New Calamondin

Mon May 17, 2010 6:27 pm

Hi,

I have just been given a calamondin in a pot, and would like to keep it as a bonsai. It is about 25cm tall, the label says 3 years old, and the pot is 14cm wide, and 12cm deep.

Before I get stuck in I wondered if anyone could tell me which sort of branches to cut off, and how many can I do at once?

Thanks for any help.
Roob

Tue May 18, 2010 1:21 am

A picture would be extremely helpful.

Tue May 18, 2010 9:02 am

Hope these help! The plant is actually on a windowsill but I had to take it off because of the light for the photo.

Roob

Tue May 18, 2010 10:27 am

Thanks for the pics. It a beautiful plant and the fruit are very nice feature - have you tried one yet? I've read they are quite sour. The nebari looks interesting but I cant quite make it out from the cellphone shots.

I'm still a Bonsai noob so I can't give you much advice on which branches to cut off in order to style it a certain way and I would think most would agree that to get a better idea, (which is difficult to tell in these pictures) you should get all the fruit-weight off the branches to see how they are truly laid out with respect to each-other.

A heavy round of cut-backs and training might also stress the tree and ruin next years fruit crop.

Where are you located? Did they tell you whether or not you can keep the tree indoors or whether it should be outside?

Hopefully a more knowledgeable person will stop by and help you, and correct me (:

Sat May 22, 2010 5:33 pm

Hi,

It may be a challenging project. True bonsai emphasize branching which this plant has difficulty with and once you start cutting it may take a long time to achieve some results and most certainly ruin the fruit. But maybe some other experts has done it with success. if it's my tree I'd keep it as a compact plant around the house.

Sat May 22, 2010 8:45 pm

I think I will take your advice. Thank you. I look forward to years of beautiful home grown fruit! By the way... it came with fruit on it, and I read that they are good to freeze and use as ice cubes... tried it and its true, they are the best ice cubes ive ever had!

Roo