What a great collection of trees! They are so big! You are doing a great job.

Very nice Sammers beautiful collection . Nice seeing tree's that have been rescued flourishing great job . Love the puppy toy mine has several of the same toy lol. Your lemon looks like it's making an amazing comeback.

Brian

Thank you! Amanda, I am certainly trying to stack the deck by purchasing the largest trees I can find. I know I am much more likely to stick with something if I get results sooner. So now that I have a few trees that will give me a couple of fruits this season, I am more comfortable buying smaller trees that will take years to fruit. I still will try to get the larger trees if possible or if its a variety I really want to taste the fruits from (like my AFL) but for something like the Washington Navel or a Buddhas hand I am fine waiting a few seasons if larger specimens aren't available.

Brian, I have a soft spot for rescues (that's how I foster-failed my puppy) its very rewarding to see them flourish after being neglected. Hopefully by the end of summer you won't even recognize that bearss it will look so good ;)

nice trees. I wish you the best with your NZL

6b Steve

Hi Sammers. Nice trees. Is the calamondin grafted? That is one beautiful finger lime tree. What kind of puppy do you have? I have two dogs. Both are cockapoos.

Vladimir, yes the calamondin is grafted, you can kind of see it in the first picture below the graft the tree is a lighter color. My Meyer did the same last year and only flowered on half the tree then this year most of the tree. My puppy's is a staffie mix, we had her DNA tested and she is 33% staffordshire terrier 12% lab 12% golden retriever and the rest unknown. She's a tiny little thing (only to me she's 50lbs) and just over a year old. We call her our perma pup since she never grew out of her puppy size, our other dog is a Plott Hound that is 115lbs. She's small enough to walk under him and still be my lap dog cuddle buddy. I've never met a more cuddly loveable dog than her. That why we decided to keep her. She snuggles up in bed with me and rests her head on my shoulder, I often wake up to her snoring.

This is Hadley, a rambunctious little pup who reminds us of scrappy doo.

And this is evidence of her snuggles, she will come grunt at us when it's time for bed. She's seriously the best dog, having her as solidified me as an advocate for her breed and other bully breeds. 4 years working at a vet and it's shown me bully breeds can just be the sweetest things when raised properly.

Sammers, great looking trees AND dogs!! I'm sure they will all thrive under your care!

I love your doggies!

I went to one green world and picked up my new trees!

Last but not least is the Seville orange. It has a y type of branching started now, I'll be curious why type of shape it will take on its own. It has one small fruitlet and no buds.

I was surprised at the size of the trees, I thought they would have thicker stems like all the ones I've gotten from four winds. I looked closely for evidence of scale and did fine one on both the kishu and the Seville. I was really torn about buying them because I don't want to spread scale to the rest of my trees. Right now I'm keeping the separate in the front yard and plan to physically go over the tree and remove any I find then spraying them and the others with a H.O, protekt and Neem solution. How many times should I treat them before introducing them to the rest of my trees? Is my treatment going to do the trick or should I be doing something else?

Sammers,

These are spectacular! Had no idea anyone could raise such fine looking trees here in the PNW. My big question is- where do they go in the winter? And then there is your puppies. What adorable little angels. Your big heart for rescues in all forms says so much about you and your ability to make a happy life for doggies and plants.

We leave for Tahiti on Wednesday. I'm thinking that I can get those plumeria to you sometime early July if that works for you. I'm back and forth between here and Portland every couple weeks so can drop them off according to your schedule.

Thanks for introducing me to One Green World. I'll make it there one of these days but for the moment completely out of space.

So glad you shared your pics and a piece of your world. Your home looks like a very loving place :)

Nancy

Nice trees Sammers! OGW called me yesterday bc they were shipping my trees and did not have the kiyomi tang or (I got a pearl tangelo instead). I plan to quarantine mine (like Vlad suggested) for at least 2 weeks till I'm sure it's safe. I hope my buddhas hand looks as great as yours!

Nancy, Thank you! I am really in debt to everyone here for helping me grow my trees, I always wanted citrus but feared without a greenhouse that I wouldn't be able to do it in the PNW and I am so pleased to be wrong. In the winter they will go into my attached garage, I will have to get a few more lights but I plan on trying out less light in general this year, I was running them 12 hours a day last winter but my garage temps were 40-45 degrees on average which is just too cool to keep them actively growing, I think it ended up stressing them out more than it helped. I am going to experiment with 6-8 hours of light and see how they do. I am getting maxed out on space for the small corner of the garage dedicated to them so I hear you there! but we are spring cleaning and should be making more room shortly, though my boyfriend may not want to allocate more space for the trees ;) I have 9 as of now and I am only really pursuing one more (a Santa Teresa) Then unless something amazing comes along I will be done for this year at least, hopefully longer until we move and I can put some cold hardy ones in ground.

Tahiti sounds so much fun! I hope you have a great time! I have always wanted to go, I have always wanted to get Tahitian pearls from the source. Its silly, but a nice usable souvenir. My grandmother gave me a love of jewelry and I worked in a jewelry store for 4 years so I am always thinking about that when I travel. Half of my jewelry box is pearls, you can't beat the beauty of the luster of a nice pearl.

July works for me! I am so grateful you are sharing with me, Let me know when you'll be in the area and we will coordinate!

- Samantha

Laura, I am sure you Buddhas hand will look great, they were all pretty nice. That's a shame about the Kiyomi, I saw some Bergamots that were huge with tennis ball sized fruits and asked about if they were available for purchase, they said no that they were already allocated to previous orders. I thought it was weird that they had them in the same space as the rest of the citrus since they aren't available and apparently battling scale. At the very least they should have a corner of the greenhouse dedicated to trees not available for sale so people don't waste their time lugging the tree up to the register. And at best should have a separate greenhouse for sick/infected trees so they don't just spread it all to the rest of them. I don't particularly trust they (the few I talked to) know a lot about the trees in general as I asked what was best to treat the scale/mites and they just suggested soapy water. I mentioned I treated with neem with decent results for mites and they said that they were getting in a new neem product in (but they didn't know the name) that they were planning on watering in to the pots (not spraying on the leaves). I know there are lots of ways to combat pests but they either didn't want to share what they did or didn't really know.

Sammers, the guy I spoke to on the phone sounded like he knew his stuff because he mentioned several treatments including neem. I may call them to get on the list for the bergamot once they are "rehabilitated". From what he said, those were isolated, so I suspect the ones you saw may just already be spoken for. I received mine today - so quick! I love their service, that's for sure. The trees look great. I will post a pic tomorrow bc the sun is awful now and I will be out till later tonight. They are small, but look healthy. I see no trace of scale, however, I still have them quarantined and will treat them with neem tomorrow. The little Buddha's hand does have a few tiny fruits, but I doubt it will keep them as the tree is quite small.

Laura, they mentioned that there was one guy who worked prominently in the greenhouse but he wasn't in there while I was. I am sure he is the one who knows the details of the trees best. I tried asking a few people questions about the trees and instead of telling me they weren't the most familiar they probably just gave me what little info they knew. Hopefully if I go back I will be able to touch base with the guy that does the most of their care. I am glad you got your trees and that there is no sign of scale! I haven't been able to get out and inspect/treat mine yet as I got a minor concussion during my most recent volleyball game. Its not too serious but the headache is a monster and bending down doesn't help. You think I'd know I'm supposed to hit the volleyball with my face ;P

Oh no! Feel better! The trees can wait till you're recovered. I'll treat mine tomorrow if I can manage. I just put myself on the wait list for the bergamot.

I made myself spray my trees at lunch since this is the only forcasted day of overcast with no rain and I have 70-90 degree temps coming after that, I found two more scales which I removed on the Buddahs hand under the tape they used to secure the stake . I also removed all of the tape and only left the ID tags very loosely attached on each so they can begin to support their own weight. There is a lot of stickiness on the leaves of the Seville and Kishu with a bit of black looking residue. I hosed them down pretty good with a mixture of HO, Neem and Protekt soaking the pot as well. I plan to go out there with a cotton ball and some alcohol and remove as much of the stickiness that is left before applying a second coating of the spray. The Kishu and the Seville were covered in ants today. I am hoping washing them off and getting rid of the sticky goo will help keep them away. I am not going to lie this is intimidating as none of my previous trees needed such an extensive treatment. Here is hoping that they go away quickly and don't encounter anymore trouble.

Sammers, you are doing all the right things and I am sure you will be successful.

Keep at it and they'll be fine, but it may take longer than two weeks. I have not noticed anything on mine, but have them quarantined and will treat and keep checking. I'm going to try to plant them tomorrow. Keep us updated!!

Thanks for the encouragement guys, I took at look at my trees this morning and all the ants are gone and their is hardly any stickiness left which makes me feel much better. I have 3 more bags of Repti-bark arriving today and plan on re-potting all of my tree's into a proper 5-1-1 next week when the forecast has it down to the low 70's. The weather here never ceases to amaze me, 40's-50's and rain for months then surprise from 70-90 all in the next week before dipping down again.

You are doing great! I am sure those trees will be mingling with the others soon! My gold nugget still hasn't greened up yet but the the one little fruit hasn't dropped either.

I hope so, I have plans for where they are going in the yard and right now they are taking up porch space in the front. I am totally that crazy house with pot's littered down all of the walkways and porches/decks. I hate it. I can't wait until I get the patio put in and have a nicer set-up for where to put them.

I am sure your GN will be green soon. My lime tree still is hovering at a light lime green and I hope it takes on some more color. I really want to go out and count all the little fruitlets on the trees but I know that some of them wont make it. I am waiting until after the Meyer blooms. Will the golden nugget be your first citrus fruit?

Maybe! My Meyer bloomed/is blooming and I have one nice sized lemon forming. Since I repotted my calamondin it has shot out new growth everywhere! Hopefully some of it will be its first bloom. Lord knows I've been waiting on that tree to bloom for a long time. We shall have to see which fruit matures faster- Meyer lemon or gold nugget. Haha!

That's awesome! I wonder what the difference from bloom to maturity is for the GN vs. the Meyer. I will excitedly be awaiting updates!

Wow, Just a beautiful set of trees and doggies!! I have been missing out on your pics since I have been not feeling too good. Sorry about your head..I hopes it gets better quickly...If it makes you feel any better, scale and mites are much easier to get rid of than mealy bugs! You should have no problem at all. I use Fish Emulsion all summer long to spray my trees down and I never have had a problem with scale, thank God!

Great work and what a cute looking Buddha's hand!

Thanks Mike! I love those dogs so much, I don't have children so they are a good surrogate, and the tree's are my most cherished items in the garden. I was thinking of getting some fish emulsion to supplement them (and my brugmansia) anyway and if it helps with scale I certainly will. Do you find it burns the trees at all? I love that little buddah's hand fruitlet its so weirdly adorable. I have read a lot of past posts here that people have trouble with them fruiting and keeping their fruits into maturity, with that in mind I may leave its fruit and let it decide weather or not it can handle it. I am hoping all the trees put on some good growth this year. Unfortunately I am having a tough time financially right now and my gardening has certainly cost more than I hoped. I should get new pots for all of them for their re pot but I am going to have to get creative.

Mike- I use fish emulsion on all my plants too and it really does help keep bugs away. Which is weird, bc it stinks like fish and you would think it would attract bugs. Weird! I'll take the win. Fish emulsion grows the best tomatoes!

Sammers, It's great to see your trees after this long winter. I live in Portland so go through many of the same climate issues as you. I added more light to my trees this winter, but they lost more leaves than the previous year. They look so sad compared to when I brought them in last fall. In desperation I probably put them outside too early, but so it goes. With the sun and warm weather they are becoming much happier. I have them in a cactus/succulent mix and may change it to the 511. I feed with Foliage Pro. The really bare tree looked pretty much like this when I purchased it last fall and now has lots of new growth. Hooray for the sun!

Grin4joy, your trees look great, I can see all that new growth on the second one! I'm glad to see another Portlander growing citrus! What varieties are you growing? I tried to give mine as much light as possible over winter and they Meyer didn't do great losing over half its leaves but my bearss lime only lost a few, I will be cutting back the lamps this winter and see if they do any better. I put mine out in early April, it was probably too soon but they were looking sad in the garage. Then I went extra crazy and purchased a bunch more and went from 2 to 9 trees because I am a crazy person. I feel like I have a decent handle on how to grow them and everyone here is very helpful so I took the plunge. I am not loving this heat wave we are having now, the citrus seem ok but my other plants are complaining.

I found a dozen more scale on my new set of trees yesterday :( Most of them on the Buddhas hand. Tried as I might I wasn't able to get them all off without them dropping into the pots and at least one of them was "juicy". I was hoping a two week round of spraying would be enough but I think it may be a bit longer of a battle. I am glad I saved money on the tree's themselves $29.99 ea but I would happily pay the $45-$75 a tree having it shipped from FW with no scale. I know that there is no guarantee that FW trees don't have scale but none the ones I have ordered so far did and that's a much better experience. Right now I am just super grossed out by these scale and not confidant that I an getting them all off each leaf, branch, nook and cranny etc. I will be much happier when this is eradicated off of my trees.

I feel you on being super grossed out. I found a weird little slug on my Meyer this morning and drenched all my trees in neem AGAIN. They are on my deck, not even in the yard yet! Where did this gross thing come from?! Ugh, gross. I watched the tiny slug die and it was oddly satisfying, like I was protecting my tree haha.

Thanks Sammers, I have found a few scale on my two trees and wiped them off with rubbing alcohol. I check them daily now and am hoping I caught it early. Last year I had a bad infestation before I discovered what scale were. They really grossed me out at first and then it became kind of meditative for me sitting outside on a stool "grooming" my trees :)

I am sorry Sammers. I hear you on the scale. I am sooooo happy they are quarantined - I thought of making a separate post to illustrate why this is so important based on our experiences. I have found a couple (of little) scale on my buddha's hand also. I took off the fruit bc I figure that would be a great place for them to hide, plus the tree is tiny. I have sprayed them twice (I've seen nothing on the tangelo) with a mix of neem, HO, pro-tekt, and dish soap. When I do, I physically rub the leaves that I am concerned about with my fingers, especially the undersides. I just sprayed them yesterday again and will check them sooon and likely re-spray. I do like OGW because their service is so great and the trees are nice - once you can eradicate the scale.

Thank you guys for the encouragement, I sprayed them again last night and removed a few more newly hatched scale from all of them but they especially like the lower leaves of my Seville. I did what you do Laura and rubbed each one of the affected leaves, they all had that sooty residue and baby scale. I think I will eventually be able to get a handle on it but its gross, especially the baby ones because they are squishy.

In other news I am ridiculous and picked up a key lime from OSH yesterday. I hadn't been in one this year but my Gma had gotten my Meyer from there so yesterday while I was waiting for my eye appointment I went over just to "look". They had at least 30 good sized Meyers, 4-5 Minneola Tangelos and 6 Mexican Limes. All for $29.99ea it was a steal and for the most part they look great. So much larger than my tree's from OGW for the same price and as large or larger than the premium trees from FW. I ended up with one with some damage to the leaves but I preferred the shape of the tree and didn't mind waiting it out. Its got a crazy looking graft/tons of branches sprouting from the graft but it gives it a nice bowl shape so I didn't care, the others had fruitlets but this on has one small cluster of flowers. I really wanted to justify getting the Tangelo but since I have never had one and I am not a fan of orange's I get worried about getting anything "orange-like" Have any of you had one? How does it hold up next to other varieties?

They appear to be on a trifoliate rootstock, some of the others were sending up suckers.

Very nice find Sammers! The beautiful kumquat trees that I have (including the Beast which died this winter) are from Hines Growers. They have awfully nice trees...very robust.

Great find sammers! I think you have great restraint bc I would have bought one of each haha! I love seeing your collection grow. You are going to be swimming in fruit one day! I'll send my kids to your house haha!

Laura my Meyer is a Hines tree as well and despite it being sensitive to change it is a great tree, I am happy to have more tree's from them.

Amanda! I can't wait until I get get a few fruit off the trees at a time, I know I probably didn't need this tree but Key limes are supposed to be good producers and who doesn't want a tiny lime added into their drink? You won't be far behind me, plus you have all the other fruit/veggies in your garden as well, I would love to have a cherry tree or two.