LOLIt's like a junkie hanging w/the wrong crowd..same applies here..You see pics or talk of everyone's plants, and think, okay, one more will be okay. Just one more time! The next thing you do is order another and another, etc.

I wasn't planning on buying a Buddha's Hand but someone posted about theirs, then someone else displayed a picture and that's all it took. Next thing I knew I was checking out Briteleaf and Harris looking for a BH..both places were out, but I was determinted, emailed Ruth from Harris and she had some in stock. I also ordered a Pomegrante, Too Little Ficus for bonsai, and Red Cissus Begonia. And I swore I wasn't going to order online anymore this yr..but it's so simple to click a few keys.
So how many citrus do you have in all now, Narcnh? Toni

Toni, that is not encouraging news. I might have to put on yet another addition to the house to handle what's to come.

Once this order arrives, I'll have nine potted citrus trees. I also have a dwarf pomegranate that blooms all the time, but has never set fruit. This all started with my herb collection. I bring in about two dozen different potted herbs each fall. In addition to having fresh herbs for cooking, the citrus seemed a harmless extension that would satisfy my desire to have fresh lemon zest and kaffir leaves for cooking. Little did I know..

narcnh

Narcnh, don't mean to upset you but just being honest..What type of herbs do you grow? I guess you'll soon be adding on anther room..LOL..Oh there's so much you can do if you decide to add another room..Make sure the room gets enough light, from south to east. If you're growing citrus, herbs, they need sun. South and west windows are great for these exposures.
Or you can stop buying trees but this is a difficult task..lol Very difficult. In SEpt I'm ordering two kumquats..I've two now, one variegated..There are so many fruits on both.
What do you use to feed your citrus? Are they outside now? They love a summer outdoors..I've got my citrus all lined up like sentinels..lol. I keep them together so when it's time to fertilize and ST everyone gets the same type of food..
What size pot is your Pom in? Do you have the dwarf, 'nana' or a standart size? Toni

Maybe we need a 12 step plant addict group.lol I know I'd be eligible. My addiction isn't citrus, though I have quite a few, it's brugs and plumeria.
Karyn

I am on the 12 step program. Since the backyard is officially full AND the wife's citrus tree embargo is in effect, I have been relegated to:

A: grafting for new varieties onto exisiting stock multi citrus trees

B: experimenting with 2-4 tree per container citrus

Fun Stuff!

Citrusboy I'm growing a bunch of FD that I'm going to use as root stock next year for my first attempt at grafting. I really don't have much room left either but I have a feeling that it might not be necessary.lol
Karyn

Toni: "Narcnh, don't mean to upset you but just being honest."

Toni, I wasnt really upset; subtle humor is sometimes lost via email and postings. Ive been down this road before. Several years ago, after I discovered I could purchase all different kinds of carnivorous plants over the Internet, I ended up with over 50 varieties of Drosera, Nepenthia, Dioneae, Heliamphora, Cephalotus, Drosophyllum, Byblis, etc. Had a special water reservoir of oak with a plexy interior made to the contours of my box window by a local carpenter. Had herpetarium heating pads glued to the bottom to keep the temp up in mid-winter (used to get down to -30F at my old place and this was a box window that stuck out from the house), with multiple decks of 4 ft. fluorescent lights to keep all the base and hanging plants happy. Would still have the plants, if they hadnt been run over by a moving van in the move to this house. Now, I just have a couple of CPs for sentimental value. They do help to control gnats, white flies, etc.

"What type of herbs do you grow?"

All kinds, some out in the garden and the more tender ones in pots that sit out on the deck in summer and that I bring in for the winter. These are primarily tropicals/subtropicals that might be considered more exotic things like Rau Om, Rau Ram (Vietnamese coriander), Culantro, Mexican Tarragon, tender oreganos, like Syrian, Cretan and Italian, tender varietal thymes including several broadleafs, a few rosemary plants, several basils varietals like New Guinea, African Blue and Greek columnar, and cuttings of my Berggarten sage that I root in a pot, in case the mother in the ground doesnt make it through the winter (didnt last year, sigh).

"Make sure the room gets enough light, from south to east. If you're growing citrus, herbs, they need sun. South and west windows are great for these exposures."

I kept my current citrus trees in a south-facing window last winter, and they did great. Same for the herbs. You might remember some pics I posted of the citrus trees last winter in the window with all the snow outside. The new room that was just added on this spring is 24 ft x 16 ft. The long side faces due south and has four large windows that also receive unobstructed sun. There are now 10 south-facing windows and four east-facing windows in this house, so there is plenty of room for all these potted plants (and maybe a few more).

"What do you use to feed your citrus?"

I feed them the Wal-Mart equivalent of MirAcid, spray them periodically with a micronutrient foliar fertilizer, and add time-release fertilizer to the soil, once the TRF thats in the original potting soil runs out. The potting soil is nothing special, either Miracle Grow potting soil or Sams Choice from Wal-Mart, both high in peat moss, depending on which is in the bigger bag when I shop. For my first trees I added some sand to the mix, but Im out of pure sand, so I might add some perlite to the mix for the new trees. But, I dont get crazy over soil type; its really just slightly augmented basic potting soil. Last July I started my one-year trees in 10-inch pots. By this July they were quite root-bound (all but the Improved Myer, which is a laggard), so I repotted into 12-inch pots. Once they get established (i.e. root-bound), I think it is hard to overwater potted citrus, at least outside, because the roots suck up all the water they can, and the sun bakes them dry very quickly. Also, there is quite a lot of foliage relative to the root system on these plants, which I think helps to keep them from getting waterlogged. And, the soil actually does drain pretty well. Inside last winter I only watered them every two to three weeks, but will probably have to water more frequently this winter, since they are much larger. The water meter will tell the tale.

"Are they outside now?"

Yes, they are all out on the deck on the south side of the house, where they get full sun all day. Once the new ones arrive and are potted up, I should take some pics of all of them out there and post them to the forum. It might be helpful for others, who are just getting started and who would like to know what a one-year old tree looks like in the beginning and what it can look like a year later.

"What size pot is your Pom in? Do you have the dwarf, 'nana' or a standart size?"

I have Nana, the dwarf variety, in a relatively small 8-inch pot. Probably would be good to repot it this year.

Good luck with your new kumquats. Ive checked out the pics of your citrus on your photo page quite an impressive collection.

narcnh

Narcnh, do you have a website? I'd like to see your plants.
I've never heard of half the herbs you grow, wow..Your garden must smell heavenly.
Yep, you too fit in the Addiction catagory..LOL.
My kumquats won't come in until Sept, but I do have a variegated type now..and another type..can't recall its name. My two newest citrus are Buddha's Hand and a French type..can't recall that name either..I'm doing great today..lol..My brain is off duty..I sprained my ankle and on some potent pain meds. Toni

Dear narcnc,

Resistence is futile, you are addicted! It could be worse, you could be drinking excessively or shooting drugs.

Speaking of drugs, let me relate a story to you conveying how misunderstood we plant enthusiasts must seem to more conventional sorts. Last year, I had a low flying helicopter hovering directly over my garden for what seemed like an eternity. I called the police worried about some terrorist-inspired plot perhaps. I later reached the conclusion that because my yard is so lush and unconventional (containing so many exotic plants), that one of my idiot neighbors must have called the police to report suspicious goings on in my yard. (I also grow plants under artificial lights in an attached Florida room.) Now I do grow a lot of herbs (Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Verbena, etc.), but I suspect they looking for a different kind of 'herb'. Actually, marijuana is one of the few plants that I'm not growing. The only drug plant that I have is coffee (which so far has never produced so much as a single bean). If more people had healthy passions in life, there would be less of a problem with unhealthy ones. In the meantime, the local authorities would more likely discover those fluorescent fields of opium poppies and groves of pot in the homes of those with only the most traditional of horticultural tastes (well manicured lawns, sculptured conifers, and urns planted with geranium no doubt), not in the homes and gardens of the truely plant passionate. Rest assured, you are among friends here narcnc, we understand.

Toni,

I have a photobucket website, where I store pics that get linked to posts on GardenWeb forums, but not anything set up for general viewing. As I said, when the new trees arrive, I'll take some pics of all the trees for comparative purposes.

The herbs do smell pretty good. The best is lemon verbena, which I keep right by the walkway. When you brush it, it smells like lemon pledge - strongest smelling lemony herb I know, really intense. I have a lemon eucalyptus, and even it isn't as strong. The more exotic herbs make for interesting cooking experiments. For example, now that my Kaffir lime is blooming, I hope it will set some fruit, so I can try the zest. It's also getting large enough that I think I can start snipping a few leaves here and there for cooking. But, it looks like it, too, mostly blooms from the tips of the branches, So it will be a trade off - cut the tips for the best leaves and sacrifice fruit, or cut from the middle and get tougher leaves and a more open, rangly tree. I suppose in time it will get large enough that it won't be an issue. Can't rush things; after all, it's only two years old and I've only had it one year.

Hope your sprained ankle is feeling better.

njoasis, interesting story about the chopper. When I was a kid growing up in Jersey, we had a neighbor down the street, who liked to sunbathe in the nude in her/their secluded yard. Police choppers regularly 'patrolled' the immediate vicinity. Being young, I thought they were chasing bad guys.

narcnh

My kafir lime and key lime trees are spreading out rather than growing taller.
Should I be trimming them or is there something else I should do???

NJ, wow, what a story..Did you ever find out why they were flying around? For sure..And who called them in the first place?
I can see why copters were flying around Narcnh's friends house..LOL..they must have got an eyeful..

Parker, seems to me if you prune, it'll only grow wider, unless you take all side branched off entirely..I've never seen a fruit tree grow wide instead of upwards. Toni

My Kaffir Lime also is very wide and seems to be getting wider. I bought it mainly to use the leaves in Thai cooking so I don't really care. It is an odd shape for a citrus though.

We have small planes and helicopters buzzing overhead all the time. Quite a few of us have pools and bathing suits are optional.lol There are also many small farms and I'm pretty sure some of them are growing more than corn!
Karyn

I've never made Thai food..what tyes of foods do you make w/the leaves? Is it like Chinese food?
LOl, more than corn?? Amazing.
I posted this on another forum a while back, but my son's friend was admiring my plants..he said," you should grow weed." LOL..I just looked at him..Then, one summer, a strange, almost familiar looking plant was growing in the center of my garden. Because I had sowed various annuals, I didn't pay much attention, as least not in the beginning. It grew about 5' tall, and while standing in the center of my garden, I KNEW what it was..someone actually sowed weed seeds in my garden..boy, did I rid that fast..For one, it was planted out front, where people and police drove by. I tossed it in the compost, ASAP..lol..To this day I don't know if the kid who told me to pot 'pot' was the culpret..Toni

I too have the addiction, but its an itch I can't scratch. I live in TX and most citrus suppliers are restricted from shipping to TX. The few TX growers whom I find ( 2 to be exact) are too limited in stock. Help me get this monkey off my back and guide me to reputable suppliers in TX. Ray.

Ray, I've bought beautiful trees at www.acornsprings.com in TX. Check out their site. Heck, maybe you'll find it's driveing distance..LOL..not that TX is small..LOL..Hope this will get that monkey off your back and scratch that itch..Toni

Hopefulauthor, LOL here :). No, I can honestly say that I have never seen naked people in my back yard--too many protruding thorns on cacti and citrus. Shortly after the event I described, I remember reading about a bust on a few nice suburban homes where illegal herbs were being grown under sophisticated fluorescent light set ups. They must have gotten their fill of pics of my banana and citrus grove last year--so far no choppers this summer.

Breaking into a very sunny period here. I suspect it will be very dry now for the next few months before the rainy season begins. Expect the citrus to really take off after a ridiculously wet June and July! Ciao!

Nj, guess you'd know about those protruding thorns on cactus..LOL..peak peak..lol..shame on you..(S)

The police here have to check the woods every so often..there's been many cases where, I'm guessing teens, planted weed seeds..and the plants grew..the polie confiscated a large number of pot growing in the woods..guess these plants were doing good, too, being 6' tall..I don't think they ever caught the 'farmers' because it wasn't in my neighborhood paper. Bet they were shocked when they went back to pick up their 'stash' and found it gone..LOl..Toni

Toni,

Thai cooking is something like Chinese and something like Indian, but really something all to itself, spicy and very fresh with lots of citrus notes (think lemon grass). Kaffir leaves are an essential part of Thai cuisine. The leaves are used whole in soups and sliced very thin (like a super fine julienne) for other dishes. Below is a recipe I got off the the Net that is easy and very tasty.

By the way, my five new trees arrived today. The Australian finger lime is quite large, which is to be expected for a two-three year old. It has some flowers on it but no fruit, which is fine by me. From its appearance I get the feeling it grows like a weed. The kumquat is the smallest tree, but it has a small fruit on it. Will see if it stays on or falls off. I will take some pics within the next couple of days and post them here.

Beef Panang - Panang Nua
2 Servings

2 tablespoons sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (a leaf is one leaflet off of a mature compound leaf)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
1 lb. beef, sliced (flank steak, top round, etc.)

Pour 1/2 of the coconut milk in a pan over medium heat. Add curry paste and break it up to mix it with coconut milk. Keep stiring to prevent bottom from sticking. Lower the heat to simmer if necessary. Simmer until red oil appears. Add the beef and stir to coat the beef with the curry paste. Add sugar, fish sauce and the rest of coconut milk. Let it simmer until the beef is tender and the liquid is reduced to a thick sauce. It should take about half an hour to an hour depending on your heat. Add water if your beef is still tough and let the liquid reduce.

Sprinkle the sliced kaffir lime leaves on top.

Serve hot over rice.

narcnh

Thanks Narcnh..it sounds interesting, but I'm not one for spicy foods..My dh would probably like it..but I KNOW my son wouldn't and like I said, I can't eat spicy..also I wouldn't know where to purchase half the ingredients coconut milk? LOL..Curry paste??

One of my citrus books details citrus recepies..In fact, there's a book sold on Amazon that's all receipie uses from citrus. It sure be worth it if one is into trying different foods. Thanks again, Toni