I had a Dancy tangerine tree that was the same way. Have about a dozen other citrus that thrive just planted in the regular old crappy sugar sand but the Dancy just sat there. I finally got tired of looking at it and gave it to the doctor that lives across the street. So far it is still looking pathetic.

LOLOL.....so...are you telling me that I wasted an entire afternoon? It's hopeless?.....

"Pathetic" is a good word to describe this tree.

I planted a mineola tangelo 4 years ago it was 5 feet tall and I think its probably about 10,11 maybe even 12 now - I've never gotten more than 2 or 3 (my wife says 7 or 8) :) fruits in a year off of it. Pretty disappointed. The same day I planted the mineola I planted a sunburst tangerine exact same size about 5 feet tall 30 feet away as they're supposed to be good pollinizers they were identical in size - today the sunburst is as you describe the mineola its grown maybe 4-6 inches - but I actually get more fruit off of it than the mineola - When I'm out talking to the sunburst I'm always very encouraging - 'this is your year buddy you're gonna have a growth spurt' but I'm not holding my breath :)

Hope you are able to cool off that burn - and I'm glad you didn't get heat stroke/exhaustion. It was PUTRID out there today!

2 years before I got one fruit on my tangerine (6 foot tree when it went in). 3 years (this year) loaded with fruit and it actually has leaves that haven't fallen off or been chewed up by weevils.

I did a soil drench & fed citrus fert in October last year, then middle of February (before flower buds), first of April (after fruit was larger than pea size), and the middle of May (golf ball size). I'll drench & feed again in October. So far, knock on my wooden head!!, the fruit is holding much better this year.

Water was a real issue for this guy. The first couple years needed 3-4 days a week. Now it's getting twice a week and doing fine. It doesn't like wet feet, but doesn't like to be too dry either.

I planted it "high". Built up an area with the native soil (mostly sand) about 3 inches above grade. Surrounded that area with blocks to act as a water retention basin. This year, I was able to remove the blocks.

Good luck!

Fruit trees can be heartbreaking! It seems to me that they have different "personalities", sorta like people. I had a Dancy Tangerine and a Persimmon that died within a week of being planted. Why? I have no idea.
Then there was the Black Sapote that absolutely THRIVED for two years, then suddenly just up and died. Once again, I was mystified.
Between the cold snaps, droughts, insects and diseases, and raids by two and four-legged varmints, growing fruit seems to be an uphill battle even without having to deal with unpredictable trees.
The whole thing can be quite maddening! I'm not a kid anymore and I'm not sure how much time I have left to waste on unproductive, tempermental fruit trees.

Saintpfla,

Like people some plants just seem to thrive and some seem to just survive. On the positive side back in PA I had a few beds of blueberry bushes. Most did great but there was this one plant that grew slow and was much smaller than it's neighbors. One day I by accident I backed over it with the tractor and pushed it over, almost uprooted it. I straightened it back up watered it hard to resettle the soil and to my shock from that moment on it took off and grew in to a large flourishing bush. Plants....

PLEASE go to this link. print the entire thing and read it.
Read it over and over again.
Millions of dollars has been invested into this research;
paid by the commercial citrus industry.
Young trees ( under 5 yrs old ) require different care than older trees.
Here is a small example of the valuable information in this link:

" During the first few years, apply fertilizer to young trees to stimulate vigorous growth of leaves and branches that become the framework of the mature tree. Beginning about 2 weeks after planting, frequent, light applications of fertilizer should be made approximately every 6 weeks. Avoid burning roots with high levels of soluble fertilizer applied all at once.

Fertilizer should not be applied between October 1 and February 1 for the first year or two, especially in regions north of Polk county where severe cold damage has occurred. This will reduce the possibility of untimely growth flushes in the winter."

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Dooryard Citrus Guide

Thanks for providing that link, gatormomx2 = )
& I'm wondering if salt may be an issue - the 'Young Tree Care' guide mentions different rootstocks having different degrees of salt tolerance. Pretty much everywhere around here may be considered coastal - & reclaimed water can be high in salt content as well...

Not to brag or anything, but I've had nothing but good results w/ citrus I planted, & I'm on a barrier island - no reclaimed water for me (no sprinkler system), but my neighbor, who waters daily/nightly w/ their reclaimed water, has a grapefruit tree that has never thrived. I wonder about the source of the trees as well - I got mine from a small, local grower who specializes in fruits.

Here is a link that might be useful: J. A. Dodson Citrus & Fruits

Gatormomx2: thanks for the link. I've read it and all the FL citrus info over the past few years. I don't claim that I have 'retained' the knowledge...but, I try to follow it at least. Nothing is really working for this tree to get it to "thrive".

I'm hoping starting from 'scratch' may be helpful. Also, I will be setting up a sprinkler system for it as I've only been watering it by hand. Maybe I'm not watering it enough?

Frustrating.....

Someone taught me this trick and it is the ONLY thing that worked to get my trees to stop dropping all their fruit. He told me to fertilize a little each month, starting in March and ending in October, instead of doing the 3 times a year, and to water once a month during the dry season, even the mature trees that supposedly needed no supplemental water. I had to do that to my Meyer lemon anyway, so I just did it to all of them. The first year I did it, all but one tree was loaded with fruit that held on and ripened, and the next year they were all loaded. A windstorm took all the limes, and a few Meyers, but the rest were fine.

It's worth a try.

regarding the first post:
I do not recall seeing your rehab method written as advice any where.
I sure hope your tree survives.
Citrus should be planted directly in the existing sandy soil in your yard with NO amendments.
No mulch, no grass, no leaves and no weeds all the way out beyond the drip line.
Never fertilize a tree or plant when you first plant it or shortly after.
Wait until the poor thing recovers from the shock of being yanked out,
washed and replanted.

Citrus fruit drop is NORMAL!!
Trees will drop their fruit to regulate how much they can handle.
Some years they keep zero especially when young.
The trees will set more fruit as they age.
Fertilizing with less product but more often is much better.
Think of it like paint or nail polish.
3 or 4 light applications applied sparingly work better than heavy amounts once or twice.

It is not unusual for citrus trees to take many years to mature before they produce fruit.
Grapefruit trees can take 8 to 10 years.
Be patient. And re-read the Citrus Guide.

Well, my tree drops all it's fruit, so, I guess that's 'normal' for my tree as are the yellow leaves and stunted growth.....

There is no grass, mulch, weeds, etc. near or under my tree. Just dirt.

I don't typically over-fertilize anything in my yard.

If it dies - well - I guess it wasn't meant for the long-term and I'll just replace it. I'm sick of the frustration anyway.

I'm wondering if I got a sickly tree to begin with. It was sort of a Charlie Brown Citrus Tree at the nursery and the tree guy gave me a 'special price' to take it. Telling me "how great it will be once it's planted"....yeah, right....!

Btw...I am on city water...not reclaimed. It probably has more chlorine in it though than plants like.

So my question for you all, what IS your preferred Citrus fertilizer?

I've been using Vigoro 12-5-8 (slow release). Is there a better one than this?

Good thing that plants can't read!
Only humans are swayed by the pretty bags and fancy advertising.
Personally, I like to use Sunniland products.
Their fertilizer is produced in Sanford, Florida specifically for Florida conditions.
Their citrus fertilizer is quite good.
Home Depot sells Vigoro but few other brands for citrus or roses.
Lowes, Ace Hardware and other stores have a wider selection of fertilizers.
Many local nurseries carry Sunniland products too.

This is info from UF:
" Citrus fertilizers are formulated to provide adequate amounts of the basic fertilizer elements: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as the minor elements: iron, boron, magnesium, manganese, zinc and copper. For average soil conditions, the following fertilizer analysis (1%N-1%P-1%K-0.20%Mg-.05%Mn-0.025%Cu-0.0033%B) or equivalent citrus fertilizer (6%N-6%P-6%K-1.2%Mg-.3%Mn-.15%Cu-.02%B) will generally be satisfactory for door yard citrus trees. Such mixtures are commonly marketed as "Citrus Special" fertilizers. This mixture can be used for all three applications throughout the year."
The three applications refers to large, mature trees.
Younger trees need different care as listed in the Citrus Guide; same fertilizer just at different rates and times.

I'm also using Sunniland fertilizer.

Re: water: That's why I built the retention basin. I would water until it was full, it drained relatively quickly, and I knew I had plenty water to get down deep and out for the roots. The basin was the width of the dripline for the tree.

I like the retention basin idea. I may incorporate that with the drip line I put in this weekend.

I've heard good things about Sunniland Fert. -- I think I even picked up a small bag when I first bought the citrus tree. Just out of habit, I've grabbed whatver HD or Lowes has. I think you both are correct that I should make a point of switching to Sunniland Fert moving forward.

This is the last year with this orange tree if it doesn't start to improve. If not, I'll start over with a new one. I'm still not so sure I didn't get a 'chronically' sick tree that may never thrive. :(

I'm hoping with the better soil and the drip-irrigation and some "VooDoo" it may improve.... ;)

You make a very good point.
If a tree is purchase with balled roots or is already compromised in some other way, the tree will not thrive.
No sense wasting your time and efforts on such a tree when there are plenty of other healthy trees available.
It is perfectly acceptable to yank a tree out of it's pot to inspect the roots before you purchase it.

From an article by my favorite tree guru, Dr. Ed Gilman:

"The root system of a container-grown plant
should be well established so that the root ball stays
intact when the container is removed; however, the
plant should not be root-bound. Root-bound plants
have a mass of roots circling near the outside surface
of the container medium and may present difficulty in
establishment in the landscape. Roots should be
distributed throughout the container medium and not
protruding outside the container or penetrating into
the ground."

Here is a link that might be useful: Selecting and Planting Trees and Shrubs

I use bone meal, blood meal, alfalfa & compost/compost tea & occasionally foliar feed w/ seaweed extract. My trees are all mulched out to the dripline w/ oak leaves, mostly - & I make sure to keep mulches away from the trunk. No bare soil is my rule.

& yes! to the advice about not amending the planting hole for trees & shrubs; amendments go on top of the soil, not in it. The only thing I put in the planting holes is lots & lots of water.

So, do you feel amending the soil includes using a bagged soil that says it's purpose is for citrus trees (and palm and catus...ie: fast draining)?

I'm just wondering if I committed a major cardinal gardening sin or just a little one. I filled all of this nice quality tree dirt into the hole for the orange tree. I don't know - I don't know what this tee wants.

Just as a comparison, I have a pink grapefruit tree that I started from seed 'just for fun' last year that actually looks healthier and is growing faster than this sickly orange tree. It has beautiful dark green shiny leaves. It's branches are full of leaves. It looks like it should. It's lovely.

Also, I thought (wrongly apparently...) that you were supposed to have bare soil under citrus trees and zero mulch-- including oak leaves. I just raked a bunch of leaves away from under my grapefruit tree in fact.

Thanks everyone for all the tips and advice. I do appreciate your feedback! :)

Hi Saintpfla

Since you probably heard all the possible answers on your citrus problems, I am going to tell you what I know and saw at Echo last time that I was there in the tour for the fruit trees and people asked the same questions like you did.

The expert planted the tree for demonstration in a mound, he said so the rains don't flood the tree. Made a hole without amending and put the tree in, situated so it looked the best and then added compost only on the sides. The older citrus trees had a big mulch on the sides but without touching the trunk (important) a lot of people asked about this and he said is okay.

After that he went on to the bugs that affect the citrus like thrips and he said this year with the cold they had not much problem but otherwise they spray some sort of oil, somebody asked neem? and he said no, he did not give the name because I don't think is available for us.

Now I have my private story to tell you, just remember I am no expert. I had wonderful citrus in Arizona, never had a problem or bugs or disease, did not even look at them and they had a crop that I had to give it away. They had small rocks underneath because I xeriscape in my yard.

Now when I came to this house I bought some citrus, few of the same varieties like my neighbor, I only found that out when I went to visit her place because she asked for help with the citrus. I went again recently and 2 of her trees are dead and the same 2 of mine are still alive.

I went over what they do and what I do, and this is what we did differently, she fertilize with some sort of spikes, I use the Sunniland brand for citrus. When we got hit with the winter, I cover just the trunks of the trees, she only covered the tops. Sometimes when I spray the tomatoes, I will use the leftover spray on the citrus, she does not use anything because she said some expert told her the damage of thrips is only cosmetic.

If you try to foliar feed when is not hot just early morning or evening there is a chelated citrus nutritional spray by Southern Ag that you can get I think at HD.

I hope that you get your citrus back to health and producing for you.

Silvia

FWIW, mulching under my trees helps control weeds & makes it very easy to simply pull any that pop up - rather than constantly having to hoe & possibly damage shallow feeder roots. It also encourages the earthworms, soil under the mulch is rich & crumbly & dark - unlike the silty, crusty sand one often finds under un-mulched trees.

I usually, but not always, rake the mulch back before applying amendments, then re-cover & water them in.

I had an avocado tree that did not grow and the leaves fell off. I pulled it out and discovered that that roots grew into a tangled ball. The tap root was in a nice circle around the bottom of the plant. I guess it may have been caused by the 3 gallon container it came in. I have sandy soil so it probably would not have had trouble penetrating it, but who knows.