Citrus Confusion !

[N|teStar]

Greets All

Ive been viewing this sites many interesting threads for some time now, a very informative site it is too !

Anyway..to the point.. I have a Calamondin Orange Tree and hence i know little about them.. it bloomed in spring, producing many white flowers and followed a huge harvest of fruit.

Anyway I noticed today whilst I was scooping up what was left of my Eucalyptus which had been blown over, that the Calamondin is flowering again, dozens of white buds appearing....but very little in the way of fruit , is this common for it to flower in Autumn ? or has the mild weather in Kent confused it ??

thx from a novice gardener!

[frogesque]

Most citrus have two lots of blooms a year and hence almost constantly have fruit at some stage of development. Growth will be slower over winter so only water sparingly and never let the roots get waterlogged. They will need protection during winter so greenhouse, conservatory or a well aired windowsill is pretty essential. Give the plant as much light as possible but avoid draughts and hot/cold shocks from radiators, doors and other hot/cold sources when indoors. Use a balanced feed fortnightly in winter and a higher nitrogen feed weekly in summer. Dappled light shade is best if they are outside during summer. They also like a daily misting with water after the sun has set.

Calamondins are beautifull plants and always have some interest whether it's fruit or the highly scented flowers. They can get a fair size, ~2m or more, but any prunings can be made into cuttings.

[fine wine]

I sell quite a few in the summer and as a result hae them dotted around our garden(in summer) and house. They really are beautiful but people think that because the fruit is small and bitter it has no use. If used as an added ingredient to your standard marmalade recipe they add a surprisingly fruity taste to the finshed product. Also they can be squeezed into drinks such as Gin and Tonic (I am sure they make the gin taste stronger!) or frozen to create novel ice cubes!