I was out at the benches fiddling with the pines and I spent some time pondering my citrus experiment. I’m starting to get the balance right with it. Last year there was virtually no growth and a massive crop of fruit - so it was in distress. This year there is massive growth and no fruit at all - so its happier. The leaves still aren’t green enough - so more nitrogen is needed - but its no longer in distress so its not fruiting anymore. Its getting fed 4 times a week and i just cant get enough in. I got some citrus specific feed for it which i will try for the rest of the summer to see if its foliage gets deep green.
I feel i am still missing something from its feeding routing. I will try some iron tonic later this month to see if it helps.
Still - the response to its new position with full day direct sun has been very positive. I continue to learn about the horticultural needs of my individual trees and improve them in the following seasons.
This year I made certain that the entire root system is drenched with every watering. Similarly when fertilizing I make sure that the entire root system is drenched and there is free flowing excess out of the drainage holes. I think that dry patches in the root system hurt me last season - so i am paying extra attention to the quality of my watering this season. The results are much improved this year.
The pines appreciate a similar approach to watering - but the maples aren’t doing as well this year. Could just be the weather ?
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