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arkberry

Potted Citrus and Fruit Drop

arkberry
12 years ago

It is time for me to get ready for next citrus season because all the small fruit has fallen from my potted satsuma. It had about 40 blooms, but no fruit is set on the tree. I am wondering:

1) Did it get enough light in current spot this winter?

2) Did I not do a good enough job shaking the tree to help with pollination?

3) Would something else be the problem

Other than the loss of fruit, the tree has much new growth and appears happy. In good mix and fertilized about 2 weeks ago.

I have two other potted citrus that have not bloomed. Is it too late for them to bloom (Satsuma and Tangelo). They have already been moved outside for the summer.

Any feedback or encouragement would be much appreciated.

Comments (6)

  • meyermike_1micha
    12 years ago

    I am not sure I understand what you are asking Ark. Sorry.

    Only you can determine if you did so, and if you are still not sure, maybe you could provide us more details?

    Such as:

    How many hours of sun did it get?
    What windows are they in?
    Did you fertilize and with what?
    Do they need to be hand pollinated or do they produce fruit on their own?
    Did you summer it outside last year?
    Did you check for spider mites?

    Mike:-)

  • arkberry
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Here are some more details:

    1) 6-8 hours a day
    2) Gets sun from W and SW windows
    3) Fertilize with a Fertilome product per package instructions. Last fertilization 2 weeks ago and most drop has been since that time.
    4) This is the first full year I have had it. I did not pollinate by hand - I gave the tree a little shake or two each day like some of the past posts mention
    5) Yes it was summered outside last year
    6) I have checked for spider mites per your recent post - I did not see any, but it has been cloudy this weekend. May have to wait for better light.

    From other reading and posts, I know they will drop at a couple of stages and will only retain what they can support. Since it dropped them all, I figure I must have done something wrong.

    The tree was stressed from an underwater problem back in December and had some leaf drop. I have corrected that problem I think (no leaf drop and flush of new growth).

    Could I just chalk this up to a first year of learning?

    The in ground plant appears to be doing just fine. The other two potted are showing new growth, but no blooms or fruit.

  • meyermike_1micha
    12 years ago

    Ark..Thank you.

    On that note, I would chalk it up to another flowering session. It seems you have done nothing wrong except I still suspect spider mites.

    If there are no spider mites, after examining with a magnifying glass or thrips, I would be patient and keep doing what you are doing.

    I would make sure your mix is well draining. I had to throw that in here.

    Mike:-)

  • houstontexas123
    12 years ago

    the days are shorter during the winter, when it gets too cold down here, i bring my plants inside, they sit next to a west window, but i also have artificial lighting, high wattage CFL's set on 10hr timers. 6-8hrs is a bit on the low side, but if your tree is healthy and it bloomed but didnt set any fruit then probably not a light issue.

    for hand pollenation i would suggest using a q-tip or a small cottonball for maximum effectiveness.

    each tree will bloom on its own schedule. my meyer bloomed twice this winter, they got wet feet during all the rains we got, so no fruit now. my two small navels bloomed recently and have set a few fruits. my moro blood just put out a lot of new growth, no blooms yet. i hope it blooms this year, after tasting the few moro's from last years harvest, its now my favorite orange.

  • goldfinchy
    11 years ago

    Hi arkberry,

    I don't know if this post is still alive but I have experienced a similar thing, related to your comment " In good mix and fertilized about 2 weeks ago."

    My kumquat was covered with flowers (outside, full sun, in a 14" pot), I even saw many tiny green future fruits. Then I decided to fertilize with a Citrus Fertilizer and the little tree lost all flowers and fruit within the next week.

    I think they don't like to be touched when they are flowering and/or still have small fruits. The other citrus tree had larger (about 1/2" dia) fruit and didn't care about the fertilizer.

    -gf

  • arkberry
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks. I am making sure they get a good earlier feeding this year. Much like you, I had a Meyer with larger fruit and it held all the fruit.