Thanks Laura. I enjoyed your pictures and description.

Cory

Thanks, Laura. Sad excuses for potted lemon trees; but they are probably still doing what their Grandfathers did. Makes you want to go there and give them some advice.... not that they would take it. Luckily Italy is no threat to the modern world of citrus.

Thanks, Laura. I would have loved to have been there. The trees do look sickly, but the trees in this post look very good: http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/citrusplaces/medici.html. (Scroll down.)

That's a great link Vladimir! Yes, they look better there, however, some of the ones I saw did look quite good...I guess I just picked out the scrawniner ones. They had probably come out from their winter quaters a day or two before I saw them and as you can see from my photos, there were a few left in that big room which is also shown full in the link above. I did not realize that those were part of the Medici varieties in Boboli also. I agree with John though that they could do better. He's probably right in that they have not changed their growing methods for quite a while...

Hey John! One of the trees I saw was a Meyer ;-). They also had variegated pink lemon, calamondin, and green finger lime with fruits.

That soil does look really dry! I agree with you Laura, it makes me want to grab a hose! I think that it is amazing that they grow all those different varieties! It is so cool to see the little trees with giant fruit hanging off of them. It gives me hope haha. What an amazing trip. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures!

Very nice pics Laura. The mix they use doesn't look anything like the mix I use their's looks like it has a lot of sand mixed in . Love the pics.

Brian

Amazing, its wonderful you were able to incorporate citrus in your vacation! I love the looks of the big, round, slightly wrinkled ones. They look like they would be very juicy and flavorful.

Great report, thanks.

Would be really interesting to see how these plants look further on in the outdoor growing season. Not that you need to go back, Laura :)

Lol hibiscus...I'd gladly volunteer ;-)

Brian, can you show me a pic of what your mix looks like? I think I may be able to get it at my local farm store.

Hi Laura if you zoom in you can see the mix

Laura, I use Ecoscrap gardensoil from Walmart. I bought 12 bags last fall for some ridicules price. For me it is the best, buy a bag and see for yourself, i just did my Meyer lemon a hour ago to a bigger container.

Laura, what Vladimir was really trying is that your trees look way much better than any of those. Rich green and so full loaded with fruit and blooms, like Alexander the Great once did! Ha Very nice. Thanks for all the details and the enthusiasm to share with us...You know what? I wish you found out just exactly what kind mix they plant them all in...I like clay too..I am thinking about changing all of mine over to clay and yet the cold nights don't help them in clay either..Ugh

Brain, thanks buddy! That is a great mix from what I have heard. You have no need to add perlite right? Honestly, I think it's one of the best bagged mixes you can buy. Fafard Mixes use to be until they got bought out by Sun-gro. Now that mix stays too wet and is cheaply made...If one does not want to go through the bother of making a mix then that is quite a good choice since you have proven that ALL your trees do really well in it this far up north.

Brian, how often do you repot? And, do you pot up a size or two of the root ball? How long before that mix compacts and need to be replaced? And, how in the world do you re pot those huge trees and how often? I know at one point you can't go any bigger in pot size, so do you cut the roots back a bit?

I am thinking you do a yearly re pot for most of do you let roost fill the pot and then pot up? Thanks AND MANY HUGS!

Thanks Mike! Compared to Brian's trees, those trees looked weak and small. Even some of mine look better...yes, they could do better. I would be interested in hearing what Brian has to say about your questions re repotting. I may buy a bag of that mix if I can find it the next time I head over to that farm center to buy chicken feed.

They might need a new gardener. Any of you guys could do a better job. Me, i don't think so. I am happy with my tree's, can't do any better.

Bob, I don't have a Walmart nearby or I'd check it out. Your trees look incredible so I have no doubt you'd whip the Italian trees into shape ;-)

I am more interested in Manderins/oranges than lemons/lime's. I guess Italians love lemons in their cooking more so. I only use lemons in margarita's and cherries Jubilee's( my favorite), a recipe from Anthone's in New Orleans and Golden margarita's from a well known restaurant in Naples Fl., to dye for.

My Meyer does a good job almost year around. I hope the family enjoy your stay in Italy and their food, but nothing like being back home for me.

Hey Mikey and Laura I usually repot every 3 yrs sometimes sooner it really depends on how fast the tree' is growing , sometimes I will repot after a couple of months if the tree is showing absolutely no signs of any kind of growth . I am looking at my Tango , Minneola and Valencia and they are looking like they need a repotting the soil is flattening out but definitely not harmful in any way the water drains very nicely and the water doesn't sit on top of the mix . Mikey the 3 tree's I mentioned need repotting and are going in rain barrels like this one

Brian

Laura, too bad you couldn't go to Oscar Tintori's place. He, too, grows his citrus in terra cota pots. Here is a video showing how he repots and root prunes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC1LmKHaiUw&t=1387s

Vladimir, I wanted to go so badly!!! I just did not have the time. Someone here even told me which train to take but we just ran out of days. I love that video...very interesting. With trees that large, that is the only way I think.

Hey guys, wanted to stop by and say good night and I hope you are all well. It's going to finally get sunnier tomorrow after days of cold rain. Nothing of mines grows in this except bulbs which elongate and fall over.UGH..My dozens of hyacinths were looking so pretty until this cold rain.

Brian, thank you buddy! What a beautiful tree and it looks so happy!! Do you even trim it to look that nicely shaped? Great job and thanks for the pointers...You have a wonderful nights and hugs to you buddy! No thunder yet..lol

I think a lot of people here are missing the point about the citrus collections in and around Florence.

They are a 'museum collection' of ancient citrus varieties - some individual plants believed to be around 300 years old. They have survived floods, freezes and wars, and they are grown in the traditional way with the only fertilizer being composted animal dung. The soil (US=dirt) in the pots was, and often still is, the local sandy river-basin loam. The majority are lemons, citrons and bitter oranges because other species common today were unknown in the Medici era. Many are 'bizarre' or 'monstrous' types (horned, furrowed, strangely-shaped) because people were becoming interested in how these deviations arose. And they are not grown to produce lots of fruit, but to enhance the look of ornamental gardens and to preserve the old varieties.

It is unfair to say that Italy is not a modern citrus producer. But not in the Florence region. If you check the statistics, you will find that Italy grows about a third of the tonnage of USA. Not bad for a much smaller country. For tangerine/mandarine/clementine types production is even equal to that of USA.

Thanks to Laura for posting her photos and impressions.I tried to help her visit Tintori nursery and the Medici Castello collection - but perhaps another time. And thanks to Vladamir for pointing out the link to my website page about the Medici citrus collection. Reading this thread made me go back and update some pictures and links, as the page was over 10 years old. Best viewed on a desktop or laptop, rather than a phone, see

http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/citrusplaces/medici.html

citrange, thank you for the information.

Thank you citrange!! I so appreciated your comments and help. It killed me to not go but we just ran out of time. I love the history and your link. Yes, some of those fruits looked strange for sure. I loved seeing the little bit I saw!

Thank you, Laura, for the post and the info. Brian, I use Promix for my trees and house plants also. I find that my plants grow in it well as long as my pots have many holes in them. That soil stays fluffy for longer period of time if I don't overwater, if overwatering happens at least couple times, then the texture of the soil changes and never goes back to that fluffiness that it had before ( even after you dry the soil after the "flood "). I let the tree dry ( or some plants can stand little bit of wilt ) and then water them generously, drain completely and place them back in their spot.

Hi Sunshine nice to hear that someone else uses Pro Mix . I like yourself make lot's of drainage holes at the bottom of the pots you can never have to many . I've never had a problem with over watering there has been many times it's rained for a straight week and never did the soil flatten out . When I water I use the gentle setting the water comes out like a gentle rain shower . I have 4 big tree's that were repotted a few yrs ago and 2 of them the soil is still fluffy and 2 have flattened out but drain very well and the water never ponds on the top , those 2 need repotting the roots are beginning to show at the top .

Brian