Am I missing something? why would you want to remove the buds? Are you referring to thinning the tree? If so I usually let my citrus do it naturally.

Looks awfully great! Nice and green!

I would just let your tree drop the fruit naturally, pampered. If it turns out the tree ends up setting a lot of fruit, it you want, you can thin some. I only do this on my new trees if it sets excessive amounts of fruit. For the most part, citrus naturally drop extra fruit at 3 times: blossom, BB size and then marble size.

Patty S.

Blaze, I meant the small fruit, sorry I used the wrong expression.

Thanks Patty S.

Chef-

Your tree looks good. I would let it do its thing and if you see there are too many fruits for the tree you can cut some off but as Patty said citrus have a knack of thinning themselves by dropping excess fruit.

Keep us posted:)

Chef,

I purchased a moro blood orange august 2011. It is approx 3 ft tall. I found one at the Wallmart in Oro Valley a couple months later and purchased that also. I live in the area of Avra Valley and other than new growth I haven't seen any activity on the trees. No blooms...nothing. P-L-E-A-S-E tell me what the heck I am doing wrong? I water approx 2x a week right now due to the extreme heat. Now that the monsoon is kicking in I water maybe once a week depending on the rain. What fertilizer are you using? I luv these little guys...help. Thanks...Kim

Kim, I wish I could tell you what is going on! I'm just a novice myself and my moro blood orange is having a difficult time with the heat. I have lots of sunburnt foliage and have now put an beach umbrella over it. I think it will recover, but it will be some time before it looks as pretty as when I first posted! I imagine yours are having a hard time with the heat also.

Maybe some of the experts on this forum will weigh in.

Connie

Kim & Connie,
First, Connie, your sunburn is due to a couple of things - new plant having new flush sort of on the late side, due to being planted a little late in the season for you, and being very well treated :-) For you all in hot, hot AZ, your best bet is to plant your citrus early - late winter, and allow the flush to occur during your more cooler temp times. Not fatal though, and your tree will recover, especially since you're giving it a lot of shade. And, the cinder block behind it is also a two edged sword - the bad is that it is reflecting additional sunlight, contributing to the sunburn. The good is it will retain warmth and protect your citrus during the winter. Just so you know :-) The Moro will do well in your area, and you will get very nicely colored and sweet oranges due to your temp swings, so just keep it shaded, well watered and well fertilized.

Kim, you do want to make sure you're watering at least twice a week or maybe more often depending on your heat, the amount of available rain, as well as the type of soil (well draining versus clay). And, you should be fertilizing with a good citrus fertilizer that contains micronutrients. You'll want to fertilize new citrus every 2 to 3 months throughout your main growing season. For me here in Calif, that's about February through October. I believe there is a great product especially formulated for AZ soils. I want to say it's called, "Arizona's Best", but don't hold me to that, as I'm in S. Calif. Check you high quality garden centers or citrus nurseries and they can tell you. Or, your local county extension office. Citrus, like any other plant, may decide to take some time to establish its roots first, before it begins to flush and produce blossoms. Also, if you've been experiencing high heat, plants will stop growing, including citrus. Just a protective mechanism. So, patience is the key, as well as regular fertilizing with the appropriate fertilizer, watering regularly through the heat of the summer, and possibly protecting your young citrus from the blazing AZ sunshine if needed.

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: AZ Citrus Site

Update on my blood orange. I did get about 6 oranges this winter from it and boy were they sweet! I was afraid I lost it due to our horrible 5 day freeze here, but she's survived. She is full of beautiful, healthy foliage, but no blossoms. Not a single one! I'm not sure this is normal. It appears very happy with new growth. Any ideas what might be wrong, if anything? Thanks for your help.

Sometimes young citrus can alternate bear, az. Not to worry. And, you may have had some issues with blooms and the freeze. We are also still recovering here as well. It was a horrible week, I lost 4 young citrus trees :-( I will be better about covering and stringing lights next winter if needed. We normally do not have to do that, it was a record-breaking low week for us here in Vista, CA, too.

Patty S.

Thank you both for the information and support. Patty I will absolutely check out the link you sent. I had no clue about fertilizing every 2-3 months during the growing season. So much good information....thank you. : )
Connie good luck & great tip on the umbrella for shade. I wouldn't have thought of that.

I fertilize more frequently when my trees are stressed. If I've had a "normal" winter, then I fertilize every 2 to 3 months. This was a stressful winter with a lot of cold temps, plus a week of wickedly cold weather. I just went out today, in fact, and for the trees that took the biggest hit, then just got more time-release fertilizer, plus a dose of Foliage Pro, AgriFos (I have phytophthora issues, and don't want to lose a stressed tree to root rot), and a dose of a little extra rooting fertilizer. I will repeat in a month for those trees that are in bad shape.

Patty S.

The main wholesale grower here, Treesearch Farms, say that with citrus, you shouldn't let it produce fruit the first year it's in the ground. It needs to focus on making roots to support growth in the future. I've never let citrus produce for the first year, and remove most of the fruit the second year, then let them go after that.

Several people have complained to me that their citrus doesn't produce very well. I asked each of them if they let it produce fruit the first year it was planted, and all of them said yes.

Eahamel,

Thank you for that information. I did some investigating on the Internet before my purchase but there is so much more to know just for Arizona. I appreciate all & any info so thank you,

Kim

Patty,
Can you expand a little on the AgriFos? Is it available in Arizona for use on citrus? I think I saw a little gummosis on the base of my grapefruit last fall. None currently visible on the tree. Does it work for gummosis?

Sure, it's by Monterey. I bought mine on amazon.com. For a soil soak (root rot/Phytothphora), 1/2 tsp. per gallon of water. Apply 10 gals for as small tree, 20 gals for a larger tree. Re-apply in 30 days. Then, apply once a year. For gummosis, there are application instructions on the label for trunk applications.

Patty S.