On the potted satsumas I can get about 4-6 per tree. Mine were all purchased at local nurseries and have been in my pots going on 3 years. I use a 511 mix and foliage pro to feed them. I am at the top of zone 8 so my satsuma are out pretty much all year (actually have some in ground as well). The cermain pots are pretty large maybe 20 inches high and 18 inches across. I also top dress mine with pine bark mulch because I think it looks better. I have also had good success with the meiwa kumquat. In much the same conditions as the satsuma. Right now it has about 18 fruit set on it and us in bloom for the third time this year. I have been very pleased with it. I still really struggle with lemons and limes. I personally have never had my limes set fruit and I have killed one as well. My Persian line had two small fruit right now so I am really hoping for the best. I will also be trying the Moro blood orange thus year. I gave a small unheated green house I got from loweS that did a pretty good job keeping stuff alive and healthy last year and we had an unusually cold winter here. We get lots of sun and humidity. I currently have:

3 owari satsuma
1 st Anne satsuma
1 Armstrong satsuma
2 Meyer lemons
1 Persian lime
1 rio red grapefruit
2 Moro blood oranges
1 ponderosa lemon
1 okitsu wise satsuma
1 meiwa kumquat

When I list it out that is a lot of plants (also have olive and avocado)

I use to think I would get tons of fruit of these container trees, but I Di not think that us the case for me. I am happy to get 4-5 fruit per tree and enjoy the fragrant smells and challenges of keeping them going. Perhaps as they get a bit bigger I may get a few more. It should be noted that my inground satsuma us the smallest tree but produces the most. If it does well over this winter I will start putting more satsuma in ground.

I must be doing something right.Meyer lemon
to many to count,bearrs lime dito, nules maybe
30 to 40 ,page 20to30 , navel 20, valencia 20,
satsuma 1 this one is usually my big producer
and when I was trimming yesterday accidentally,
cut it off.Variegated lemon 5 variegated kumquat
lots.Murcott is going to be limb braking like my
satsuma use to be.My new shasta gold has4,
Tango going to be in flower soon.This is really
the first year I have had success like this.I think
The reason for this was the timing of flowering.
I didn't happen in the greenhouse in April, they
flowered outside in late May.Thankyou bees

I must be doing something right.Meyer lemon
to many to count,bearrs lime dito, nules maybe
30 to 40 ,page 20to30 , navel 20, valencia 20,
satsuma 1 this one is usually my big producer
and when I was trimming yesterday accidentally,
cut it off.Variegated lemon 5 variegated kumquat
lots.Murcott is going to be limb braking like my
satsuma use to be.My new shasta gold has4,
Tango going to be in flower soon.This is really
the first year I have had success like this.I think
The reason for this was the timing of flowering.
I didn't happen in the greenhouse in April, they
flowered outside in late May.Thankyou bees

I must be doing something right.Meyer lemon
to many to count,bearrs lime dito, nules maybe
30 to 40 ,page 20to30 , navel 20, valencia 20,
satsuma 1 this one is usually my big producer
and when I was trimming yesterday accidentally,
cut it off.Variegated lemon 5 variegated kumquat
lots.Murcott is going to be limb braking like my
satsuma use to be.My new shasta gold has4,
Tango going to be in flower soon.This is really
the first year I have had success like this.I think
The reason for this was the timing of flowering.
I didn't happen in the greenhouse in April, they
flowered outside in late May.Thankyou bees

Sorry for posting twice between that
and the sideway picture's equals dah!

When I had my 6ft Meyer in a pot, I had literally TONS of fruit! I was giving away as many as I could. I counted well over 150+ . I think Meyers are the way to go if your looking for a lot of fruit from a potted tree.

Andrew

Orangelime

How large are your trees and how long have you had them?

You can get a pretty nice harvest in containers. here is what Ive gotten from varieties this year and in the past. not all these numbers are from this year, but most are.

Owari 25 fruit - 7 gallon container- very consistent
Seto 2 - 3 gallon - consistent
Moro 50 - 20 gallon - very alternate
sanguinelli 50 - 20 gallon - very alternate
Tarocco 10 - 7 gallon - low yields for its size
ponkan 20 - 7 gallon - somewhat alternate
Tango 5 - 3 gallon - first year
page 25 - 7 gallon - alternate
valentine 2 - 5 gallon - first year
Meyer 50 - 20 gallon - consistent consistent consistent :)
Valencia - 40 - 20 gallon - somewhat alternate
Key 100 - 20 gallon - consistent
bearss 40 - 5 gallon - consistent and starting to harvest
Pink lemon 10 - 5 gallon - consistent
nippon 50 - 7 gallon - consistent
meiwa 75 - 7 gallon - consistent
fukishu 25 - 5 gallon - consistent

Ive got some others that are either young or in the 1-5 fruit range that I have not mentioned. Ive noticed a tree in its 3rd or 4th year is when they really start producing.

RyanLo

Hi. My primary interest is in kumquat and you have the three types I am interested in. Can you tell me which one you like best and how they taste. I am particularly curious about the nippon orangequat;s culinary traits.

As for this thread I have no trees that have ever flowered but the link below is a pic of my best tree, a poncirus trifoliata in 55 gall half barrel. ..

Thanks Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:599903}}

I just picked my first lime from my patio lime tree. It didn't look like it was quite as big as the ones in the store, but I decided to pick it since it was the biggest one of the plant. The fruit looked beautiful, but the lime had very little moisture in it. Does that mean it was past ripe or not ripe enough?

I have a question...

For those of you keeping them in huge containers, at what point will you root prune in order to keep them in check?

Eventually potted trees decline if kept in the same pot year after year without root pruning or potting up...

Good to see such great results!!! Great work

Mike

Mike My fig tree now in their 3rd summer have sent roots out the bottom of my 55 gallon drums and spread all over the place. They will never be repotted. My poncirus trifoliata in it's second summer shoot through its 5 gallon pail and I had to upsize it to my 55 gallon drum halved to 27.5. When the PT out grows this drum in about a year from now she will go to a 36 Inch box. At the end I will have these trees in Versailles Planters where I can just take off a side, trim roots, fill with dirt. I am looking very carefully at my financial ability to grow citrus at all. The figs however are a winner.

I found new homes for 2 of my 3 poncirus trees. I am looking for homes for 3 of 4 of my sweetlee tangerine trees. My nagami tree will be cut up into scion wood to be grafted to PT as an interstock for my meiwa. The answer, I don't know. Things just kind of happen.

Steve

poncirusguy, In regards to your question about the kumquats,
My favorite is meiwa then close second fukishu then nippon. One of my favorite things abut them is the summer flowering.

Meiwa is simply the best tasting. They can be very sweet and somewhat tart at the same time, a very nice combination they also have a nice texture. The downside is of course they have a few seeds and sometimes they can have a bit of a bitter aftertaste from the oils in the rind. letting them hang into January or later seems to almost eliminate this.

Fukishu is very good tasting. Sweet and juicy but not as sweet and a little more sour then meiwa. Its large which is nice but has (its hard to identify exactly) but maybe a slightly musky aroma. seedy. The growth characteristics of the tree are great for containers, short bushy and productive.

Nippon is not as good for fresh eating but I do eat them out of hand. Nippon seems to be more of an ornamental or can be used to make awesome marmalade. Large fruit that are sour with some sweetness and can have a bitter aftertaste. They get sweeter but they have to hang on the tree for a while, into March or later - they will never get as sweet as meiwa or fukishu. They are seedy. People who prefer mostly sour with some sweetness may like nippon as much or more then Meiwa, My nippon is one of the most visually appealing trees I have, loaded but still somewhat upright with dark orange almost red fruit and long broad dark green leaves is simply strikingly beautiful in the winter, ill send you a picture later this season.

I have a fukushu. blooms every other month. Ryan is right its a bit sour but the flesh on mine is sweet so its a nice combo. Very vigorous and dark green leaves. For an ornamental plant its fantastic.

5 foot meyer should yield about 2 dozen fruit. This year its going into a much larger pot and I hope its size will double.

Ryan: Thanks for getting back on this. You are the first one to give me a definite answer.

Steve.

Going to look for any postings on root pruning, didn't know that. Think my Meyer lemon is in this pot for two years, recovering with foliage pro applications, doing well I might add, and could use larger pot.

Thank you to all of those that responded. I was questioning my self on whether to continue on my citrus/fortunella quest. I have found out with some work, persistence and proper care I very well could be harvesting fruit in 5 or so year with larger harvest in the following years. I have decided to keep my trees and plug forward to success of this project. The link below is to a video of my 4 tangerine and 2 kumquat tree as of 1-1-14

Thanks Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaASoeaBErs

This post was edited by poncirusguy on Mon, Feb 17, 14 at 11:14

I have yet to get more than 5 fruits off of any potted tree other than my Meiwa kumquat. It takes 50 kumquats to equal the volume of 1 medium orange. I got 30 Meiwa fruits 2 separate years.

Steve

Steve, SAME...lol

I grow them really well, but bushel? Never.

Every growing season is a little different. I've posted these pics before.

Meyer:

Clem-Yuz:

Armstrong Satsuma:

Key Lime:

Dave, my God, looks like the ones you see people use for advertisements to sell trees. What a great job ))))

For a container grower, it is a good job. congratulations.