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What is Spanish for "Please don't prune the lemon tree"?
I tried babelfish, but when you translate the Spanish back to English, the result is sketchy, and I've never had Spanish.
Hi Steve,
I'm not always the most dead-on accurate in Spanish; but, I have worked alongside many an "Amigo" in gardens, and can communicate the essence of what I want (or DON'T want) someone to do!
The literal translation of what I put in the subject line is: "Please don't cut this plant!" You could also maybe say, "Por favor, no se corta esa Limon", --- but, I'm not sure if that translates to Lime, instead of Lemon...
Anyway, I hope ChrisH or somebody who's better in Spanglish will correct me or refine my translation; but, at least you have something at least "passable" for now...
Take Care,
Ken
Thanks! You rock. You'll have to come down and visit the lemon tree (which has been sadly reduced to a bush, and we are trying to rehab it) some time.
Just water the hell out of it for now.... The best time of the year to prune a lemon tree is in early - mid Spring, after all danger of frost in the Bay Area is done and over with (which means late March through May.... in other words, NOW!!)
If it was a hack-job, see if you can touch it up yourself, cleaning up the jagged cuts ant removing the dead stubs. Get a good-quality hand pruner, like FELCO brand, or CORONA; plus a good pair of loppers, and maybe one of those FELCO collapsable little saws...
And thanks for the compliment!
See ya around!
- Ken
Thanks again for the extra, expert advice. It has been pruned to a bush shape over the course of perhaps several years. It is sending out new growth furiously now. Should I remove some branches from the dense, inner "bushy" mass, or just let it go?
Of course, if the gardeners come tomorrow and ignore my little sign... it's a sad, moot point.
Hey Steve,
When something has been pruned badly over the period of several years, and/or been pruned back to an artificially small size (in other words, pruned into an unrealistic shape/size, according to the plant's natural tendencies), it is hard to completely correct, --- at least quickly!
Fine-quality pruning involves clean cuts; creating an open, uncluttered center (avoiding too many criss-crossing branches); making sure individual brnaches don't get too heavy with fruit, so they don't sag too much (& possibly break or crack from the weight); etc., etc...
"Mow & Blow" gardeners know little or nothing about Horticulture... "Time is $$$" is the guiding philosophy: Just cut it, and do it *quickly*, --- leaving the poor plant to slowly heal on its own the horribly unsightly wounds from the hack-job!!
I once saw a beautiful pink Climbing Cecile Brunner rose, in full glorious Spring bloom, when all of a sudden a truck pulled up, and out bounced 3 young "gardeners" with hedge clippers... ZIP! ZIP!! ZIP!!!! In just a few short minutes, what was once a graceful, beautifully arching-caned old heirloom rose had now been chopped into a rectangle-shaped hedge, --- with NO blooms left!!! My guess is that the home owner made the mistake of asking his gardening company to "trim" the rose... Reminds me of some of the horror stories of hack-job haircuts that some have experienced around here (lol)!!
Back to the lemon tree... Without actually seeing it up-close and w/ my own eyes, it's hard to give any more specific advise than what I've already mentioned above...
I'll make you a deal, though: since you live not too far away from me, treat me to dinner some time, and I'll show you how to do your own pruning in your garden... How's that sound? (And I'll try not to order Lobster - LOL)
- Ken
...that was an invitation for a BBQ or something, not a request for more help. Hope that didn't come out wrong.
I tried worldlingo.com for translations... DON'T use worldlingo unless you want a ton of popups! Looks like Ken helped out... very cool!
--Rick
Por favor, no acicales este arbol de limon.
Hope this helps.
ChrisH
Thanks. More regrets on my part for not having taken Spanish.
Steve, on the off chance the workers aren't Spanish speakers or literate a picture would cover all your bases. Cute stick figure with pruners and your lemon tree with a big X over all of it would get the message across.
That might be the best idea yet. English, Spanish, and a universal symbol working together, should be enough.
Does this topic remind anyone else of an old 70s "Nashville Sound" song?
When I was just a lad of ten
My father said to me;
Come here and learn a lesson
From the lovely lemon tree:
Don’t put your faith in love, my boy
My father said to me,
I fear you'll find that love Is like
The lovely lemon tree.
Lemon tree very pretty
And the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty
And the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.
Beneath the lemon tree, one day
My love and I did lie,
A girl so sweet that when she smiled
The sun rose in the sky.
We passed the summer
Lost in love beneath the lemon tree,
The music of her laughter
Hid my fathers words from me.
Lemon tree very pretty
And the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty
And the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.
One day she left without a word
She took away the sun
And in the dark she left behind
I knew what she had done.
She left me for another,
It’s a common tale but true.
A sadder man but wiser now
I sing these words to you.
Lemon tree very pretty
And the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty
And the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.