Joe has an old garden full of old plants and he’s cleaning things out. He knows Frank loves all things garden so offered him 2 old kumquats in old pots. Frank said yes and he and I drove over to collect the poor things.
Oh dear, Joe wasn’t kidding about them being old. They had been in their pots a while. The variegated kumquat had a couple of huge roots sticking out of the bottom of the pot, desperately searching for sustenance. The other kumquat hadn’t ventured so far and, probably as a result, was a lot less healthy looking.
We went to work giving them a boost with a bit of seaweed solution, some pruning and separating their roots. The girls did their bit by depositing some fresh chicken manure fertiliser and loosening their top soil.
The variegated kumquat ended up in a nice sheltered spot in the ground with plenty of compost to help it settle in. I cut off maybe 10 % of the branches and leaves to help it with transplant shock.
The standard kumquat has a brand new pot and may make it as a feature plant at the edge of our terraced grass strip. We’ll see how it settles in.
As with all things gardening, now it’s a watching and waiting game. I do hope they survive. Our old kumquat tree (not to be confused with Joe’s 2 old kumquat trees) is really struggling and it’s nice to have a regular supply of ingredients for Frank’s kumquat marmalade.
Laura Rittenhouse's Gardening Journal 
Adorable backyard!! I’d love to try Kumquat marmalade. I bet it’s delicious!!
It is delicious – if you like that kind of thing. I have a terror of a sweet tooth so I prefer berry jam. But come on over for a cup of tea and you can taste it for yourself!