Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Dengarden
Florida Gardener's Lemon Tree Grows Like a Weed and People Are Baffled by the Reasoning
By Quai Betts,
2024-07-27
There are only two kinds of actually good gardeners : On one hand, you have people who luck up and discover they have a green thumb . Then, there are people who can only be classified as bonafide plant whisperers. There's just not one plant — small or massive tree size — that can die in their presence. In fact, their only problem is plants refusing to die. They're simply nature's favorite. Such is the case for Mike Dromgool, a Florida gardener with trees that seem to love him as much as he loves caring for them. One tree, in particular, has droves of people in his Facebook gardening group completely baffled.
"This is my lemonade tree," he wrote to the Backyard Citrus Trees group, with a set of stunning photos of the beautiful tree in his yard.
And yes, Facebook does have a group dedicated to gardeners who own citrus trees on their land. The Backyard Citrus Trees group was founded in 2020 and has over 30,000 members. It's regularly buzzing with activity — owners swapping pictures to show off their progress, asking for advice, dishing advice, and generally celebrating each other's citrus tree gains.
The advice they're asking for now is how the heck Mike keeps his beloved "lemonade tree" so dang fruitful.
" It grows like a weed," he shared with the Backyard Citrus Tree gang. "And the only problem I have with it is sometimes the branches snap due to the amount of fruit."
"What’s the trick to [lemonade] trees," asked group member Bill Samman. "What do you feed it? I’ve struggled with mine."
Fortunately for Mike yet unfortunately for those clamoring to know his secrets in the comments, the process is fairly simple yet not all that applicable: He barely does anything.
" Mate I have no idea," Mike shared with the inquiring tree lovers.
"I care for the others but do nothing to this one as it’s got enough fruit . Last year, I cut 80 fruit off when they were green after a branch snapped and still had over a hundred. It does get the most sun and maybe it’s tapped into the old septic tank under the lawn."
Someone else noted that " consistent watering and lawn fertilizer" would help produce similar results. While lemon trees are known to be relatively low-maintenance, it's understandably still hard to believe Mike does nothing. Still, the lemon tree whisperer debunked even that basic maintenance theory.
"No water used on this guy," he confirmed. "Even in summer as we are on tank water and run out. The other citrus trees I mulch as they struggle but not this guy. Also, no lawn fertilizer used on my lawn."
So, at least reveal this information, Mike: How does it feel to be nature's favorite lemon tree whisperer?
Love what you're reading? Be sure to follow us on Google News and subscribe to our Newsletter to get home and gardening news right to your inbox. For a chance to be featured on DenGarden and our social channels, click here to upload your clip and share your latest project with the world.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0