Your citrus trees are all looking incredibly healthy, Dani! Wow, those finger limes are getting huge! That reminds me my finger lime really needs repotting. Hopefully, they all do well over the winter 🤞
@@backyardsnackyardI Dani I love your Citrus trees, I'm gunna buy some this year as I now got a conservatory to store thrm over winter are all your Citrus dwarf varieties? Which ones do you recommend?
Its much more sensible to have a handful of citrus to look after, they can be kept super healthy like yours. I have far too many and they take up way too much space 🤪
But being sensible is a bit boring😆 I love your collection!! If left to my own devices, I would definitely have more...at least a Limequat! I have so wanted one ever since seeing my sister's huge one😁
It is very addictive...Originally I only wanted the Finger Lime because the fruits look so unbelievable, I had to try them, but once you have one, they multiply🤣🤣
The red pigments in all Citrus are subject to climate. Blood oranges require chill for best colour. red and pink grapefruit require heat for best colour. I think Finger-lime have the same pigment types as grapefruit, so fruit colour could vary according to the weather over the fruit development period. So finger lime color could vary from year to year.
As for the scale, especially on finger lime, I found the easiest way to deal with them is strong solution of Oil and soap then use a paint brush and cover (paint) the trunk and branches. I avoid the leaves.
That is so interesting. I wondered if our abysmal Summer that never happened here had somehow effected the colour. That makes so much sense. Thank you for clearing that up for me. I'm just glad it didn't effect the taste.
Does the oil and soap solution stop the ants too? I can tell they are the real baddies as they are moving the scale insects around and looking after them. My hand was so sore and bitten (not to mention scratched up) after cleaning the trees🙈 Luckily they seem to have vanished now, but I'll want to do something preventative next year for sure.
@@backyardsnackyard Ants are farming the scale. They bring them over, move them around to new spot, and defend them from predators. In exchange, they are after the scale (and Aphid) secretion. When you repotted your FL, did you check for ant colony in your pot? This happens to me once. I later found out because my pot was under watered (dry pockets). I submerged the entire pot in water for few minutes and made sure it’s well watered. I never seen the ants after this.
I never spray my citrus with neem oil. I worried about leaf drop espicaly during summer. I prefer to go after them with alcohol wipes. This works well for all citrus except FL. FL has unique growth structure. Very small leaves, lots of branches, and VERY thorny. This is why I use ‘long’ paint brush and just touch the scale with neem oil. It’s enough to kill them.
I squeeze the little bubbles into sandwiches - they add such a lovely pop of lime without making the bread wet. I'm also going to use them in salsa for fajitas tonight. They are so delicious.
Awesome I've never heard of those it look very tasty
Your citrus trees are all looking incredibly healthy, Dani! Wow, those finger limes are getting huge! That reminds me my finger lime really needs repotting.
Hopefully, they all do well over the winter 🤞
Thank you. I never know when to pick them. Last year, one exploded like a little grenade because I left it for too long😆
@@backyardsnackyardI Dani I love your Citrus trees, I'm gunna buy some this year as I now got a conservatory to store thrm over winter are all your Citrus dwarf varieties? Which ones do you recommend?
Its much more sensible to have a handful of citrus to look after, they can be kept super healthy like yours. I have far too many and they take up way too much space 🤪
But being sensible is a bit boring😆 I love your collection!! If left to my own devices, I would definitely have more...at least a Limequat! I have so wanted one ever since seeing my sister's huge one😁
@@backyardsnackyard limequat do very well indoors. I have one. It’s a prolific producer. The oval shape yellow fruit are stunning.
Very interesting, though I doubt that I will grow any citrus 🍊
It is very addictive...Originally I only wanted the Finger Lime because the fruits look so unbelievable, I had to try them, but once you have one, they multiply🤣🤣
The red pigments in all Citrus are subject to climate.
Blood oranges require chill for best colour. red and pink grapefruit require heat for best colour.
I think Finger-lime have the same pigment types as grapefruit, so fruit colour could vary according to the weather over the fruit development period.
So finger lime color could vary from year to year.
As for the scale, especially on finger lime, I found the easiest way to deal with them is strong solution of Oil and soap then use a paint brush and cover (paint) the trunk and branches. I avoid the leaves.
That is so interesting. I wondered if our abysmal Summer that never happened here had somehow effected the colour. That makes so much sense. Thank you for clearing that up for me. I'm just glad it didn't effect the taste.
Does the oil and soap solution stop the ants too? I can tell they are the real baddies as they are moving the scale insects around and looking after them. My hand was so sore and bitten (not to mention scratched up) after cleaning the trees🙈 Luckily they seem to have vanished now, but I'll want to do something preventative next year for sure.
@@backyardsnackyard Ants are farming the scale. They bring them over, move them around to new spot, and defend them from predators. In exchange, they are after the scale (and Aphid) secretion.
When you repotted your FL, did you check for ant colony in your pot? This happens to me once. I later found out because my pot was under watered (dry pockets). I submerged the entire pot in water for few minutes and made sure it’s well watered. I never seen the ants after this.
I never spray my citrus with neem oil. I worried about leaf drop espicaly during summer. I prefer to go after them with alcohol wipes. This works well for all citrus except FL.
FL has unique growth structure. Very small leaves, lots of branches, and VERY thorny. This is why I use ‘long’ paint brush and just touch the scale with neem oil. It’s enough to kill them.
How do you use finger lime?
I squeeze the little bubbles into sandwiches - they add such a lovely pop of lime without making the bread wet. I'm also going to use them in salsa for fajitas tonight. They are so delicious.