This is a little different presentation for the species. I would welcome tips to promote flowering and fruiting....although I have read that the species fruits only once a year. This tree was grown in a greenhouse for many years before being styled as a bonsai, and as I remember, normally flowered and fruited during the winter months (here in Zone 6). Thanks in advance for your input.

Regards,
Tom

Very nice. My Lisbon blooms in Jan - Feb. I do get a few more flower buds during the year, but the major bloom is in Mid - Late winter.

Thank you, Laaz, and thanks also for the confirmation of the time of year to look for major bloom.

Regards,
Tom

Do you know if it was grown from seed, cutting or if it is grafted?

Hi, Skeeter:

I am actually not sure. The tree was donated to our University greenhouse many years ago by a local physician who purchased it by mail order so that he could have fresh lemons on hand for house guests...the tree got to the point where his wife gave him an ultimatum - the tree goes or I go kind of thing. I do not know the nursery that he ordered it from, but my guess is he purchased it as a graft. Hope this helps.

Tom

Tom,

You should be really proud. Bonsai citruses are true novelties, just don't expect them to bear a lot of fruits. It is very hard to make bonsai citruses or maintain them to be bonsai. So maintain them to be bonsai, they would be long lasting too.

If you want real amount of fruits, container growing with appropriate potting media, is the ticket to get decent amount of fruits.

We have two distinct purposes in the different hobbies, often you don't consume the fruits of bonsai trees, they would only be there for display for a long long time, and as such is the case, good keeper fruits are good to bonsai, so potentially valencias, ortanique tangors, even grapefuits would be good and even better than lemons.

Joe

Joe,

Thank you for the kind words and support. I agree with everything you say about bonsai utilizing citrus species...it is both a novelty and a difficult task.

Best regards,
Tom

The reason I asked is --If it were grown from seed it would be virtually impossible to get the required node count for fruiting while maintaining it as a Bonsai, If it was a grafted tree using mature wood it would be at least possible to get it to bloom.

Citrus trees need stress to initiate blooming, in most cases that comes from cold stress (exposure to temps below 68 F--usually several hundred hours are required). It can be done with drought stress as well, but I do not know how well either of these would work with Bonsai.

Hi, Skeet:

I should have mentioned in the first reply to your post that the tree has flowered and fruited in the past, actually rather profusely during its life in the greenhouse, and of course, prior to me getting my hands on it. Before I began the initial stlyling it stood about four feet high and was about three feet in width.

Tom

Hi Tom,
I do not know if it is possible to get a Bonsai citrus to bloom, but if you can expose it to cold in the range of 40 to 65 F for several hundred hours that may be the key to getting it to put on a blossom or two.

Good Luck-- that is a pretty tree.

One more thing I should add-- do not expose it to direct sunlight during the time that it is below 65. When citrus roots are cold they are not functional and cannot help to cool the leaves by supplying water-- the result is the leaves will drop. Indirect sunlight is OK as it will not cause the leaves to overheat.

Skeet...thanks so much. This is great advice that I would never have thought of. I am in Zone 6 (northern West Virginia - about 80 miles south of Pittsburgh, PA.)...It seems that if I leave the tree outside well into the fall, that it might do the trick....keep it out of direct sun and monitor the temperature - never below 40 degrees F...correct?

Thanks again.

Tom

Skeet: Sorry for the bother again, but do you think your procedure regarding bloom would work for my Key Lime as well (see recent post).
Thanks again.

Tom

I think most all citrus need some form of stress to cause the new growth that is developing to differentiate into blossoms. Cold is the most common source of stress for most citrus. I think you could do both the lemon and the key lime that way. The lemon might be able to take temps slightly below 32 F but the Key lime does not like temps below 40, so keeping them both above 40 would be a good idea.

Many thanks once again, Skeet....

Tom