Meyer Lemons Not Producing & Propagating A Beech Tree
Question:
I have two Meyer Lemons. One, I’ve had for over five years and the other one I bought a year ago. The older one is in the ground while the new one is in a pot. They’re watered three times a week for fifteen minutes with a drip system and fertilized twice a year with fertilizer spikes. The foliage is healthy looking with lots of new growth and flowers. Lemons formed but turn yellow and drop off early on. So, what do I need to do to get my lemons to remain on the plants?
Answer:
Fruit drop on lemons as well as other citrus is corrected by increasing the volume of water you’re applying. The first thing a lemon is going to do to conserve on moisture is to drop its fruit. Drip irrigation is a common method of watering but two things go wrong. First, the length of time isn’t adequate and second there may not be enough emitters around the plants. With drip irrigation, you need to make a mental adjustment about watering compared to conventional sprinklers. Unforuntately, this doesn’t usually occur. With conventional sprinklers, like we see in turf, the distribution rate is measured in gallons per minute while the distribution rate for drip irrigation is gallons per hour. So, there is a huge difference in the amount of water being applied. Thus, a gallon hour emitter would only apply one quarter of a gallon of water when turned on for fifteen minutes. The second issue is the number of emitters per plant. One is sufficient for new planting but as the plant grows more need to be added. This insures that a sufficient amount of water is equally applied around the entire plant not just in one spot. For the older plant, I’d add two more emitters, move them out towards the drip line and increase the time to forty-five minutes. It’s a little different with containers as you only need to run the drip system long enough to fill the container to the brim. This is much like you do when you hand water. The length of time is determined by trial and error. You increase the fill rate by adding additional emitters. Also when it’s hot, you’ll need to add an additional watering to you're watering schedule. You should see the lemon drop stop with the next flush of flowers.
Question:
I’ve tried and failed to propagate a Fagus Sylvatica Tricolor (Beech Tree). I’ve just been cutting off some of the plant. It’s been suggested to me to use softwood cuttings. So, what are softwood cuttings?
Answer:
On a deciduous woody plant, the softwood is the growth that's lies between the green new shoots and the stiff mature growth. The best way to know is to bend it. If the growth snaps, the shoot is ready to be taken as a cutting. It’s not ready if it’s flexible and doesn’t snap or is stiff and rigid. Now is not the time to be propagating Fagus. Instead, wait until May of next year.The pink margins of the Tricolor Beech fade as the leaf drop approaches. It's a pleasant contrast to the leahery green leaf.
