Any Horticulturalists Around?

[seekermeister]

It may seem a bit out of place here, but here is where I am, so I'm looking for advice about dwarf trees. I have been reading a magazine that came to "resident", and because I have 4 15" planters sitting idly, I was considering getting some dwarf trees of some kind.

Since the only places that they can be put is either indoors, or only the balcony, which only gets direct sunlight in the morning, I don't know that any such trees would like the environment much, and I would need to keep them pruned to a maximum of 6' tall and perhaps a maximum of 3' in diameter. Most, of the trees in that magazine tend to grow taller...I don't know about wider.

I am not at all a gardener, and as far as plants are concerned, I have a brown thumb. I'm hoping that I can fare better with trees.

The bottom line is whether there is a tree that could survive, and possibly flourish under these conditions? Most of what I have found are fruit trees of some kind, which would be a plus.

 

[DeVandal]

Dwarves do not grow on trees.

 

[seekermeister]

Yes, but nuts do.

 

[DeVandal]

I resemble that remark.

We are growing two calamansi trees that have faired well for the past several years. They fit the description that you have provided.

 

[jfar]

How about Bonsai trees, or are they too small?

 

[seekermeister]

I resemble that remark.

We are growing two calamansi trees that have faired well for the past several years. They fit the description that you have provided.

I never heard of them until now, so I Googled this:

Calamondin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sounds interesting, but it speaks of them growing from 3-6m tall, which is taller than I can deal with...unless they would do okay pruned back to 6'? Even if they would be cut back in that fashion, I'm wondering how they would do in a 15" planter? Somehow that seems somewhat cramped for a tree of that type....? I live in Oklahoma, which it sounds as though it wouldn't like the winters here, unless brought indoors, thus the planter size that it requires would be an issue.

It doesn't sound as though the fruit would be very good eaten raw, but the article lists a number of other uses, that might be good. It says that it is primarily an ornamental tree in the US...does that mean that it doesn't bear fruit well, or that the fruit isn't too popular here?

 

[Borg 386]

Every time I grow something I get in trouble:sarc:

 

[fishnbanjo]

How about Bonsai trees, or are they too small?

Not a bad thought but large Bonsai can be quite pricey and need a lot of attention. I once had close to 20 thriving Bonsai that had done well nearly 10 years and I had to be on travel for 10 days and left my wife instructions on how to care for them, they were dead when I returned.

I would suggest a small Conifer, a Japanese Dead Man Fingers Maple, a Fig Tree and perhaps a Paper White Birch, all of these can be potted and trained as miniatures, I have 2 in 1/2 barrels and they are at 4 1/2' and over 20 years old and stay outside 24/7/365 and outside of pruning get nothing except what Mother Nature provides, you will need to feed them initially until capable of being left alone but that's all.

 

[jfar]

I once had close to 20 thriving Bonsai that had done well nearly 10 years and I had to be on travel for 10 days and left my wife instructions on how to care for them, they were dead when I returned.

Was she in hospital for long.

 

[DeVandal]

I never heard of them until now, so I Googled this:

Calamondin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sounds interesting, but it speaks of them growing from 3-6m tall, which is taller than I can deal with...unless they would do okay pruned back to 6'? Even if they would be cut back in that fashion, I'm wondering how they would do in a 15" planter? Somehow that seems somewhat cramped for a tree of that type....? I live in Oklahoma, which it sounds as though it wouldn't like the winters here, unless brought indoors, thus the planter size that it requires would be an issue.

It doesn't sound as though the fruit would be very good eaten raw, but the article lists a number of other uses, that might be good. It says that it is primarily an ornamental tree in the US...does that mean that it doesn't bear fruit well, or that the fruit isn't too popular here?

Ours are about 7 feet tall including planter. We prune against height and for breadth. I am in Virginia. The trees "winter" in the house. The planters help to keep the growth to a minimum. Last year, a greenie friend of ours repotted the trees in the same planters, but she did some fairly major surgery on the roots - a rootectomy of sorts.

Ours bear fruit in abundance. We do not eat the fruit, rather we we squeeze the juice into a variety of dishes. Like a lemon, just not as intense.

I am so accustomed to grabbing a few fruit for the dinner table that I am loathe to think of not having them.

 

[seekermeister]

How about Bonsai trees, or are they too small?

Not a bad thought but large Bonsai can be quite pricey and need a lot of attention. I once had close to 20 thriving Bonsai that had done well nearly 10 years and I had to be on travel for 10 days and left my wife instructions on how to care for them, they were dead when I returned.

I would suggest a small Conifer, a Japanese Dead Man Fingers Maple, a Fig Tree and perhaps a Paper White Birch, all of these can be potted and trained as miniatures, I have 2 in 1/2 barrels and they are at 4 1/2' and over 20 years old and stay outside 24/7/365 and outside of pruning get nothing except what Mother Nature provides, you will need to feed them initially until capable of being left alone but that's all.

Fig tree...that is something that caught my eye in the gardening catalog. The one thing that you said that discourages me on this, is that you have them in 1/2 barrels, which is a lot larger than my 15" planters. However, you say that some of your trees are 20 years old, so it isn't surprising that they would need such space. How do you think that fig tree would do cut back and crammed into a planter of the size I have?

 

[seekermeister]

I never heard of them until now, so I Googled this:

Calamondin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sounds interesting, but it speaks of them growing from 3-6m tall, which is taller than I can deal with...unless they would do okay pruned back to 6'? Even if they would be cut back in that fashion, I'm wondering how they would do in a 15" planter? Somehow that seems somewhat cramped for a tree of that type....? I live in Oklahoma, which it sounds as though it wouldn't like the winters here, unless brought indoors, thus the planter size that it requires would be an issue.

It doesn't sound as though the fruit would be very good eaten raw, but the article lists a number of other uses, that might be good. It says that it is primarily an ornamental tree in the US...does that mean that it doesn't bear fruit well, or that the fruit isn't too popular here?

Ours are about 7 feet tall including planter. We prune against height and for breadth. I am in Virginia. The trees "winter" in the house. The planters help to keep the growth to a minimum. Last year, a greenie friend of ours repotted the trees in the same planters, but she did some fairly major surgery on the roots - a rootectomy of sorts.

Ours bear fruit in abundance. We do not eat the fruit, rather we we squeeze the juice into a variety of dishes. Like a lemon, just not as intense.

I am so accustomed to grabbing a few fruit for the dinner table that I am loathe to think of not having them.

Thanks, now I shall have to try to locate some, because they aren't in the catalog that I have. I wouldn't think that would be too difficult.

 

[The Howling Wolves]

I once had close to 20 thriving Bonsai that had done well nearly 10 years and I had to be on travel for 10 days and left my wife instructions on how to care for them, they were dead when I returned.

Was she in hospital for long.

jfar,
The Bonsai and wife were dead when he returned....I guess

 

[seekermeister]

I never really cared for figs much, until I tried some fresh ones in caifornia. However, comparing them to what I found in this article:

Common fig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There doesn't seem to be any resemblance, except the outer colors. What I tried was somewhat similar to an apple, except with a notably different taste. It definitely was not red and seedy inside, like in those pictures. I don't know, maybe what I had wasn't ripe, but I like them anyway. Reading the description of their benefits and uses, they sound like a panacea of health. Maybe that is why they are so frequently mentioned in the scriptures.

 

[fishnbanjo]

I once had close to 20 thriving Bonsai that had done well nearly 10 years and I had to be on travel for 10 days and left my wife instructions on how to care for them, they were dead when I returned.

Was she in hospital for long.

No, I got a bit ugly and ranted but what can you do, I did decide not to replace them and only recently got a Chinese Cork Elm which is about 10 years old and doing well.

Don't worry about the 1/2 barrels seek, these were good size when I got them so it was my only choice smaller specimen's would be fine in 15" pots then you train both the tree and root system.

 

[seekermeister]

After reading this article"

Who_pollinates_fig_trees

I still wonder how well figs would do in Oklahoma, because apparently each variety of fig requires a specific variety of fig wasp, for pollination. Some figs would never pollinate in the US, because we don't have the right wasps. Also, since the Burgess catalog is offering a single variety of fig trees across the US, it would lead one to think that the right fig wasps lived across the country, but since I do not recall ever seeing a fig tree in Oklahoma, I would doubt that, because a fig wasp requires a fig tree to breed in. In any case, It would appear to be necessary to place the tree outdoors in the Spring, for attracting the wasps for pollination. I'm wondering when those wasps would leave the figs, because I wouldn't want to bring them indoors with me?