Our sunroom lemon tree started life in October 2022, when Desiree germinated a seed from a lemon and poked it into some rich soil in a small pot. The tree grew robustly for several months, but sometime in mid-2023, it fell under assault from spider mites. For months on end, I battled the mites with an assortment of agents that were supposed to either kill or discourage them. I managed to tamp down the mite infestation but failed to fully eradicate the little monsters.
Meanwhile, the tree continued to
grow—a few mites still clinging on. Eventually, Desiree, I, and all the hotshot
arborists on the interweb agreed the tree was too spindly. To address this, on
September 23 of this year, Desiree grabbed a pair of snippers, marched into the
sunroom, and pruned the tree wholesale. The gurus I consulted online prior to
her snipping recommended cutting up to 25 percent of the “flagging” growth.
Desiree likely approached 90 percent with her pruning. I will admit, I was
somewhat alarmed.
Now, two months later, the lemon tree
is bursting forth with vibrant new growth. Most impressively, the pruning
alarmed the mites so much, they vanished entirely. I have posted three
photographs of the lemon tree, including one from yesterday that features me
and a Cold Smoke beer as a scale for size.
—Mitchell Hegman
Did you trimming the roots as a video I sent you a couple of years ago suggested in another post?
ReplyDeleteDesiree wants to try that on a juniper. She has one picked out.
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