Is there any hope for my orange trees?

15 years ago

I planted these 2 red navel orange trees last year. I forgot to cover them one night when it got under freezing. Is there anything I can do to help them survive now? There is still a couple of green branches and the brown seems to be spreading downward. There were green leaves and new growth right before this happened. Is there any hope, or should I just pull them out and plant new trees. Thanks for any advice.

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Comments (8)

aesir22
15 years ago
Cross your fingers and hope for the best. Without any leaves, they are running on stored energy, so if they stored enough before the leaves dropped, it may have a chance. They just need time if they are to survive, but no guarantees I'm afraid.
tsmith2579
15 years ago
I'm assuming these are regular oranges. Sooner or later the cold is going to get them. January 13, 1982 we had a heavy ice storm. You may want to Google: Air Florida and Potomac to read about a plane that went down in the ice storm in D.C. to get an idea about the size of the storm and severity. The TODAY show reported that day there were snow flurries in Miami. There was snow and ice from Dallas to the northeast USA. The satsuma groves along the north Gulf Coast from Texas to Jacksonville were devastated and satsumas are usually more freeze tolerant than oranges. I would prune the dead stems and cover them now with a garbage can full of leaves. If they survive the next 5 weeks, let them grow this summer and pot them before next winter.
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It does not seem to late for 2 options. Option 1. Serverely prune the tree and pretty much leave prune very long major branches back to about 2 feet long with no minor branches. The tree should look pretty bare at this point, with very few leaves to catch additional wind. At this point I would prop the tree up to a few fence posts installed to keep it up. This method may work, but the problem is the weak root system, and it may be prone to blow over again. Option 2. If it were my tree I would cut the tree off leaving only a foot worth of trunk. I would also cover the entire trunk with dirt or potting soil and keep it moist. This will help the remaining roots worry about getting restablished rather that support the top of a tree that will prob die anyways. When the tree suckers I would then reprune to train a strong sucker to be my main trunk. My two cents.
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Hummm interesting ...need more info ..did it leaf out last year ...if so all summer and how much... you live in 5a that is strange you are pretty far noth to have that sort of damage from last spring mostr in 5a zone were not leafed out or out not that far and the sap was not at peak run for bark damage...most folks that far north were untouched unless you are in one of those weird zones that zig zag... where do you live?? Bark slit is a bad sign ... For a tree that age to kaput from last spring in your zone would beg the question of how healthy it was in the first place which as I see it is a big reason it possiblly would have been so damaged. Please give more info also whether it was a dissectum or not or a generally early leafing tree.BTW none of my older trees were severly damaged not even my large dissectum about 14 years old... leaf damge yes but not bark and although sparce last summer that was because of seconday buds only survived.and theorectically I was in a more advanced area than you ..David
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wilmington_islander
15 years ago
I think they are goners...but good luck. You might try satsumas planted in a more appropriate location...the pics you posted show them completely in the open, subject to radiational freezing and hard, hard frosts, particularly in your climate. Near the south side of your house or under tall oak or pine canopy would be much, much better.
orchidcrazy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you aesir22, I hope they have enough stored energy to survive.

Thank you tsmith2579, They are regular red navel oranges. When you said cover with garbage cans full of leaves, does that mean cut the bottom out and slide over the trees, then fill with leaves? Do I need to put some kind of sealant over the cuts?

Thank you wilmington islander, You are correct about it being out in the open. I just thought this would give it the most sun and air flow around it. It does get hit by North winds. Will it get enough sun under a live oak tree?
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
No for the pruning paint over cuts, and no to the sunlight under the live oak. :-(
orchidcrazy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you rhizo 1 for the answers to my questions.
I have hope that the second tree may be trying to grow new branches. :)
sugar_land_dave
15 years ago
Orchidcrazy,

All of the old-time citrus guys and gals have written that one should never prune citrus damaged by cold. They say it is difficult to distinguish just how much wood is still good, thus you may end up removing living tissue. I have been told that citrus are pretty much self-pruning, and my experience seems to confirm this. YMMV....
orchidcrazy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you sugar land dave for your observations. I have never done any kind of pruning and was afraid to do it. Now I have some comfort in knowing that leaving it alone may be a good thing. :)

Is there any hope for my orange trees?

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aesir22

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Is there any hope for my orange trees?

Comments (8)

aesir22

tsmith2579

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