Thanks for the pics Laura! That is a good comparison between the two - particularly to see the shape of the fruit.

Nice to see the Kumquats are doing well. Hope the nagami pull through OK.

Laura, you have been very busy in the kitchen and putting great use to all of that citrus fruit. The preserves look yummy! I wonder if you could squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice into the sunquat preserve recipe for that bit of flavor you are looking for?? With an over abundance of sunquats you could also make spicy preserves, sweet and salty whole pickles, simple syrup using a honey infusion.. Use them like you would a Kumquat or lemon and just tweak the recipe a bit to give it a bit more flavor. Good luck. I look forward to seeing more uses and recipes from the wonderful abundance of fruit you are getting.

PS: I love kumquats but the tree does tend to get a lot of branch dieback during and after fruit set. I lost my Nagami and the Marumi is suffering now also. Hope your tree pulls through just fine.

Missed this last night- looking good Laura! Those sunquats sure are pretty. I'll third you guys with nagami problems, mine is still kicking but I also have had major twig die back, I lost the main leader last winter and it seems to be holding and growing now as a bush. Haven't had any fruit in while though.

Well, you knew the day would come when you would be bursting at the seams with fruit you don't know what to do with... nice problem to have!

I have problems with my grafted Meiwa on Kuharske Citrange. Kumquats have a narrow choice of compatible rootstock.

The only Rootstock that kumquats should be grafted to are Flying Dragon and Poncirus Trifoliata. KxR is a better rootstock for Meiwa but you'll never find it.

Thanks guys. I do think that the dieback is a kumquat issue, not something we are doing wrong because anything I have crossed with kumquat (limequats in particular) suffer also. The only ones I have not seen have this issue is the sunquat, fukushu, and meiwa - maybe it’s a nagami thing. This tree is just like the one that died last winter. I am not freaking out as much because I realize there is nothing I can do. I have done all I can by removing fruit, spraying thoroughly, watering well with a little food, and making sure it has enough light. Beyond that it is out of my hands, but I hate to lose a beautiful tree again.

Jinny, you have such great ideas for recipes! I am going to experiment like you said and see what happens. I’ve never made syrup....may need to look into that. Thank you guys. Steve, I have no idea what the rootstock is for this kumquat but I may check the tag again. I will take a pic of the trunk so you guys can see, but I do think it is grafted. Hobby and Jinny, I hope your trees also pull through. I had a little dieback in the early spring and then it just stopped so let’s hope it is like that for all of us.

Here are pics although it is hard to see the dieback since I cut off some of the dying branches. It is still losing leaves. I found about seven just now...fresh green leaves. Some others turn brownish though. I don’t get it. It is definitely grafted as you will see from one of the pics. Can you guys post pics of your trees so we can compare notes?

Hard from the pic, but there is a distinct graft line.See the brown leaf? That branch is on its way out.The whole tree with some leaves on the mix. The fruits you see are from the fukushu right next to it.This is my upstairs hall setup. The nagami is right in front. There are some lights and a skylight overhead as well as a big window to the right of the railing. The other trees are perfectly happy. You can see the calamondin is loaded with fruit and it is not in a “prime” location.

Lol Laura, I just showed my husband your "upstairs hall set up"- perfect evidence that there are people out there crazier than me with the citrus HAHA! Just teasing ;).

It still looks gorgeous aside from the die back, as mine does too. So weird. I will take some pics when I get into my room today- the door is still iced over and can't get in just yet.

Steve, great info about the rootstock! I will take a look at my kumquat rootstock when I get into my room to compare.

Laura

The type of die back you have is normal. The kumquats grow with a much twig load. Your tree is choosing which branches to continue on an what twigs to drop.

Steve

LOL Hobby! Yeah, I’m sure he feels better! They do look lovely throughout the house with the green leaves and beautiful fruit, but definitely quite a chore. Steve, you make me feel better. I do hope you are right and that the tree corrects itself. My other nagami started this way last year and is now in citrus heaven :(

I wonder if later harvests of the sunquat/lemonquat will be sweeter?

As for twig dieback, you may want to look into micronutrients. I know you are using fertz with micros, but I am reading info that micro deficiencies can cause dieback. And kumquats are said to be prone to zinc deficiencies.

I picked up some chelated iron for the kumquat I got from the nursery with an existing iron deficiency. Good news is that the product also contains micros. I have only used on one plant so far, but plan to treat them all at some point.

Laura, your preserves look appetizing, I love your Nagami harvest! Do you know the rootstock of your Nagami with dieback?

Hibiscus, that is a good thought. What does a zinc deficiency look like. My nagami with the die back has perfect, dark green leaves. No sign at all of any deficiencies (one the leaves at least). As for the rootstock sunshine...I need to find the tag to tell you. I think it may be c-35, but I’ll double check.

I don't know if it necessarily shows in the leaves and twigs. Haven't found anything that says if dieback is an early/ late symptom, or concurrent.

I checked my tag on my nagami... no mention of rootstock but it came from Brite Leaf if anyone knows that they use?

Here it is. You can see the main leader die back but the remaining branches are super nice and and lush and are continuing to grow. I hope I get a new leader soon. It has a few flowers now too. So weird.

Good suggestions hibiscus, I have some chelated iron, maybe I will do a douse.

Hobby I really like that container of yours. I hope your tree does well. My opinion is the tree is better with out a central leader. I lost 1/3 of my home grafted NZL while on vacation to aphids. I sprayed before I left but did not see the source (beets) and the just moved over and denuded the top.

Steve

does that iron have other micros?

Also note that I have one source saying you need to spray non-hardened leaves for best results. Soil applications and spraying mature leaves is less than ideal. This is for zinc. (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/138766/fe-zn-deficiencies.pdf )

I will have to look at my bag of Iron to see. I also use 1-0-4 seaweed fert.

My Nagami is from Hines Growers - Vacaville California. No mention of rootstock, but it does say semi dwarf.

Haha Steve, yes I know we are on the same wavelength with our bucket pots. Great taste!

Your NZ looks great, yeah my trees seem to want to be bushes so who am I to argue? Less tree to get caught in our whipping winds here anyway so works for me.

Thanks hibiscus, good to know! I'll read the instructions first.

Steve I have fish fert too but don't use it on my containers plants, other than as a foliar to ward off bugs. There always seems to be lots of debate on the forum about whether organics work in container growing. Do you guys think fish fert micros work in containers?

Al Tapla and others believe that it is not a good idea to use organic fertilizers in container grown plants because the microbes that break down such fertilizers into nutrients usable by plants are lacking in the artificial environment of a container (as a opposed to in the ground) and will result in a nutrient deficient plant However, I have not been able to find a scientific study comparing the use of organic and "chemical" fertilizers on the growth of container plants.

Right thanks for the reminder V, if I recall correctly that thread ended up being one of our more heated discussions lol.

Mine is derived from seaweed and is processed for foliage liquid application so I think it works well. It has micros and the big 3 even though it has no P. My soil mis is 2 parts pine bark shreddings, 2 parts compost from my compost pile, 1 part perlite. I have those missing micros. I also have earth worms on board. They com with the compost.

Steve

I have used FE as a foliar spray and also in the containers at times throughout the summers and early fall. I did it both 2016 and 2017. I am not sure if it helped, but I don’t think it hurt. I only used it because I was spraying it on my trees and watered them at the same time with it.

Hobby your hilarious!!!!. Laura beautiful harvest I've been sitting on the fence about purchasing a Nordmann kumquat' this might help in my decision. Great job Laura.

Brian

If you get a nordman make sure it is on seville sour orange.

Thx Steve!!!

Brian, it certainly is a very productive tree and the jam was quite good. I had a tad bit today with a good cheese and some green grapes...yum!

Still getting more leaf drop of the lower branches...some are totally bare. Still worried. As I was searching for the tag of my shiranui I found another tag for that red and it is grafted onto C-35.