Absolute beginner- which large pot plant in conservatory? Olive, lemon appeal...

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Hello all you gardeners from a non-gardener.;)

I've always been impressed by large conservatory plants and finally I have the opportunity of having this myself too!

I'd like two large floor-standing container plants for the corners of my conservatory come dining room.

I've managed to get one on Ebay already. I paid £15 for a Ficus. It is in a large clay pot and the plant is almost as tall as me and looks healthy with lots of leaves. My question about this plant is will it grow fig fruits?

So as not to make another impulse purchase, I thought I would ask here first.

I'd love an olive tree or lemon tree or something else with fruits or else something a bit exotic but with limited space, nothing spikey or scratchy! Oh, and it's got to be as tall as the other plant to match it.

My room has double-glazed windows on three sides, gets the sun in the morning, noon and early afternoon, is centrally heated and is a bright, light room.

My budget about £20. For that money it doesn't have to come from a nursery, as I'll re-home an unwanted plant like the one I got on Ebay.

I'd love to hear from anyone with a conservatory with advice on this. I suppose it would be more of a house plant than an outdoor plant, but perhaps there is some crossover?

Looking forward to your comments....;)

nodwah

It depends on what type of Ficus it is - what do the leaves look like? (It's a large genus)

You could grow a grape vine, lemons, olives etc. but big plants will be very expensive to buy - I bought a small olive tree that's about 3 feet tall in B&Q - reduced to £9.99!

Martin_Knott-Lewis

So I'll take a look at B&Q next time I'm there...;)

DKLS

I picked up a 3ft lemon and an satsuma tree for £15 each last year from my local garden centre.
I have had 3 lemons so far which were great, the satsumas made my ears laugh .

Martin_Knott-Lewis

nodwah,

The leaves of the Ficus are of a size ranging from 7 to 10cm in length. They are about twice as long as they are wide. They are plain mid green and a bit glossy looking. They are a bit wavy and taper to the tip. A friend of mine has the same on a sunny windowsil and it has no fruit and few leaves left. The seller advised me to keep it out of direct sun. Can you identify it?:p

Following your tip, I went to B&Q and managed to pick up an olive tree, probably similar to yours, 4ft tall, £35 reduced to £15. So thanks! I want to encourage it to grow. Should I re-pot it to a larger pot? I have bought B&Q general potting compost. It is in a plastic pot. How often do you water yours? Do you get olives?:D

Martin_Knott-Lewis

DKLS,

I saw lemon trees at Homebase. They were very small, more like a house plant than a tree, and about £35. That's a lot of money for a 2ft tall tree.

I'll have to wait for the end of season reductions.....;)

nodwah

Martin_Knott-Lewis wrote: »

nodwah,

The leaves of the Ficus are of a size ranging from 7 to 10cm in length. They are about twice as long as they are wide. They are plain mid green and a bit glossy looking. They are a bit wavy and taper to the tip. A friend of mine has the same on a sunny windowsil and it has no fruit and few leaves left. The seller advised me to keep it out of direct sun. Can you identify it?:p

Following your tip, I went to B&Q and managed to pick up an olive tree, probably similar to yours, 4ft tall, £35 reduced to £15. So thanks! I want to encourage it to grow. Should I re-pot it to a larger pot? I have bought B&Q general potting compost. It is in a plastic pot. How often do you water yours? Do you get olives?:D

Sounds like it's might be a ficus benjemina and you won't get any figs! sorry!

Our olive tree had one olive on it last year! (but we are in Scotland!)
My DH potted into a terracotta pot in B&Q multi purpose compost and it seems happy - it's outside just now in a sunny spot and it'll come inside for the winter

Money_maker

Your ficus is ornamental - palmy type finger leaves on arching stems. Ornamental but bearing no figs.

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Weeping Fig


Yes! Nodwah. That's it exactly! I've been trawling Google Images in the meantime and came to the same conclusion....

What a shame I won't get figs.:o

Nicely ornamental, palmy appearance as you say, MM.


Olive tree

Looking forward to my first olive(s) though....:rolleyes:

I like the idea of your terracotta pot...would give it a Mediterranean look I image....(even in Scotland)