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Grape fruits falling off tree

17 years ago

Hello Ya'll,

I have what I believe is a mature Valencia grapefruit tree. It is as tall as the eave on my two story house. The fruit is sweet with lots of seeds. It put out many flowers earlier this summer. I stopped counting blooms around 150+. The scent was narcotic.

Here is my question/ problem. I have inmature fruits falling off the tree. I do not see what appears to be an insect or fungal type problem on the fruits or leaves. I have not even seen the woolly white flies year. I have the tree on a regular water cycle. Plenty of light. I even put citrus fertilizer spikes out early this summer. The tree appears to be healthy to me. I am wondering if the tree is dropping fruits to provide energy for itself or if I need to be looking for a specific symptom. I do have squirrel issues. I have seen them on the tree. I have put out plastic owls to try to frighten them off. That seems to work a little.

I will get some pictures posted soon. I have some from last year in my gallery here. The second picture has a bit of the tree on the right hand side. The last picure has the tree on the left hand side.

Thank you for all you help and information.

Happy Growing,

Kenzie

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Comments (3)

laidbackdood
17 years ago
Hi,loss of some fruits is normal.The tree balances things
out as citrus tend to be greedy flowering.Once the fruits get
half the size of a ping pong ball they are usually there to
stay.Are the tiny fruits going yellow and then falling off?
With such an establisehd tree,you shouldnt need a
constant supply of water,in fact thats what i think is causing
your fruit drop.They do benefit from plenty of food,lack of
nitrogen could cause the drop.Are the leaves Dark green or
pale and yellow.I would feed with a citrus fertilser high in
nitrogen and some magnesium and water deeply once a week.
something like npk 25/5/15 plus trace elements.or a 20/20/20
Buy fert especially for citrus,spikes are not the way to go
and let the tree dry out a bit.It will have huge roots and
can search for water.Citrus dont need that much water.
High nitrogen is important but not from urea.The trace elements influence the quality of the fruit.In the winter,dont water at all.Spread the fertilser around the tree out to the drip line but keep away from trunk.Mix in to
top soil and water deeply.Especially,if new growth present.
Spring and autumn are good times to feed,with 4 or 5 handfuls approx.They are very greedy feeders.A lot of home
garden trees fail because of lack of food.Even a balanced
general garden fert would do the job but nitrogen and magnesium(epsom salts if ur fert is low in it) are important.Good luck
birdsnblooms
17 years ago
Kenzie, is your tree growing in the ground or a pot? W/the size you mention I'd assume the ground right?
I agree w/Laidback about the spikes..they're a waste of money and don't spread out fertlizer like water soluable or granuals..You want all roots to get a taste of food.
Squirrels are a royal pain in the a&&. They'll munch away your fruit if they can get away with it..Believe me, I know. I've a grapevine growing 3 yrs now and have yet to taste 1 grape..LOL.
Not to mention all the plants, fruitless plants, they killed.
How do the leaves look? Are they green and healthy? Yellow? Mottled?
Like it's written, only 2-4% of the fruit remain on a tree, so it's natural for some fruit to drop. Toni
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Dear Sara, Though I have only had my fruit tree for a few months, I have experienced the joy and disappointment on care for .......a PLANT! Don't know why, but want this one to do well. I too had this sticky white stuff. Here in Seattle, I keep my plant 50% of the time indoors, and 50% out on my southern exposed deck. After reading and inspection, I have discovered that my plant has scale, a type of bug infestation that can present. These insects are very small (my the size of a small bead) and they feed off the plant. They look like small pill (potato) bugs and move very slowly. Subsequently, their poo is the white, sticky substance that is deposited on the stems and undersides of leaves. I read this material can attract other insects (ants) but is not toxic for pets. I was able to catch it early, and washed the plant well. Then, I sprayed it with a combination of Neem oil and diswashing liquid solution (you can buy various preparations) and after a couple of days, washed again. Upon further inspection, I only saw 1 bug that I happily squished!! Must periodically inspect and occasionally wash. I don't know if that is what you're experiencing, but if so, it is much easier to treat when infestation is new (vs established). Good Luck!!
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kenzie_pom
Original Author
17 years ago
Hello ya'll,
Sorry for the delayed response. Thank you for your input. The tree is growing in the ground. The leaves are not mottled or yellow at all. They are a really pretty deep deep green. I looked at the water that the tree is getting. It is really not as much as I first thought. The area is getting overspray from the irrigation system I have. 2-4 % of the fruits remain on the tree? That is good news. The fruits that I have are ranging in size from pingpong ball to softball size.

Again, thank you for your input. I will post some pics when I get some.

Happy Growing.

Kenzie.

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