Beginning the germination process! - Part II

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:44 pm

I had a shrub years ago called "flowering almond", gorgeous double pink blossoms.
But it suckered like mad, finally got rid of it.
Worse than lilac.

That almond would make it at your place, Tim.

Congrats on the Yuzu and Swingles.

Barb

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:28 pm

Those flowering almonds are nice. Ive seen a few planted here but not many. My grandma has one and Ive tried a few times to get cuttings... all failed.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:48 pm

another hardy Citrus type is germinating......Citrange 'Rusk'.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 2f5adc.jpg>

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:04 pm

Awesome! How many citrus species is this now Tim?

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:10 pm

Well done Tim.

Yeah, how many varieties?

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:52 pm

Not that many Citrus species.....just Yuzu, Citrange and Citrumelo. Only time will tell which will be the hardiest!

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:00 pm

Great work, Tim! They're all fairly comparable in hardiness.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:02 pm

By the way, the "citrus fellow" says he will join us later on, but he's been very busy.

The Kumquats started this winter are in a community pot, growing like mad.
Anybody know if those roots are sensitive to transplanting?

Or can I just rip 'n tear them apart?

Which of your three, Tim, do you think will be the hardiest?

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:25 pm

Not sure Barb......a Yucca grower in Germany said his 6ft tall Citrange survived last winter while his 6'tall Citrumelo died. I don't hear much about Yuzu but I've read it's hardy to at least 10F. Plant many and select the hardiest!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 8:11 am

Plant many and select the hardiest!

Yup, continually thinning the herd.

Germany's recent huge snowfall would keep his Citrange covered.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:13 pm

the Citrumelos are doing well.............I transplanted them today.

Before:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 6ce50c.jpg>

After:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 3f447f.jpg>

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:23 pm

THey are going to do well Tim. They are growing faster then my lemon or lime seedlings did.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:45 pm

So they don't need to go into bigger pots?
I was wondering about that after the community pot for my Kumquats.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:54 pm

yes, these Citrumelos seem too easy!

Those 'pots' are 16oz or 18oz plastic cups.......they are pretty big.

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 649802.jpg>

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:20 pm

Thanks for the explanation Tim.
Beer cups.
Got lots of those

Barb

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 10:02 pm

Great work! Those leaves are really trifoliate-like

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Wed May 15, 2013 9:55 am

I've been germinating a few more species recently. I now have around 20 large Jubaea seedlings that have emerged, and hopefully more to come. I've also received 16 types of hardy citrus, and have germinated at least a dozen types so far. Some other species of tree fern have finally started to sprout after being in germination containers for at least a year

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed May 15, 2013 11:37 am

What types of citrus? Im assuming there are kumquots and trifolata?

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Wed May 15, 2013 5:28 pm

Canadianplant, there are 16 types that I am trying to germinate. Some of them aren't so hardy (Ujukitsu sweet lemon, etc), and others won't come true to seed, and will instead be some other cross (Panzarella lemon and Panzarella orange, etc).

Some of the hardier types include the Glen Citrangedin, SanCitChang, Liudmila Ichandarin, Yuzu, Yuzvange, Yuko, Tai x Tri Hybrid, (Clem x Tri) x Clem, etc

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu May 16, 2013 3:41 pm

20 large Jubaea seedlings that have emerged,

Congratulations Cameron.
It's so exciting to finally get Jubaeas up...

Look forward to a pic update soon.

Barb

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Thu May 16, 2013 5:17 pm

Here are the 20 or so J. chilensis seedlings (sorry for the poor quality):

And here are some germinated Clem-Yuz 2-2 (a Clementine x Yuzu hybrid) seedlings:

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu May 16, 2013 7:14 pm

Wow, Cameron, your Jubaeas are taller than mine, germinated last summer!

Obviously your good care did that.

I've got some Kumquats still in a community pot.
Congrats on all your Citrus germination success.
Will be great to watch how they do.

Barb

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sat May 18, 2013 12:03 pm

Here are some S. minor "McCurtain" seedlings. You can see that there's one near the back which seems to lack chlorophyll:

And here are some Y. aloifolia seedlings, grown from seed that Damir sent me:

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sat May 18, 2013 1:49 pm

Musa sp. "Helen's Hybrid", seed from canadianplant:

Musa itinerans with a pup, seed also from canadianplant:

TaiTri Citrus hybrid. This is a cross which I'm pretty hopeful about. It's a cross between Citrus taiwanica (which is already hardy to at least -12 C) and Poncirus (Citrus) trifoliata (which is hardy to close to -30 C). I'm hoping that the resulting hardiness is somewhere in the middle, around -20 C. A further stretch is to hope that the fruit produced is semi-edible, or at least useful in citrus-ade drinks!

I believe this hybrid is true to seed, as it's polyembryonic :

And here is another polyembryonic germinating citrus, the Glen Citrangedin:

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Sun May 19, 2013 4:52 am

Nice Cam!

I had one helens hybrid seed pop, and i left it in the sun.......... it didnt last more then a few hours

I also still have 2 itinerians, no pups on mine though, Im jealous! You werent kidding about the plethora of citrus either

How are your orchids going?

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Sun May 19, 2013 1:23 pm

Thanks, canadianplant!

I also had a few "Helen's Hybrid" seedling die, and this was the only survivor. The orchids are doing well; I kept two Phalaenopsis sp. amabilis, and they've at least doubled in size since I got them.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun May 19, 2013 6:31 pm

that TaiTri Citrus hybrid sounds like a great test for northern climates. I'm impressed with Citrumelo 'Dustan' since it survived last winter and our power went out for 35 hours and we dropped to -2.9F (-19.3C). I didn't loose any branches at all! I'm thinking that all we need to do is keep the wind off the Citrus and they survive my climate?

How'd your Loquats and other plants fair this past winter?

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Mon May 20, 2013 11:53 am

Tim, I'm pretty hopeful about it! It's great to hear about the survival of your Dunstan Citrumelo.

The winter in my area was the worst for many years. Temperatures were close to -22 C (-5 F), and I did lose a few plants. Even though I had a few feet of straw over the loquats, it's likely that at least two of them are dead. The other two completely defoliated, so I'm waiting to see if new leaves start emerging. It really was an awful winter with a combination of extreme lows and long durations of low temps.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue May 21, 2013 10:35 am

Hey Cam, where did you get your citrus seeds from? Since I bought a Meyer Lemon and Mandarin tree, ive been bitten by the citrus bug LOL. There dont see to be many places with a google search...

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Tue May 21, 2013 8:14 pm

You should check out the forum citrus.forumup.org . I know Tim is a member there as well

This is one of the first years that I've seen citrus varieties for sale in box stores here. Last week I saw a Meyer Lemon and some cultivars of kumquats at one. However, since I have so many seedlings, there's no room for any other plants! I also saw a hardy Kniphofia sp. at a hardware store today, which is very unusual for this area.

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Wed May 22, 2013 4:39 am

Let e guess Cameron..... Homedepot? The one here had a few limes meyer lemom, kumquat, cara cara and moro blood oranges.... Yay Patio plants!

Thanks for the link as well!

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Wed May 22, 2013 12:48 pm

Yes, it was Home Depot

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Fri May 24, 2013 7:22 am

Hi Cameron,

let us know if the Loquats come back to life. I planted my Loquat a couple weeks ago.....I hope it takes off this season.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat May 25, 2013 3:05 pm

This is one of the first years that I've seen citrus varieties for sale in box stores here

My local nursery (Art Knapps) had tons of citrus the other day when I stopped in.
Was able to leave without one...easier on the wallet.
(some were $89).

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun May 26, 2013 6:10 pm

left the store withOUT a citrus.........come-on Barb.......are you feeling sick?

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun May 26, 2013 6:16 pm

Yeah, I guess, Tim.

Prices have REALLY spiked.
And I thought things were expensive last year

I'm still hoping my 5-foot tall Grapefruit will eventually have a flower.
That'd make up for all those 1-inch thorns that scrape my face every time I move it.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun May 26, 2013 6:29 pm

no blooms on your 5-yr old Grapefruit? I spotted a couple blooms on my 1-yr old grapefruit the other day......can I pollenate them?

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... c36c15.jpg>

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sun May 26, 2013 6:37 pm

1-yr old grapefruit

your 1 year old is blooming?
Jeez...what am I doing wrong.
This bugger will scrape the ceiling before I get a flower.

Yes you can polllinate it..with a child's little paint brush.
I used to do that with my little Calamondin Orange trees.
A little kinky but it works, I had little oranges on it before both plants gave up the ghost.
Really sour though.
Had never seen H's face twisted like that.

Good luck with yours.
Look forward to hearing it's got fruit.
Pucker up.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun May 26, 2013 6:49 pm

I'll have to check up on the Grapefruit since it's been non stop rain/drizzle the past couple days......it finally cleared up this afternoon. I think a fruit on my tree would be real funny looking!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Mon May 27, 2013 4:13 am

Barb, because Grapefruit is thought to be a sweet orange pommello cross, there is a high probability of infertile plants, if it was seed grown. Sweet orange seedlings are less prone to this, but from what ive read grapefruit is really bad for doing this...

Also, damn citrus and their finickyness. My meyer lemon keeps dropping leaves