Slowly, slowly, the citrus trees are coming back to life.My Kaffir lime, the Mexican Key Lime, and the Variegated Eureka Lemon have all put out new leaves. The other lime still has a tiny green area on it's stem and is putting out a leaf. It's near the graft though so I'm not sure if it is the tree I want to be growing.
The banana and Bird of Paradise did not make it, so I've put sunflowers in their pots. I planted Mammoth, Velvet Queen, and Teddy Bear - all sure to cheer me up. The pineapples also died but I've sprouted two new crowns as replacements.
I learned a good lesson here. Just because I am hot and sweaty ten months of the year, doesn't mean that a cold wind from the Pacific Northwest can't come find me. What is frustrating is that I knew better. Those trees weren't cheap and I should have taken better care of them. Instead, I thought I could get away with just having them in the patio enclosure and not having to do anything else. Guess not. I will be prepared next time. I've already figured out how I can rig a cold frame and keep them all under plastic. It won't be the most attractive thing, but I can't afford a retractable awning or other fancy doo-dad.
I am also happy to report that my in-the-ground trees are doing well. The two oranges and Satsuma Mandarin are all blooming and setting fruit. My Meyer Lemon and kumquat are growing their leaves back and should be blossoming soon too.
I am thrilled with my mini citrus orchard. The flowers have the sweetest scent and the leaves are pungent with that citrus tang. They are so much more fun than my other fruit trees. Now if I could just keep the fire ants out of my compost bin - life would be perfect!
Well, when I looked closely at your twitter account I found your blog! How exciting to find another Austin garden blogger. Now there are 55 of us. My blog is @ http://www.sharingnaturesgarden.blogspot.com I have a variegated Eureka lemon coming back very slowly - it was a big tree and I had to cut it back to 2 feet, but hey it's alive. Love those citrus. Your garden must smell heavenly.
ReplyDeleteHi Diana! It was fun to chat about tomatoes with you - and now we can talk citrus too. Woo hoo! I've looked at your blog before and I love your flower photos.
ReplyDeleteIt was my patio citrus that took the hit. My in-ground plants got much better care. I draped them with Christmas lights and then covered them every night. I was the only person on my street to put up my lights AFTER Christmas! I later went to Goodwill and got more strings, so I should be prepared next year. As God as my witness, I'll never let my trees freeze again! (Apologies to Margaret Mitchell.)