Indoor gardening

[alex520]

Hello!
I am growing 2 almond trees from seeds. Everything was great until the last week when suddenly one of them started losing leaves. I don't know for sure, but I think it is attacked by mites (because of something that looks like a spider's web). Next to the sick almond I have a few pots of peppers affected as well. I wonder what can I do to stop it. Also, I would like to know if I have to stop the other almond from growing by cutting it, because it gets very high but it looks weak, it is thin and the stem does not become woody.

Thank you very much!

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Spray your Almonds (Prunus dulcis) and Peppers (Capsicum annuum) with insecticidal soap. If the Spider mite (Tetranychida, Acari) infestation persists, repeat with another application of insecticidal soap.

When the weather warms sufficiently, I recommend growing both plants outside in full sun.
Almonds in particular, are not suited for indoor growth. That your almond still has leaves in March shows that it never went through through Winter dormancy. This can be stressful on the plant. Perhaps winter temperatures in Bucharest get slightly colder than what is recommended for Almonds, but keeping the trees in a sheltered cold-frame rather than indoors might be better.
Winter dormancy is also required for flowering and fruit production, though tha tis not yet an a concern as the trees are quite small.

Any pruning decisions will depend on what you want these tres for. What are your intentions for your Almond saplings? Do you want to later plant them in the ground or to try to growing them in containers? Are you interested in future nut production? Will these trees serve as rootstocks for grafting?

 

[alex520]

Thanks for your prompt response! The story with the almonds began last autumn. I planted the germinated seeds in November and that's why I take care of them indoors. My plans are to move the trees in the garden and I hope one day I can eat their nuts. When do you think it's the best time to plant them in the ground? All the tutorials I watched ended after the first leaves appeared, so if you have any other advices for the next steps I'm all ears.

Best regards,
Alex

 

[Marck]

After the weather warms in Spring, grow the trees outdoors in full sun. Plant them in well-draining soil or keep them in a container another year. Almonds (Prunus dulcis) are fairly small trees. Ulnlees you want to keep them exceptionally small, there is no need to prune them at this stage. However, if you do want them to branch exceptionally low, cut the main stem just above where you want side banches to develop.

These trees are seedlings, not cultivars, but if their parent trees produced good nuts there is a good chance that your trees might too. perhaps the trees will be exceptional in some way . After all, growing seedlings is how new cultivars are developed.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

These trees are seedlings, not cultivars, but if their parent trees produced good nuts there is a good chance that your trees might too. perhaps the trees will be exceptional in some way . After all, growing seedlings is how new cultivars are developed.

This is true, but the odds of something better are long. I know growers hoping for new varieties of things like daffodils grow rows and rows of seedlings across an entire field in the hope that one will turn out to be good. My experience of hazlenuts grown from good Cob nuts is that the seedlings produce comparable nuts though, so probably, as Marck says, okay if the parent ones were.

 

[alex520]

I have one more question. Would it be a good idea to use a fertilizer now or when I plant them in the ground? If the answer is yes, what kind of fertilizer?

Thanks for everything!

 

[Marck]

While the plants are in containers, fertilize with a complete, liquid fertilizer. Once planted in-ground mulching with compost on a seasonal or yearly basis is often sufficient. However, sometimes a more concentrated dose of fertilizer is desired. Organic sources to consider for this include manures, fish-meal, blood meal, and urine.

Two other points about pollination and nut production. Almonds do require cross-pollination so it is good that you have two trees.
However, if the two trees do not work well as pollinators for each other or if their nuts are not of the quality you desire. You can then plant another tree of a known cultivar or bud-graft one or more such cultivars onto the trees you already have.