Citrus flowering size

[Plot70]

I have a citrus that is almost certainly a lemon that has a single flower while quite small.
I have a much larger one in a bigger pot that is more lush with no flowers.
Has anyone managed to get any small citrus plants to flower. This one looks far to small to carry even a single fruit.

[ameno]

Was that seed grown? How did you manage that? I thought they would usually only flower that small when grafted.
I have a seed-grown citrus (a lemon or mandarin), and it's some 15 years old now and quite large, and has never once flowered.

[Plot70]

It was from the seed of a store bought fruit about two or three years old and kept in an unheated lean too in winter and outside in summer.

[Nicos]

Never seen one that small in flower.
have you hand pollinated it?

My gut instinct would say you shouldn't let it fruit cos it'd take a lot of energy from the growing plant....but the inner me says ' go for it...why not?'
I suppose you could rig a Heath Robinson construction to support the fruit as it grows- if it's successful?

Do let us know how you get on with it if you do decide to try and grow the fruit!

[ameno]

Never seen one that small in flower.
have you hand pollinated it?

I don't think that would help in this situation.
As I understand it, all citrus fruits are either parthenocarpic (in which case, it will set fruit all on its own, without pollination), or else require pollen from another flower, and since that plant only has one flower...

[Nicos]

Oh...didn't know that!

[Plot70]

Now it has been open for a day or so there are several black pollen beetles romping around in the one flower.
With only one flower if it does produce a fruit it will be seedless.
Today I sniffed the flower and it just smelled of flowers so there is no way of telling if it is a lemon or another fruit as I have also germinated some pink grapefruit. I never labeled them.
It is the first time I have had success with citrus the only change being overwintering under unheated glass when the days are short ans almost allowing them to wilt before watering. Plenty of water in the long summer days when there is light.
I have one that is a lemon that grew more strongly than the others. It has put on plenty of lush new growth. I have seen potted lemon plants on sale at about 2 to 3 feet tall with ripe fruit in Aldi a year or so ago. This looks like just the start of citrus flower photos from me.
If it does produce a fruit I have made the pledge that the rim of the pot will be adorned with a diecast model of a Ford Edsil this being the lemon of all American cars. I will have to build a model car port to support the fruit on its roof. This was meant for the bigger tree but now this little tree is in the running.

[ameno]

The trees you see on shops are grafted. Grafted trees can fruit pretty small - they had lemons, calamondins and kumquats in Lidl earlier in the year in 1.5 litre pots, the trees were about 8 inches tall, and all had fruit on.
Grown from seed, I think they need to reach a fair size and age usually, though.

Also, I'm fairly certain your citrus is not a lemon, as the leaves there have winged petioles, and lemon leaves do not.

[Plot70]

If it is not a lemon the most likely tree will be pink grapefruit. The shop bought fruit has far less seeds in them and when I spotted one I just put it in the seed tray. There is an even smaller chance that it is one of the small soft skinned orange varieties.
I have had a look at photos on line. The search for pink grapefruit had to be refined a bit as there is a naughty crop and a yarrow both called pink grapefruit. The difference looks like the wings on the leaf stalks. I will have a look at the tree I have that is a lemon now I know what I am looking for.
We will now have to wait and see if a fruit sets for an ID.

[Plot70]

The fruit did not set in the end.
The leaves are looking a little bit pale so perhaps it is time to re-pot it while there is time for it to settle in for the winter.
I have got a very lush lemon and will have a look at what I potted that up in.

[Plot70]

I top dressed it with ericaceous compost and it has greened up and put on plenty of lush growth.
It was stressed into flowering.
Lets wait for next year to see if it flowers again with a bit more wood to support the fruit.

[devonuk]

It is a grapefruit, they are notorious for flowering very precociously once, with one single flower. I don't know if I can link here, but searching "grapefruit seedling flower early" will take you to a very informative UBC Botanical discussion. Sadly it doesn't mean you can expect more flowers next year.

[Plot70]

I found the thread.
It must be the same variety the Americans are growing.
I will have to wait for it to grow 6 foot before it flowers again.
There is an older lemon tree in a much bigger pot in my back garden that comes into an unheated lean to in the winters. I will have to wait for that to flower.
It has doubled in size with a single fast growing shoot and you can still see the shriveled up remains of the embryo from the flower it produced a couple of months ago at what was the very top at the time.