Lemon Tree: Close Up [Bonsai]
Believe it or not, this shrimpy little plant is a lemon tree.
This tree was grown originally from a seed from a fruit I ate. It's really fun to grow lemons from seed. They sprout so easy. Seeds germinate easily inside a plastic bag with some wet paper towel when kept at room temperature away from sunlight.
Recently I've hacked away at the long upward reaching portions of these branches a lot this year. The last thing I want is a quadrupedal trunk tree. This tree needs to pick one branch to become the central trunk. Right now it's going crazy trying to get all four branches to compete for the the top. Make up your mind already, will ya?
One new sprout has grown from under the bend of the rightmost branch, and that is good. However it too is developing an upward tendency immediately. Perhaps these branches will curve outward more naturally if I allow them to grow so tall that they have to tip over once they get top heavy. I think that might be the best solution for a tree that isn't growing backbuds and lateral branches very well.
Always best to study the manner that the tree wants to grow and develop, and use that to my advantage when thinking about the bonsai design I want to achieve: small, compact, many small leaves clustered into pads around branch ends, and tapered body.
Sometimes I prick off large leaves, or cut leaves smaller. It doesn't cause any wounding to the branch. Removal of any portion of leaves or branches can stimulate a new shoot to emerge. Usually the new shoots will form inside the node where a leaf used to be. The interaction of the sunlight opened onto a leaf node can fuel the tree to form new shoots. The removal of large leaves also redistributes growth hormones inside the tree, allowing more buds to burst forth with new activity.
Often I get asked if I've never had any fruit on any of my bonsai trees. The answer is always "no". None of my fruit trees are very old. This one is probably almost four years.
A better way to grow fruit would be to grow a grafted tree variety that is specifically bred from a clone of a proven winner. A good tree graft will gobble up plenty of energy every year and store it up all year for the production of lots of flowers and fruit. Usually a tree in an orchard is given tons more rootspace. The best situation would be to plant a fruit tree into the ground so it can form a deep taproot that will hunt for an endless supply of water deep underground, so the tree never goes into stress in the summer and winter when liquid water is harder to come by.
Of course, without acres of land, I enjoy the novelty of growing many different tree varieties on my back porch. Sure the tree cannot reach its full potential, but it would not even exist if I hadn't decided to grow it and become a good caretaker of it. We become friends in that way, I believe.
Keep tuning in this week. I have plenty more fruit type bonsai trees to share. Some people have never seen lemon, lime, cherry, goji berry, and apple trees before. Many people live in the wrong climate to grow these plants, or they lack the time, interest, and resources to grow them. Similarly, I live in the wrong climate to grow fruits I love, like bananas, cocoa, mango, and vanilla. Fortunately we have the steem blockchain to help us share photos from around the world and become fast friends.
Allow me the pleasure to show you what my unique trees look like in their miniature form. Maybe I will teach you something new along the way.
Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.
Find me on discord and chat with other tree growers, bonsai enthusiasts, and gardeners. We have quite a few accredited experts filling out our ranks, and a helpful Spanish-speaking community.
Always learn something new from reading these. I did not even know they could have fruit. The dedication you show to this craft is outstanding. I look forward to seeing how these grow over time as you post updates and expand. That seems like so many plants to take care of!
My medium sized tangerine tree often sends new shoots straight up as well! I don't want its branches reaching any taller because it will compromise the overall lollipop shape of the tree. I usually weigh them down with fishing weights to encourage wider growth instead, or pinch them off. All those new shoots must be because I pinched off a few large leaves! I never realized that that could change the chemical balance within the little tree as a whole.
Thanks for the good insights. Using weights is a good idea. With my willows, I learned to let the stems grow long and thin like they want to, and tie them down. Somehow the branch ends up looking more natural that way with a true arch.
Oxin, I think, is the fancy scientific term for the hormone inside of trees that suppresses bud growth. When the leaf or branch is cut, it gets all scrambled up inside the tree, allowing that part of the tree to receive new growth again. Sometimes pruning a dying tree can help restore life to it, especially if it's overgrown and has too much old wood.
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