This is what I use, it's a neem oil premix. I've used it for years on all my outside plants and this winter on my indoor citrus. I also have a bottle of neem oil but once you mix it, you have to use it all at once according to the directions. You can also make it stronger/weaker but I prefer this garden safe. It's fast and easy.

Thank you all!! Better head to the store.

Whatever you get, drench the plant. Top and bottom of leaves, and soil. The oil suffocates the insects so make sure they are coated well.

And the oil doesn't another the tree?

It hasn't suffocated the tree in my experience. After a couple of minutes it appears to collect into droplets. I figure it gets washed off when I use my foiliar sprays. Has anyone had problems using oils on thier trees?

I've used this spray for years and it hasn't damaged any of my plants. Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, various berries, lettuces, everything I grow gets treated with it. I buy the big jug you can attach to a hose. Inside I keep the spray bottle handy for my inside plants.

since the lemon has gone out to the greenhouse it's got that nice color in the blooms again and it's only bee a few days!

Amanda, I use a mix of neem and insecticidal soap as an emulsifier. (You need to mix neem with an emulsifier so that the oil is applied as very small droplets.) That mix did harm some plants. It almost killed my papaya, crown of thorns and mango. I don't know if it is the neem or the soap.

Scary! Did they recover ok? I did not know you can grow mangos in a container! That's my favorite fruit. I thought mango trees had to get really big to produce fruit?

Mangos do have to grow really big to produce fruit. I decided to try to germinate a mango seed for fun and to then throw it out. But my wife took pity on it and would not let me throw it out even after I told her that it has to grow to be the size of our house before it bears fruit, so I now have a baby mango tree that is about 8 inches tall. It is now putting out new growth after being semidormant all winter.

Wow! That still sounds like an awesome project though. I haven't been brave enough to try and grow a tree from a seed. I have thought about it and it would fun! My friend found a lemon seed growing in a sink's garbage disposal at the restaurant where she works, she took it home and she and her husband planted the little tree. It grew to six feet and they installed a ton of professional lights for it. Hopefully your mango tree will grow perfectly!

What am I going to do with it when it outgrows the house? Prune it , I suppose. If my wife lets me.

Beautiful beautiful guy's , a couple of pics from today and last night . Shasta Gold profusely flowering.

Looking good Brian! All of your trees look fantastic as usual. I bet you're ready to have those guys back outside of the greenhouse soon. Wonderful looking greenhouse too by the way.

Evan

Thanks Evan! !! . We are having a sunny day today Yippee seems like the last sunny day we had was last year, so jealous of your weather . Your variegated lemon is absolutely stunning must smell incredible in your backyard.

Brian

Wow those trees look amazing Brian! I bet the smell in your green house is amazing!

Thankyou Amanda it does smell incredible in there . Going now to do some work in there for a couple of hours and soak up some humidity , right now it's 80 degrees and the sun is shining strong in there don't want to miss a minute of it . Enjoy your afternoon.

Brian

Brain, I thought I smelled the whiff of those flowers down here when that COLD front with thunderstorms passed through here last nigh@!! You know it was 70 here for the past three days, very unheard of in February, the 40's today! I could smell all the flowers on my trees before that cold front with all the humid warm air here and all my trees outside..I had them out there for 3 days and they seem to have come alive on the verge of collapse....That greenhouse of yours look amazing,..Who can want summer there when you can enjoy it all year long, except the lack of sun..I am so happy the sun finally came out.....Thanks so much for sharing..Where did you get that Shasta tree? Have you noticed it flowers more than the other or several times a year? Just wonderful buddy...By the way, what is the exact name of the fertilizers you use and do you have to use vinegar or some sort of acidifiers? I happen to have lots of Miracle Grow unused and if I sprinkle it as you do, I want to make sure it's the right kind? Do you fertilize all your plants the same way, even the tropicals?

Too Brian, have you noticed that the Kishu tends to grow slower and stay smaller than all other citrus or is it me or should I say mine? I hate how slow it grows and the little flowers! But it's growing...Happy Sunday Pal..Hugs

Brian, is that a fragrant Geranium I see there? Love the Philodendron too! You would not believe the plants I have besides citrus..Listen, if you want a 'PInk Philodendron, let me know. I have started a cutting for you....Hoping you caught all my questions..Love learning from you my friend. I have been sprinkling a thin layer over all my plants which they seem to love and then water thoroughly in.

Evan, I too LOVE that variegated tree you have...Can you post another of it as it stands today? Maybe a bit of blue skies including..Just love your pics...Wish I could live there too.Maybe Brian and I can hook something up where we can visit for a few years, I mean days..lol

Vladimir..IT's the Neem that almost killed your Crown of Thorns..Almost killed mine to..There are some plants just so incapable of any type of oil on their leaves..I almost killed a few of my other succulents...All the leaves fell off but they are coming back..

Hey Mike! Ask and ye shall receive. I just walked outside and snapped a few pics for you.

Blue sky's · More Info

Pink lipstick hibiscus waking up and starting to flower. I need to trim this monster back it's almost 10' tall and nearly touching my roof.

Blue sky's · More Info

Variegated pink lemon per your request!!!

Blue sky's · More Info

Another angle

Blue sky's · More Info

Looking south, barely a cloud in the sky.

Blue sky's · More Info

Rio red grapefruit and cocktail pomelo in the foreground....trying to keep some citrus in the pics

Blue sky's · More Info

Most of my trees looking North

Blue sky's · More Info

Evan

Wow! Brian, those trees are gorgeous, I can feel the energy of your lovely oasis through my computer screen.

Evan, wonderful pictures.

Evan!))

My God!!! Perfect is that Variegated Tree in every form and shape Evan...I am so proud of you and how hard you work to get your plants to look as beautiful as they do...You know, no one can say it's just because of the weather or sun you get, because I know many people that live there with in ground trees and plants that could never compare to yours..

Now as for that beautiful blue sky which even the moons shines while the sun is out, so deep blue, something I never see here, we can give that credit to someone else..lol

Seriously, you know your stuff and what make plants and trees like your very happy for your area.. Your growing techniques are spot one!You should give teaching lessons to anyone that wants to grow Citrus, especially since they are not native to your area...Bravo my friend..

You know just for kickers..I remember going to Arizona and seeing the sky like that every day..The funny thing is at that time I was a sun worshiper and loved to get tan. Here in New England it can start out sunny like that and be cloudy even before you'd finish rubbing the tanning lotion on or just as soon as you park your car at the beach. It's a joke. When I was in Arizona, my friend used to laugh her but off watching me race to put lotion on to lay by the pool by ten o'clock a.m because she would say I was rushing for no reason since the sun would still be there all day even though I would sweat bullets to beat the clouds that never existed...lol I' will never forget that day. Here. you are always in a race for the clouds to dampen your nice sunny warm parade....

What kind of almost bare tree is that in the second to the last photo? Will it flower? Is it just coming out of dormancy? Looks like you like that one for some reason.Looks like it's going to look nice once grown in. What is the one in the last pic? The one with the two thick branches..Is that a Plumeria?

Beautiful Hibiscus! Is that a hard plant to keep free of mites with such warm dry weather? Do you have to be on the look out for that? I know they are HUGE mite magnets up here in doors..

Thank you so much for the pics..I needed them and they sure as hell made me smile. You are so thoughtful...

Ok members of the citrus forum meeting is to be held at Evans place next week for the whole week, month maybe year lol. OMG Evan crazy beautiful your tree's your grass and I cannot see one weed that beautiful blue sky just amazing now I know the meaning of God's country. Please Please Evan never be shy with the pics we all so enjoy them thankyou. Mikey you made me laugh very much starts off sunny early then go slap on the sun lotion and bingo it has all clouded up by the time I get back out ,so to here buddy lol. Thunderstorms you must have been dancing in the streets we had them to yesterday . We were in the car there was one flash right over the car one of those flash bang at the exact same time we'll let me tell you I let out a scream that you might have heard seriously scared the living daylights out of me . I am amazed that you brought your tree's all outside they must have loved it , so hard to believe that it got into the 70's and for three day's in a row we hit 60 on Friday only to be followed by buckets of rain and even a little snow last night yuck . Mikey I picked up quit a few of my tree's at Home Depot a few years ago and the Shasta is one of them they were from Duarte really healthy tree's they are . I wish I could fit the whole tree into the picture because it looks spectacular with all of the blossom's coating it and the fragrance is intense . Mikey I just use miracle gro all purpose between May and September and I just sprinkle a little on the top of the soil then water in well . I have been in the greenhouse for the last couple of hours squishing scale on a couple of my tree's they are so gross my arm is so sticky all the way up to my elbow . Two and a half months more to go and they will be outside were I will really be able to get at them I can hardly wait . Mikey the Kishu is much slower than my others more bush like I am going to try cuttings alot of the lower branches to give it a more tree form. Has yours started growing fast I remember you complaining about it a while back . Mikey the geraniums are just regular pink and red although they have a beautiful flower . On the little table you might be able to see some Geraniums cuttings that I have started and my peppers and tomatoes and a few other flowers, it's starting to get crowded lol. Mikey your so kind thankyou for the philodendron offer I am not to sure if custom's would allow it into the country would love to see a pic of it I've never seen one before . Have you worked out all that greasy stuff you ate during superbowl Sunday yet lol. . Have a great Sunday my good friend and hugs to you to .

Thanks sunshine , please please keep throwing sunshine our way here in eastern Ontario you did a great job today .

Brian

Hey Mike, thanks buddy I appreciate the compliments. You too Brian!

Mike, the hibiscus is fairly easy to grow here, they're very hungry and thirsty and yes I get aphids, A LOT of scale and mites on them. Nothing a little organocide can't take care of. The tree that is in the second pic is called a Palo Brea, it is semi deciduous and is just starting to leaf out and will be covered in yellow flowers soon. I don't have any pics of it on this phone in bloom so I downloaded what it will look like in about 6 weeks.

The tree in the last photo is a desert willow which is a deciduous desert tree and again it is getting ready to leaf out and bloom, here is a downloaded pic of what it will look like all summer.

Evan

Beautiful Evan both tree's and here I thought the desert was only cacti and scorpions lol. The desert willow must be a sight in bloom and it lasts all summer bonus . That big blue sky as a background really show off your plants very well . Love your hibiscus must be a real pic when totally in bloom . I had never ever seen a scale bug til I started growing hibiscus and citrus and do I ever dislike this bug .

Brian

Thanks Brian, the desert is full of colorful trees and shrubs. Unfortunately there is a common misconception that the desert is a barren wasteland. Although sometimes it feels like it could be during the dog days of summer when our temps push into the 120 degree zone. My desert willow is absolutely covered with bees in the early mornings and evenings when it's in bloom, I love sitting underneath it in the spring and listening to the bees working. Not to mention the giant hawk moths that go to town on the flowers after dark. Hibiscus so attract a lot of scale unfortunately, but I feel it's a small price to pay for such a beautiful big flower, I too dislike scale, it drives me nuts! I'll be sure to post up some pics on the forum when my desert trees start blooming.

Evan

Evan Beautiful trees. I used to live in Phoenix AZ It get hot there and humid with all the canals and very well watered farms surrounding the city. The only things I have in citrus.

The remaining pictures

fukushu kumquat 1 · More Info

6b Steve

Steve- Yeah I'm in Indiana and all my outdoor plants are exploding with swelling buds! It's soooo early! You have an awesome collection of plants growing!

Oh boy, do I have plenty to say when it slows down here at work tonight! Thanks everyone..)))

Hey all, here are some recent pics as of yesterday.....It smell good on my porch, in the house and throughout my yard!

Orange on 3 season porch

My Ruby Grapefruit making a come back after a fall off the roof and a completely removed broken head...

The infamous monster Navel Orange Tree in full bloom that has been stuck on my cold porch since October!

Am almost barren Ponderosa Lemon which will come back once it sees the great outdoors too loaded with fruit though

Brian...You are way too funny!!! Thunder storms are a plus for me...Even my trees like them. Did you know that we got a rare TORNADO just west of me never recorded in February at all? Hold Jeez....I am glad someone knows about the oil routine to get out in the sun before it clouds over..lol How about this one? Paying 25 dollars to park at the beach to get there when it's 90 something just to have the fog roll in and drop into the 60's within minutes of paying to park..On goes the sweater as you huddle on the beach just dying for that hot sun although cold breeze to come out. You pack up within an hour and waste all that money.lol Seem you have the perfect system for your trees.I love it...Question buddy!!! How often do you feed your trees? Do you sprinkle that stuff on every week or once a month? Thanks buddy..Hugs right back at ya. I hope it's sunny there today! Look at the pic in my next post lower down. There is a pic of the pink Philodendron. variegated

Evan, WOW..Those trees are the very same ones I would plant if I lived there, You most certainly have wonderful taste..Those are some very pretty trees to add to a landscape..That is just amazing..Please post some pics when it does bloom...Post as many pics as you would like. I like anything there that grows and the area...Do you have small ground pants like perennials there? 120 degrees? Ouch...How in the world do you keep your citrus safe in that weather Evan? Does it make you nervous? Do you have to water alot buddy? That's crazy Such a good job keeping them happy.

Steve, I just can't believe that you can practically keep a fresh home grown farm of vegi's growing all year long..That is quite impressive I'd say! You will never have to hit a grocery store if the Zombies ever take over..Just grab a shot gun, surround your home with a tall stone wall that can't be scaled, and you are all set to go..!

Is this a magnesium deficiency? It just started showing up on my calamondin! It's been healthy and green all winter. I have been scouring the internet for leaves that look like this but I am having a hard time finding any that really match. ( the white stuff on the leaves is residue from being misted)

Amand, what is it you have been feeding your tree? Are you fertilizing now? What kind of temps are you holding your tree at? Is it actively growing? How much sunlight? What is the pH of your water? Do you use rain water? What kind of mix?

Just because it is a nutrient issue, it does not always mean you attack one at a time. There is something preventing the uptake if your fertilizer already has it in there? get it?

Brian, for you!!!

Here is the plant I was telling you about..I can see a Pink variegated Philo lighten up about all that green you have, especially when the sun hit it! They are hard to get here, therefore the reason I started a cutting for you)))

Foliage-pro for 2 months now since it was recommended to me. Fish emulsion since the fall. I recently started mixing vinegar into the foliage pro. It has 2 36 watt grow lights on it, and on the days above 65 degrees I set it outside. I turn the lights on at 7 am and off at 11 pm. The tree is actively pushing out lots of new growth and forming its first flower buds! They are tiny but pushingnout from the stem! Exciting! Can I put some epsum salt on it since it's not actually salt, just straight magnesium? I can't have it being weird before it blooms for the first time! I've been waiting 1.5 years for this hahaha.

This was 10 days ago! There is a little of it but not much.

And now today, what the crap.

Oh I read in an older post that you were using rose oil to keep pests at bay. Are you still doing that? Does it work? I'm just thinking about trying it if it works.

6b Steve

Hello everyone I am really enjoying this thread I love everyone's pics fantastic . Mikey buddy Wow incredible love the lemon pic in the snow really makes a huge statement - winter take OFF spring is here now . Your grapefruit looks terrific buddy wouldn't even had known it fell off the roof it really made a full recovery . Judging by your beautiful pics I would keep on with the fertilizing regime that your currently on they look just fine to me beautiful buddy they are all in bloom just what you wanted. Mikey I fertilize usually every second watering and sometimes every watering when I forgot that I fertilized the watering before lol, all between May and September . Mikey the Philo is stunning buddy beautiful I would love a cutting but I think it would be stopped at the border . Mikey the weather is so wacky incredible that there was a tornado that close to you already and it's only Febuary. I heard that they are calling for a possible big tornado outbreak Wednesday night in the center of the country here we go . Have a great night my friend hugs.

Brian

Mike I forgot to have above. The amount of winter produce is nowhere near what you think. If I have the quantity I had going into last fall I can keep it in cold live growing storage all winter and use it as I need it. Over 50 collard plants were wiped out by 3 separate infestations and I only got about 10 meals of cooking greens. The sweet potatoes last all winter however they were grown during hot months. It is very easy to get things started real early in spring with longer days than hold over in late fall when there is no sunlight. I will try the early spring thing. I now have 32 kale plants on my roof. I can protect the small plants very easily to make it to summer. Thanks for the compliment.

6b Steve

wow some great examples of success in geographies that are not kind to citrus.!!!

Here is a picture of my Golden Nugget. The fruit is ready to eat now, but I am leaving it on the tree a month or two longer to sweeten a bit further.

No spring flush on it, or my other mandarins (except the Tango)- yet. The lemons, oranges and grapefruits are starting to push new growth.

I decided to give a personal name to my home grafted New Zealand lemonad tree on US897 rootstock.

------------------------------I would like to introduce you to------------------------------------

6B Steve

Last minute gratuitous February pics of my Meyer Lemon tree taken this afternoon. Enjoy and we're only 20 days away from spring!!!

Meyer lemon tree · More Info

Meyer lemon tree · More Info

Meyer lemon tree · More Info

Meyer lemon tree · More Info

Meyer lemon tree · More Info

Meyer lemon tree · More Info

Evan

very nice Evan Congratulations followed hopefully with lots of fruit.

What a big beautiful tree Evan! I am so jealous, my tree is so little haha! Good work growing that beast!

Love that gold nugget and Meyer you guys! Spectacular! I wish I could have my trees in the ground!

My poor trees are finally getting sun. I have 3 in the ground but all the potted are outside and this winter has been unusually cold and rainy. I LOVE IT but, I don't think my plants do. It's been regularly in the 40s at night. They're doing well though!

Evan, WOW!!! I wish I could say I am only 20 days away from spring..It could still be winter in summer and summer in winter if this keeps up. I am getting the feeling I am going to loose a heck of a lot of flower and trees this spring..((( Such a beautiful day there and beautiful flowers..Picked me right up))

Brian buddy..Thanks for the info and such kind words!! I wish I could send you a piece since I KNOW how good it would be in your care buddy.. Were you warm today? How hot has it been in your greenhouse with these warmer days? It hit 99 in mine the other day. I never saw it get that warm so early..Crazy..I can tell you that my Orchids liked it after a nice rinse off. lol. Any thunder again? I saw you has rain up your way today...Crazy buddy.

Molewacker, HOLY MOLY..Look at all that fruit. That's crazy. What I would do to live in an area where that was common..((

Amanda, seems you are doing all the right stuff. I would just be patient and your tree will turn a rich green on it's own once the weather warms up and you can stick them back outside in warmer stable temps above 55, usually about the end of May around here...Good job.

Evan and molewacker gorgeous. Evan so exciting spring is in a couple of weeks actually meteorological spring starts today I believe and in two weekends we turn the clocks ahead it will be so nice to see the sun sets after 7.00 pm . Keep those pics coming it gives us northerners a hint of what's to come love it .

Brian

This should help. What Laura shared with me..

Laura LaRosa

Thank you guys. Cory, I hope all of yours come out soon. I think after this cold snap, we will be good to go. It only got to 47 here, so I did not move anyone inside. I watered thoroughly tonight and will probably fertilize tomorrow or the day after. Mike, I have been alternating between FP and Peters, when I run out of FP, I will just stick with Peters. I have a huge bag of it lol! I do use vinegar but may try to go without it a bit and see what happens. Mike, here is a link for the lights:

Philips 433557 23W 100-watt T2 Twister 6500K CFL Light Bulb, 4-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M6SR1JM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_bNrezbCC5RFKH

I put them as close as I can without burning the trees even though I had a few scorched leaves on a few. The trees really responded incredibly well to them. I would say the growth was not as perfect as when outdoors, but not too bad - not terribly lanky. I don't know how many you will need. I started with like 15 and little by little added more until I was satisfied they were all getting enough light. The Ikea lights are very basic, but they work and are cheap. Take down was a bit of a pain, but not terrible. I removed the bulbs and stored them in a plastic bin, then just shoved the lamps into a crawlspace. I can tell you that watering them was like a yoga workout...I ended up in a sweat! In my case, I just had so many that I could hardly reach some of them without some serious stretching. You are in good shape though, so you will manage ;-). I also think the lights will help you with any seasonal effects that may bring you down. I sat in my sunroom every morning and night and was very happy in there in spite of almost needing sunglasses!

Brian, you are the king of gorgeous trees. I would love it if you would share some of your awesome trees. I could never let mine get that big and overwinter them in my house. Hobby, I hope you can get yours out soon (you too Brian). Oh and Mike, no Alexander does not defoliate that badly every year (never has that badly). I think it was the mites and the treatments for mites that did him in. I was a little worried, but he is bouncing back nicely. Amanda...yes, BRIGHT! I was afraid I would get sunburned in there!