years ago

Monterey cypress:

I'm hoping to train this one into more of a Christmas tree shape (I don't have room for a full sized Christmas tree in my condo...especially with all the other plants). While I have it staked upright now, as you can see it has an asymmetrical growth pattern. I have no experience training/pruning conifers, so any advice would be appreciated.

European olive:

{{gwi:102811}}

I'd like to eventually turn this one into a nice large container plant with a thick tapered trunk. I'd appreciate any suggestions on where I should make my initial cuts.

Kaffir Lime:

Not much to say about this one. I bought it primarily so I could use the pruned leaves in cooking. I love Thai food :) Hopefully I can keep it alive indoors.

This post was edited by ttkidd on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 14:36

Comments (14)

  • delreytropical
    10 years ago

    Lovely, that olive will surely make for an interesting houseplant!!!!

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    Regarding pruning, generally tip pinching results in tip bifurcation. Removal of leaves farther down the stem should result in a new branch at the node where the leaf was removed.

  • birdsnblooms
    10 years ago

    TTkidd...

    Nice haul....

    I'm not an expert with Cypress/firs, but will it live indoors?
    It will need a cool room once the heat is turned on.
    It is a beautiful tree though.

    Olives are slow-growing. My olive is 14-yrs-old..It's grown 3-4' since 1999.

    As for your Kaffir...they're beautiful plants, but yours is a seedling.
    I find 'standards' much easier to keep indoors.
    Do you order online?
    If so, I can give you the name of a citrus nursery in FL that sells, standard citrus trees, 1-3' tall, for 15-20.00 each.
    Most of my citrus were purchased at this nursery.

    Toni

  • ttkidd
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the replies.

    purpleinopp: Thanks. I appreciate the advice. I've been doing some more reading since initially posting, and it looks like olives will tolerate a hard pruning very well, so come spring I may just give it a good whack right down to what you see in the close-up to hopefully get some more compact growth.

    hopefulauthor: Apparently this species of cypress can be grown indoors. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean it will do well indoors. Since I unpacked it, a few of the sprigs have turned brown, but I'm thinking that may be shipping damage. No sign of general tip browning yet. It has a great smell (citrus/cedar) so I'm hopeful I can do well with it.

    It's hard to tell from the shot, but the Kaffir lime is actually a stem cutting. Grown in a greenhouse in a different province. I've got some citron seedlings that I started this year sitting right next to it, so it will be interesting to see how well they do in comparison. Thanks for the offer of getting me the nursery name, but it can be difficult getting plants shipped across the border. I tried it before with some succulents and it was a huge hassle.

  • ttkidd
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thought I'd post a couple updates now that I've had them for a while and they've made it through their first winter here. I won't comment on the cypress other than to say it's doing well and put on some new growth over the winter. I've posted about it in another thread.

    The olive fared the worst of them all over the winter. It pretty much chose for me where to prune it after some die-back and a scale infestation. It's a much smaller plant now, but it has put out it's first flush of new growth for the spring. I've since nipped back the growing tips and it is now starting to back-bud pretty nicely. Hopefully I'll have a much bushier plant in a month or so.

    {{gwi:102813}}

    The Kaffir lime put out some new growth over the winter and is now blooming. The three leaves surrounding the flower cluster are new growth:

    {{gwi:102814}}

    Some more blooms lower down on the plant. Hard to make out, but there's a tiny lime starting to grow in there, currently about the size of a pea:

    {{gwi:102815}}

  • paul_
    9 years ago

    Any fragrance from the blooms?

  • ttkidd
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Very little unfortunately considering how fragrant the foliage can be when bruised or broken. They should bottle the stuff...it smells nicer than most perfumes.

  • grrr4200
    9 years ago

    Toni, im interested in the link!

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    9 years ago

    Love a good update! Nice!

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago

    Yes indeed, nice update. Love the tiny lime I can see.

    Have you tried sniffing it at different times of day? That can matter in fragrant plants, especially in evening. Learned this about some Hoyas (also maybe some Orchids?)

  • ttkidd
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh yeah...my hoyas definitely stink up my place at night. They're so strong starting around this time of year that I have to shut my bedroom door. Last time I tried sniffing the lime flowers was evening, so maybe I'll try it again early tomorrow morning when I get up.

    I know the juice from this variety isn't great for cooking, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the zest compares to the leaves. I hope at least one or two limes make it through to maturity.

  • meyermike_1micha
    9 years ago

    Oh, they will smell very nice with humidity...

    I can smell my Kaffir lime blossoms without humidity but much stronger with it..I love your update.

    Mike

  • surya55_gw
    9 years ago

    Mike- you have some healthy trees there. Good luck with all of them.

    Hopeful author: can you please provide the name of the nursery in Fl? I really want a Meyer Lemon Standard. Thanks so much.

  • birdsnblooms
    9 years ago

    Surya...The name is briteleaf dot com.

    You'll have to check what's in stock..her plants go fast.
    Toni

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