still new to citrus, first fruiting and leaf drop questions

17 years ago

A couple of the citrus trees we planted 2 seasons ago are now bearing fruit. The ruby red grapefruit, and the key lime.We planted them as 10 gal nursery stock, about 4 1/2 ft tall or so, and removed the fruit that was on them when we bought them as per the nursery's planting instructions. last summer they flowered, and the grapefruit tree now has about a dozen good sized fruits on it that look as if they'll be ripening soon. The tree grew some and put out flushes of new growth before flowering. Since the fruit have been forming, we haven't noticed any new growth, and the tree as of late has been droping quite a few leaves, and showing some yellowish tint to the foliage. The tree is actually becoming quite threadbare in places. Is this normal, and due to the stresses of the rapidly sizing fruit, and will it cease once we harvest the fruit. The tree recieves adequate moisture, it is near a sprinkler, which dosen't spray directly on the tree, but does moisten the soil to within a couple feet of the trunk. The top inch or so of soil dries out to the touch between waterings, and I have not fertilised since the tree stopped putting out new leaves in the fall. There are a few green buds starting to grow from some of the branches in the last week or two, so I guess that's a good sign. The lime has given us about a dozen fruits and lost a few leaves, but seems to be holding it's own and flushing with new growth right now. Is my grapefruit tree ok or am I doing something wrong?

Dave

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

parrothead_fa
Original Author
17 years ago
Anyone have any experiences like this, or experience with young trees fruiting? I'm just trying to figure out if it's something I need to be concerned about, or if this may be normal for a young tree with a lot of fruit. The 11 grapefruit that are on this 4 1/2 ft tree didn't look so bad when it was full of glossy dark green foliage, but it's starting to look rather like the Charlie Brown christmas tree now. The fruit are close to being ripe, the nursery tag says march-april, and these are starting to color up pretty good now, so it will be rid of them soon. I'd like to know if anyone else has had similar experiences, and if the tree will begin to perk back up once we remove the fruit.
Dave
johnfla
17 years ago
When I first bought a house in FL 25 years ago the nurseryman I bought my first citrus trees from said "don't let them bear any fruit for the first 2 years," as they need that time to develop their root system.
Younger trees do not have the energy to develop strong roots and produce a good crop of fruit.
If this is only their second season in your yard, it is probably too soon to let it bear fruit. Your fertilizing schedule sounds ok, and it does sound like your tree is getting enough water. I suspect that as you begin to harvest the fruit, and as the tree puts out new growth it will perk up again. I'd also limit the number of fruits you let the trees carry this coming season to 12-18, depending on how much it grows this year.
Related Discussions
A question about leaf drop
Q
Comments (8)
Boric acid bait traps at the base of the tree and Tanglefoot painted on trunk wrap (never paint Tanglefoot directly onto the trunk, as in hot weather, it can heat up and "cook" the cambium layer). On a garden tour, one of our CRFG's fruit trees had the web tree wrap wrapped several times around the trunk, forming about a 4 to 6 inch wrap. It was wrapped so that there was about 3 thicknesses of wrap, then tied off in a neat knot. The, Tanglefoot painted on the wrap. All the trees looked a little like they were wrapped like a present - neat and tidy. The CRFG member happened to be an engineer, so everything was done very precisely and neatly - nice effect. Beth, just keep watering regularly - don't over-water of course, check the soil, and if it is getting dried out 6 inches below the surface, you can water. Continue to give your trees a bit more fertilizer. You're probably just seeing the delayed reaction of our freeze we had. I would use a good, balanced fertilizer especially formulated for citrus. I like to use Gro Power's Citrus & Avocado Food. It has a very high amount of humus and humic acid, which is really great for our California soils. I would top that with some chicken or rabbit manure (or some additional fish emulsion) to boost the nitrogen, and then be sure to top with compost to retain soil moisture, which looks like you may have done on the slope, which is great. Prune out the dead wood to the green wood (try to prune to the last live node, preferably a node that faces outward). Your tree will recover nicely, not to worry. Patty S.
...See More
New Leaf Drop on young ML
Q
Comments (6)
The container growers here will undoubtedly enlighten you further; but you have already done most of the damage you can do. The potting medium is not so good for indoor use; you repotted it at the wrong time; so it has been given a double shock (along with moving indoors). Changing light, humidity, temperature all at the same time makes the tree think it has to change its habits to survive (anthrpomorphizing, I know). The tree will drop most of its leaves to replace them with leaves more efficient for its new environment. That is compounded by the flowers; I would remove them immediatley along with the fruit, as the tree will hold onto the flowers to the detriment of everything. As the tree gets bigger, it can survive these issues easier; because it will have more carbohydrates stored in trunk and limbs. That's the idea of what has happened; as to what to do about it, I will leave to the container gurus; my limited knowledge is only about inground trees.
...See More
citrus fruit questions
Q
Comments (12)
I am having the same prolem with my tngerines splitting. Some are that way on the tree then drop off. some are turning yellow and falling but not splitting. i looked int he reference book at lowes and it said that several things could be happening: 1. Inconsistent watering - in other words, too much rain or water then not enough water or rain. Suggestiions were to make sure you are watering deeply enough then allowing it to dry out somewhat before watering again. 2. Wind - which is what I think is my problem. We have had such a windy spring and then now it is windy again. Plus the wind adds to the watering problem as all my plants look "dried out' even after watering earlier in the day. I really think this is the major issue for me. 3. The was a third reason, I think it had to do with over feeding coupled by not enough watering. Two years ago, my honey tangerines were so good, last year they were dry and this year I am not sure any will be on the tree by Feb. I am so sad, I love my Honeys.
...See More
Dwarf citrus leaf and fruit drop
Q
Comments (13)
Update! So my I scoured other postings and found Mike's advice for adding vinegar to water when watering citrus. Before doing so I tested my water and the differing variations (tap alone, filtered alone, filtered + fertilizer, filtered + fertilizer + vinegar) for pH and hardness. My normal tap is neutral at 7. Fileted through the dehumidifier it is slightly more acidic at 6ish. So I tried one watering of the vinegar and fertilizer, and yes it certainly made my healthy leaves a deeper green, it did not resolve the leaf curl. In fact it got worse. I determined that this was not due to a vitamin deficiency, as no color is leaving the leaves. The leaves start by curling on both sides inward, then hardening from the outside tip inward, until it falls off the tree, felling hard and lacking moisture. I've lost probably 8-10 leaves in the last 2 weeks. I haven't watered in those two weeks. So I dug deep into the gritty mix and found that it was still wet down there, not just moist, but WET! I don't get it, this is what I was trying to avoid by switching over to the gritty mix. I have 10 drainage holes in the bottom of the plastic pot and water drains freely when the tree is watered. I rolled my pot over and gently nudged my tree out to confirm my suspicions - yep some mild root rot!. GRRRR! Needless to say I am disappointed. I had gone from watering the tree once a week with the 9-3-6 fertilizer which gave my tree blossoms, new leaf growth, even tiny fruit production, to depressing leaf drop no better than if I had left the tree in MG potting soil. I have the Gritty mix laying out so it can dry a bit, but I am hesitant to put my tree back into it. Any suggestions from anyone who has been very successful with the gritty mix? Should I add more granite to it? I'm thinking adding more of the Fir bark fines will only hold more moisture in the medium. I'm also thinking about giving the tree's root ball a trimming, not completely bonsai, but to allow some air in between the roots that have grown very close together. I'll post pictures.
...See More
bencelest
17 years ago
I have a friend who is a much respected person in citrus culture adviced me that even if you leave one fruit on the tree for the first 3 years would greatly affect its growth.
parrothead_fa
Original Author
17 years ago
Ok, so do you mean when the tree is 3 years old, or when it has been growing in the ground for 3 years? That's the thing we were a bit confused on. These trees did have vigorous well doveloped root systems and a good thick trunk when we bought them. The lime tree is putting out limes quite regularly now, there are fruit in various stages on it from flowers to ripe, butit is growing like crazy and dropping very few leaves even as it continues to fruit. The orange trees we planted haven't flowered yet, even though they have grown a good bit and put out lots of new branches.
bencelest
17 years ago
My interpretation is when I got the tree and not how old was the tree. I could be wrong.
Either way, I play it safe but it is so tempting to taste the fruit and the beauty of a small tree having lots of fruit.
I used to have a one foot pomelo that bore one large fruit bigger than the tree. I was so proud of it. I was able to ripen the fruit and tasted it and was so sweet but it died the next year.

still new to citrus, first fruiting and leaf drop questions

Comments (5)

parrothead_fa
Original Author

johnfla

Related Discussions

bencelest

parrothead_fa
Original Author

bencelest

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

still new to citrus, first fruiting and leaf drop questions

Comments (5)

parrothead_faOriginal Author

johnfla

Related Discussions

bencelest

parrothead_faOriginal Author

bencelest

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

parrothead_fa
Original Author

parrothead_fa
Original Author