Special needs to help yuzu tree bloom?

14 years ago

Hi all - long-time lurker, first-time poster. =)

Early this spring, I picked up two 2-3 year old citrus trees from Four Winds, a Meyer Lemon and a Yuzu, to brighten up my greenhouse. I sort of OD'd on the advice and suggestions on these forums, but it seems to have paid off. Both trees are thriving in terms of leaf health and new growth, as are the rest of the plants in my GH, including an older Kaffir Lime that these joined.

The Meyer has bloomed twice already, and has several nicely-maturing fruits on it. The Yuzu has added probably 50% to its size when I received it, but not a single bud or blossom has appeared, despite conditions and a diet identical to the Meyer & lime.

I'm willing to accept that perhaps I'm just being impatient here with new trees, but since Yuzu is a bit of an exotic citrus (particularly in Ohio!), I've not been able to find much reference as to whether it has special needs to thrive.

If anyone has experience with Yuzu and might be willing to share some tips, I'd appreciate it, particularly with winter coming on. While it should be well-protected and nicely warm all season, I don't want it to decline because there's something vital to the species that I'm starving it of during the cold dark winter...

Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

PacNorWreck

7 years ago

Yuzu doesn't do anything quickly or early. They flower late (whenever they feel like you've given up on them flowering) and the fruit doesn't start to really grow in size for me until September. That said, it's easily my most care-free citrus and a very attractive ornamental. All in all it's been my favorite citrus because it's so undemanding.

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Comments (14)

mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
14 years ago
I dont have any experience with yuzu, but I would have to say as long as it looks healthy it will bloom when its ready. Sometime stress with induce blooms, but im not willing to try that with mine. Just be patient, it will reward you when its time.
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Glenn_50
14 years ago
I think you will find early next spring it will be in bud.My 2 year old has come into bud after a very wet winter.
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Heh... well, this may well be the blind leading the blind here. My references are all second-hand as well, so I have NO independent confirmation as to whether this is correct for a yuzu. What I'm told, however, is that yuzu is hardy down to ~8F, and the areas of Japan and China where it's commercially grown receive about 200-500 "chilling hours" (It's possible that this isn't necessary at all, and my tree isn't blossoming for other reasons! I'm a complete greenhorn when it comes to the specialty citrus, so my basic premise here might be incorrect.
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Yes, prune it now because we are in the growing season for citrus and you still have to have it properly sized for winter storage. It will be much easier to maneuver as well. You are very tuned in to your tree's growth habits so bravo! Many folks aren't. You don't have to trim it at all if you don't wish. If it fruits as is, those spindly limbs are going to bend over and possibly break due to the weight of the fruit depending on how much is on them. I don't know the fruiting habits of a yuzu so I am speculating what could happen. I have 4 slow growing Owari trees myself and I just realized that I am under fertilizing them. I use the granular organic fertilizers so I was being overly cautious with feeding. I was giving like 2 tablespoons when they should be getting like a 1/2 cup or more. I feel really stupid because I always felt they should be doing better than they are. The label on the packaging isn't specific enough for potted trees in containers so I contacted the manufacturer. They confirmed my suspicions of underfeeding and gave me the correct amount for my trees in large pots. Before you trim, you could do some research on growth habits of yuzu to see if your tree's growth habits are normal. I think you would feel a lot better if you did. I try to research as much as possible on the varieties I have too.
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meyermike_1micha
14 years ago
Darlox, welcome..

From the sounds of it, it sounds like a very happy content tree..Adding 50% to it's size is more than many of us can accomplish with many of our citrus..

I had a friend that had to induce flowering with cooler conditions...It had nothing to do with fertilizer at all..

I hope someone that grows these can confirm what it needs, if other than patience..

Mike..:-)
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darlox
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks all - and sorry for the delay. I've been out of town the last week...

I think I've gotten lucky on this one, more than skill. I had a devil of a time with my first attempt at citrus, but this time out (so far) these guys are going crazy! A combination of overly-paranoid feeding and management mixed with long-periods of benign neglect when I'm traveling. ;)

Regarding inducing with cooler conditions: I've heard this from others as well, and think that I might need to chill this one a bit before spring arrives. That's definitely what it would receive in its native Japan. However, I've never done that particular operation before, and am wondering if anybody has advice for doing so without killing the tree? I'm in Ohio, so it's probably not quite as simple as just hauling it outside sometime during the winter... I have to keep the GH temp above 60 because of some other plants in there.

If I were to try and give it a period of cold, what would folks recommend as the best way to do so, without damaging it or compromising its existing growth? If I put it inside my attached garage, for instance, would it need additional light during that time to not be damaged? Would it need a transition period of being hauled back-and-forth to not shock it??

Any tips appreciated. Thanks!
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sallyfreedom1_gmail_com
13 years ago
Can anyone tell me where I can buy a yuzu tree here in the Dallas TX area ?
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jacklord
13 years ago
I procured my Yuzu from Four Winds last June. It has always been a bit 'stagnant', that is, neither growing or dropping leaves. But all of sudden it bloomed and has set fruit.
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forest123
13 years ago
There is a japanese proverb that goes "Peach, chestnut, 3 years. Persimmon 8 years. Yuzu 18 years." Yuzu takes longer time to bloom than other citrus.
I heard that grafted yuzu (on poncirus) will bloom faster than yuzu started from seed.
bassmikey
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I have a yuzu grafted onto flying dragon and it is at least 4 years old and 5 feet high. With a very thick trunk. This spring I was so hopeful after our rough winter (Vancouver, BC) but there is nothing but vigorous new growth. Not a flower in sight. Patience is a virtue I guess...
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cf03
7 years ago
I'm also in Vancouver with a 3 yr old yuzu that came through the past winter in decent shape. It lost some leaves when I let it get a bit dry but has since put out a tremendous flush and there are about 9 little yuzu fruits hanging on. They haven't grown very quickly which I'm attributing to the cool and wet temperatures that we've had. Maybe if summer ever arrives, the fruits will begin to get bigger. Oh, it gets fertilized with Foliage Pro and has Osmocote mixed into the soil.
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mpmwong61
6 years ago
Hi cf03(8a) and bassmikey I'm also in Vancouver, BC. I got a Yuzu as well, wondering if you just left the plant in a pot outside or did you move it inside during the cold months, and did you gradually move it in, or just moved it in one day.

Thanks
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cf03
6 years ago
The yuzu did real well in a pot left in a sheltered spot outside during our cold snowy 2016 winter. I was overly ambitious and planted it last August into the ground where it seemed to settle well. The winter rains caused the 3 remaining fruits to stop growing and/or rot. If you remember we had some short periods of around -10 C at night and I covered the yuzu with a frost cover. Not well enough as it looked dead in the spring but this is it now

All previous growth died back but it sprouted just above the graft and is gowing taller daily. If I had to do it again, I'd have left it in its pot and sheltered it outside :-)
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mpmwong61
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Thanks for the tip. Wow how old of a plant did you buy, it fruited the first year? Did your tree branch our or did it just grow vertical?

Here is a pic of mine.
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cf03
6 years ago
The yuzu was really nice looking with some fruit when I planted it into the ground in Sept 2017.

The single vertical branch is what's grown this year since almost dying last winter. It's a 3 year old plant and flowered for the first time last year.

There is a member, PacNorWest who grows a yuzu in a container on a rooftop terrace in Seattle. It's done really well for her but I think she covers it when temps drop too low.
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Special needs to help yuzu tree bloom?

PacNorWreck

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mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma

Glenn_50

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Special needs to help yuzu tree bloom?

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