I purchased a Tangerine Tree.. about 4 foot high, 2 foot in circumference, in April 08. It had fruit by December 08. But with the recent drought in Florida I was not able to water all that much. There appears to be branches with no leaves. They turned brown and dropped off; however, some of the tree remains green. I do have a citrus spike in the ground 2 feet from the trunk. Should I trim the dead branches? Are they really dead? Last year it did not look like this in June.... Thoughts anyone?
First, no matter how bad a drought, there should be plenty of water (even gray water) for a single small 4-ft citrus tree. Anyway, you can nick the branches that have discarded their leaves to see if the cambium layer (just beneath the bark) is still green. If the cambium is green, the branch is still alive and should not be cut from the tree. There is always plenty of time to be cutting branches from your tree, there is no hurry, unless you are sure the branch is dead. Second, stop using fertilizer spikes on citrus. Citrus are very heavy feeders, and therefore require a lot of nutrition. In Florida your tree should receive six applications of a granular fertilizer (6-6-6 or 8-8-8) equally spaced through the season, starting in February and ending at the end of September. A tree spike 2 foot from the tree will not come close to getting the job done. Call your local extension agent, or contact : IFAS Extension Bookstore UF/IFAS Communication Services, P.O.Box 110011 Gainesville, Florida 32611-0011 Or telephone 352-392-2411 and ask for the publication "Florida, Your Dooryard Citrus Guide" by Jim Ferguson. This 41 page booklet will tell you everything you need to know so that you can grow a healthy citrus tree in Florida, that will supply your family with fruit for years to come. The very best to this tree. - Millet (1,324-) http://citrus.forumup.org/
