Dwarf citrus blooming
Higgs Boson
over the years (decades?). Finally got one that may make it, I hope I
hope. As soon as I put it in the ground (I am skilled transplanter)
it bloomed profusely. I was happy. All the blooms fell off. I was
UNhappy. I fed it and cared for it, and now -- about a year later
-- it is blooming again.
But in So. Calif coastal, that seems like a weird time to bloom.
Usually, AFAIK, the oranges are ready for harvest in "winter".
Anybody fill me in on what's happening - what I should be doing, or
not doing?
TIA
David E. Ross
Is it actually an orange? If your plant is instead a lemon, they bloom
on and off all year round. Mine is blooming right now.
If it is indeed an orange, it is blooming out of season. Avoid feeding
from early October until early March. Although oranges are evergreen,
they do have a form of dormancy in the winter.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
Higgs Boson
> On 12/12/2009 1:24 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:
>
> > Yo, amigas y amigos - I have had terrible luck with dwarf citrus
> > over the years (decades?). Finally got one that may make it, I hope I
> > hope. As soon as I put it in the ground (I am skilled transplanter)
> > it bloomed profusely. I was happy. All the blooms fell off. I was
> > UNhappy. I fed it and cared for it, and now -- about a year later
> > -- it is blooming again.
> > But in So. Calif coastal, that seems like a weird time to bloom.
> > Usually, AFAIK, the oranges are ready for harvest in "winter".
> > Anybody fill me in on what's happening - what I should be doing, or
> > not doing?
>
> > TIA
>
> Is it actually an orange? If your plant is instead a lemon, they bloom
> on and off all year round. Mine is blooming right now.
I have a lemon that I planted not long after I bought the house,
many, many years ago. Never stops producing. Though it's been
forever infested with whitefly, like most everything in my beach
community, there's plenty left for me & neighbors I give to.
> If it is indeed an orange, it is blooming out of season. Avoid feeding
> from early October until early March. Although oranges are evergreen,
> they do have a form of dormancy in the winter.
Yes. it is a Washington dwarf orange.
I don't know why it is blooming out of season. I did some rescue
feeding
last summer, when it was not looking good, but that was months ago.
Do you think the blooms will drop off, or will hang on through the
"winter"
and make oranges? In the latter case, will it really take a YEAR for
the oranges to ripen? So...? any more of your educated feedback
(and that of others) is welcome.
David E. Ross
I'm not sure if blossoms at this time will produce fruit. If they do,
the fruit is likely not to ripen until the normal time at the end of
next autumn.
Note that citrus is self-thinning. That is, many blossoms will fall off
without forming fruit; and many small immature fruits will fall off.
emb...@gmail.com
<nob...@nowhere.invalid> wrote:
I just noticed this thread and although I can't add anything regarding
the orange issue it sounds as though we have some people here who are
famiiar with Lemons. So I'll take the opportunity to ask a question
if I may. I have a Dwarf Lemon which has 2 lemons and many blooms
which came and went recently. While the blooms are dying as they've
run their course I noticed also that I'm losing leaves like crazy. Is
this a normal part of the cycle for these? I'm worried something is
wrong with the plant.
Thanks so much.
Ray
David E. Ross
Is the dwarf lemon tree in the ground or in a pot? In a pot, it is too
easy to feed it when the soil is too dry. When you then water it, the
roots get burned. I did this once, but my tree eventually recovered.
Where are you? That is, what is your climate? I've seen this twice on
my dwarf lemon when it got too much frost. Once, it recovered. The
second time, it was already declining from old age and did not recover.
Check the leaves that have fallen. Hold them up to a strong light. Do
you see tracings of tunnels winding back and forth inside the leaves?
You have leaf miner, which can defoliate and even kill a dwarf citrus.
See <http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74137.html> and
<http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107303211.html>.