Kumquat

[floraAdore]

Good day all!
I bought a young kumquat 5mo ago at a local nursery. There were only 2 & 1 though it had some fruit, was poorly shaped. Lopsided! I put it in 1 of those containers in which you can check H2O level through "hole" at bottom. Bottom can hold about an 1" of water & the plant can take it as needed. I feed w/ osmocote & sometimes add liquid miracle grow to the h2O I water w.
It's under a skylight w/ supplemental grow lights.
Will this be okay inside? Should I put it outside for summer? This is my 1st citrus. I've read they like LOTS of overhead sun.
Kumquat trees are the equivalent of a Christmas tree for Vietnamese ppl during Tet (New Year). They're displayed in city squares, malls & homes during that time. This tradition continues here in the U.S.
The health of your tree signifies the luck/health/prosperity for the coming year so it's success is closely linked to mine!
I've had 2 sm branches die back & a few leaves dropped. I've got to Feb 2014 to get her healthy, fruit & flower bearing. What can I do? Suggestions please!!

[imafan26]

My friend has a kumquat tree growing in the shade of her garage. It still produces so if it gets enough light it should be o.k. Most plants would rather be outside if at all possible. Kumquats are very small and we only eat the sweet rind, the fruit is way too tart. My friend does makes kumquat jam with it.

[gumbo2176]

My friend has a kumquat tree growing in the shade of her garage. It still produces so if it gets enough light it should be o.k. Most plants would rather be outside if at all possible. Kumquats are very small and we only eat the sweet rind, the fruit is way too tart. My friend does makes kumquat jam with it.

The property my late father-in-law owned has 2 kumquat trees on it. They put out tons of fruit each year and generally ripen in the fall leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas here in Louisiana like most citrus does. They were planted where they get full sunlight every day. I, for one, really enjoy the entire fruit with the sweet citrus taste of the peel and the tartness of the flesh. They do make excellent jelly similar to orange marmalade.

[floraAdore]

Thank you for replying! Wasn't sure how many ppl out there grew kumquats.
The Chinese species Miewa & the Japanese Nagami are sweeter than the oblong kind & also round instead.
We're these oval or round? The sticker was incorrect at the store & I didn't get my Miewa
My Banoi (father's mother) sugars them & makes it like a candy. Sometimes my aunt makes a mixed drink they put a dash of the sugar juices" & one or 2 at bottom.
Wonder when they'll likely bloom & fruit for me. Obviously I want it in Feb. maybe all the ones I see during that time are bought in Boston Chinatown.

[gumbo2176]

The trees on my late father-in-laws property produced round fruit. I'm not sure of the variety but the ones his trees bore were the kind I have always seen growing in this area.

Another favorite of mine is the Loquat, or as we know them, the Japanese Plum tree. Their flesh is smooth like a plum with sweet pulp and usually 3-4 very large seeds in the center. The seeds are very disproportional to the size of the fruit. I had one of these trees in my back yard but lost it to the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina that hung around in my area for over 2 weeks before receding. Not many trees liked that salt water for so long.

[floraAdore]

Oh! I'm sure many trees & lovely gardens were submerged then lost!
Loquat? Never heard of it?
Mine will be the oval still sore on the subject!

TomC: always & ever helpful! It's appreciated!!

[gumbo2176]

Oh! I'm sure many trees & lovely gardens were submerged then lost!
Loquat? Never heard of it?
Mine will be the oval still sore on the subject!

TomC: always & ever helpful! It's appreciated!!

Check them out since you find Kumquat a bit sour to your taste. The Loquat is very sweet by comparison and the fruit grow to the size of large Kumquats.

I'm just not sure if they would survive the winters of your area of the country. They are very fast growing in Louisiana and next to the fig, they are probably second in choice to fruit growers here.

[gumbo2176]

Oh! I'm sure many trees & lovely gardens were submerged then lost!
Loquat? Never heard of it?
Mine will be the oval still sore on the subject!

TomC: always & ever helpful! It's appreciated!!

I had an old Sweet Olive tree in my front yard that would put out huge amounts of blooms a couple times a year. They were very sweet smelling with an aroma similar to a gardenia. To sit on my front porch when they were in bloom was a pleasure. I lost a Loquat, Satsuma and my Sweet Olive tree, along with all my vegetable garden and in ground flowers.

My neighbor had a 40 ft. tall pecan tree that was blown over and it crushed my fence and another neighbors shed. Since that tree is gone, so are the family of squirrels that resided in it. I'd get a kick out of them chasing each other round and round the trunk and marvel at their ability to do so.

I live near City Park and the amount of very old Oak trees destroyed was hard to see. The storm probably took out a good 1/3 of the old oaks plus untold other varieties of trees and the entire Botanical Garden.

Thankfully, many volunteer arborists arrived with their equipment and removed many fallen, damaged and dying trees to help get things back to as normal as possible. The generosity of the people from other parts of our country was not missed by me. So many folks reached out to help that it reinforced my faith in fellow man.

[floraAdore]

I never really thought about it until now, the totality of loss compounded in such a situation.
How sad that you'll not smell the air perfumed by your olive anymore
The time, work, blood & sweat (not to mention $!) that goes in to ppl's gardens, town parks & botanical gardens to have it all in ruins so quickly!! Mother Nature 's powers are beyond compare.

Now, ill think of you when I see olives trees! (I've seen some great olive bonsai's!)

[pudgysmom]

I'm in NC and have had several citrus trees raised in containers-kumquat, meyer lemon, lime and blood orange. I put them out on my sunny back deck from about March to late October. I bring them in over the winter and either put them in the sunniest windows I can find or under a grow light. They certainly don't like being in the house over the winter and they loose many leaves and the leaves turn leathery. I've also found that it is very hard to keep mealy bugs from becoming a problem in the winter. When I put them out in the spring, I transition them to the screen porch for about 2 weeks and treat them a couple of times to sea kelp fertilizer or spray. They then rebound very nicely and regrow many new leaves and bloom like crazy. I get the most output from the kumquat and lemon tree, although this year the lime looks like it is going to do very well. For some reason I don't get much from the blood orange.