Questions about a variegated pink lemon tree

2 years ago

So iI may have at least convinced my wife to tolerate, if not slightly participate, in my obsession with plants. She is quite fond of variegated foliage, so to appease her iI have been looking at the variegated pink lemon tree to add to my collection, but had a couple of questions.

First, when looking around recently (not the best time to shop citrus iI am sure), most of the trees for sale are rooted cuttings, with the few grafted ones available over twice the price. Is the variegated lemon susceptible enough to root issues if grown in a container that the grafting is worth it?

Second, when looking at some pictures the variegated edges look light cream to white on some, and yellow on others.iI suspected this was the camera tinting the color, but could someone confirm whether there are some that are not light cream edges?

Thank you!

Bob

Featured Answer

Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)

2 years ago

Bob, I have those bags myself)). I never occurred to me to even use it for my mixes.. Thank you. I think you have just helped a ton of people with this since just about most Lowe's and Home Depot sell it))

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (19)

Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years ago
Hi.
Only if grown in a wet mix or a mix not porous and if not given enough light in winter if kept warm.
These are true colors. Took yesterday still outside in a porous mix.
bob_15 thanked Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years ago
A couple more
bob_15 thanked Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
Related Discussions
Variegated pink lemon tree gumosis after switch to gritty mix
Q
Comments (11)
Oh in the the first picture you can compare with the original post photo. see how the wood has turned dark brown around the lesion. I know you guys are bust me up for this one ;) I scraped off the brown bark around the lesion and ran my lighter over it a few times to dry it up a bit. Sometimes I read things on the Internet and act compulsively. Like repotting to the gritty mix. Anyways I'm down to 18 leaves left on my pink lemon... And I had such high hopes Help Mike
...See More
How long will it take this variegated lemon (pink) fruit to develop?
Q
Comments (2)
Citrus fruit generally take 9 to 18 months to develop, depending on the type. Some say lemons take about 6-9 months, my lemons take about 10-12 months. Mine are outside all year, but we have cool nights in the summer, so in places like say Florida, they may ripen sooner.
...See More
Productivity of the variegated pink lemon.
Q
Comments (5)
My Variegated Pink Lemon is a very pretty tree but more finicky than most of my other citrus trees. Mine is in a container. I find it likes a bit more shade in the summer than most of my other trees too. The new leaves are pinkish-purple and so are the flower buds. It is blooming in my greenhouse now. It's fruit are variegated too when it is not ripe, but turns yellow and loses most of the variegation when it ripens. Sometimes the raised lines where some of the stripes on the fruit are remains raised after it turns yellow. It tastes like the Eureka lemon that is not variegated.
...See More
general soil questions: Eureka pink lemon tree:
Q
Comments (5)
I'm going to try and stay general. Pots shouldn't be left on floor if it can be helped, coldest spot in room - leading to cold roots. Are you attempting a holding action or want winter growth. You give no temperature numbers and no pictures. Do you use lights? Leaves should be well lit but not necessarily hot, or you'll get leaf drop. Air temperatures for indoor growing should be in a 72 to 85 degree tops range indoors, your soil temperature should be above 70 at all times. there should NOT be a huge differential but there generally is some. You need a thermometer for air and soil. You won't be watering as often indoors as outdoors in wind and sun, possibly only once a week in winter but pot should be flooded when you water to get lower pot moist - encourage root growth and flush out any fertilizer salts. Soil i supposed to hold moisture for a while and then dry out from the top down - just like the garden. You need to test - I use cheap wood BBQ skewers and poke in the soil all the way down to bottom to watch for wetness depth. Small pots dry out quicker than big ones. lots of variables. You can shine a cheap clip on spot light on roots/top of pot to warm them so they can supply needed water to leaves if needed. Some people here successfully keep their trees in a very cool state - probably in the 50 degree range (I'm not one of them - someone will chime in), without too much light, and not too much differential between air and soil temps as a holding action - little to no growth and hopefully no leaf drop .
...See More
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
Absolutely gorgeous Mike! Thank you for showing the pictures, as it does look like the variegation, when compared to something like a ficus Ruby, may have a slightly more yellow tinge, but isn’t so gaudy yellow as in the pictures iI had seen online.

And thanks for the info on the graft vs rooted cutting.iI actually purchased a giant finger lime which was marketed as grafted, but very clearly wasn’t, last year. It is still thriving in a terra cotta pot on my back porch in the 5-1-1 mix, so iI imagined the variegated tree would probably do ok too, but always glad to have someone else’s opinion!
evdesert 9B Indio, CA
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago

Variegated pink lemon tree · More Info

Variegated pink lemon tree · More Info

Variegated pink lemon tree · More Info

My little rooted cutting has both
bob_15 thanked evdesert 9B Indio, CA
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
Evdesert thank you for the pics, your tree is beautiful!

i happened to find a couple of variegated pink lemon trees on Logees for a good price, so decided to pull the trigger.iI would like to see if iI can grow one at home and another in my office window which is south facing. My only concern is it gets pretty cold there during the depth of winter, so iI may need to bring it home then. Otherwise, quite excited!
evdesert 9B Indio, CA
2 years ago
My temps go into the low 30’s sometimes into the upper 20’s and my tree does fine. now of course it’s in ground so a little more cold tolerant than a potted plant but i highly doubt yoir office is getting that cold so yours should be fine. best of luck.

Evan
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
So my trees arrived yesterday, and to my surprise each came with TWO rotted cutting per pot instead of one. So iI got four trees for the price of two! Will definitely take one, or perhaps two to my office since iI now seem to have spares. They are for sure small, but hoping that being rooted cuttings and not from seed iI may be able to start getting lemons from the two bigger ones in a year or two. The variegation on these plants is amazing, btw!
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years ago
How awesome is that ?!! Now you can have 4 chances at doing a great job and one will probably flower at different times than the other. Happy for you ))?
bob_15 thanked Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years ago
Oh. And looks like a GRaeAT mix. What exactly is it ? Nice coloring too. Looks like a 5.1.1 mix. What kind of bark ?
Nice work
bob_15 thanked Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
It’s the 5-1-1 mix. My local big box store happened to carry the timberline brand pine bark mulch this year, so got 10 bags and sifted it all, have enough pine bark fines for the next several years at least! Filled two 55 fallgall trash bags nearly full of them.
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years ago
Bob, nice work. What big box store in case others need to grab some?

It's a beautiful looking mix you made there)
bob_15 thanked Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Found mine at Lowe’s. Purple bag, was around $3.50 for a 2 cubic foot bag this last spring. i bought some window screen and some 1/4 and 1/2 inch hardware cloth and made my own sieves, took a couple of days on and off to sift through ten bags of the stuff buti have plenty for as much 5-1-1 mix as iI could make for now!
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Don't mean to be an 'enabler', but you can tell your wife there's also a variegated kumquat. (!) May I ask where you purchased your variegated lemons?
bob_15 thanked Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
I picked them up online from Logee’s. And iI did see the variegated kumquat trees in Etsy while looking around.iI actually have never tried a kumquat, so probably need to try that out first before buying a tree!i would also need to find more space, already scrambling to find overwintering space in my house as it is!
BuonNatale2u
2 years ago
ive been offline due to illness,

but i do have to say, between the destruction of SuperStorm Sandy, and my illness which led to neglect, i have to say the Pink Variegaed Lemonade tree and also my variegated cenntenial kumquat from Four Winds were the two trees that survived during the worst conditions ane destruction, ,So I would get one if you can! The variegated citrus must have a special gene ;) But MeyerMike knows All and I would listen to him first!

Btw, MeyerMike, id like to contact you but evefything has changed here so much since ive been away, I’d like to say hi to my fellow NE citus freind ;)
Silica
2 years ago
The biggest concern with the Pink Variegated tree is that it has a very poor production of fruit.
Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.)
2 years ago
BuonNatale, what was your older screen name before?

It is great to see you back. You can always e-mail privately and if you need my e-mail just let me know, Thank you for your kind words)

I hope things are better for you.
bob_15
Original Author
2 years ago
I can’t take credit for it, as iI had stumbled across a post mentioning that brand of bark mulch when iI was trying to source the ingredients for the 5-1-1 mix and the gritty mix. There is a little leg work in sifting out the usable stuff from the larger chunks, and the original poster has also mentioned that depending on time of season and location there is some variability in the amount of sapwood in the bags.iI seemed to have lucked out as iI have 10%or less sapwood in my bags, with others commenting about 25% or more being sapwood, although the posts were close to 10 years ago. Seemed the most efficient way to get the right pine bark fines for the mix, though!