Any and all information I can get on care of the dwarf orange tree will be greatly appreciated. I have had this one for about three years now and it seems to be doing well. It has had a couple blossoms on but did not produce any fruit. I read somewhere that you are supposed to feed them with a acid fertilizer I am using miracle grow 30 10 10 for acid loving plants. I am using soil design for citrus trees. Do I need more than one tree for pollination? Bill
An NPK ratio of 5-1-3 is recommended for containerized citrus though I too use a 30-10-10 fertilizer. Citrus trees require a period of cool temperatures to promote flower bud development. Is your tree kept indoors year-round? Most citrus varieties do not need to be pollinated to produce fruit. What variety of citrus are you growing?
The only thing it says on the website where I ordered it is Citrus x citrofortunella mitis fragrant. And yes, I keep it indoors all the time. I do use a grow light.
You have a calamondin which is not really an orange at all. Anyway it doesn't need to be pollinated. In reference to the need for cool temperatures, this post in How to promote tree growth for young Meyer lemon tree | UBC Botanical Garden Forums may be of interest. Since you mentioned light, a deficiency would also reduce the number of flowers; light from a south-facing window would be best.
There's no need to pollinate the flowers; fruit will set without you doing anything. I'm not sure but pollination MAY increase fruit set. You could hand-pollinate using a q-tip; take care not to damage the flower. There's also sonication or buzz pollination as described in the thread Buzz pollination for coffee blossoms? | UBC Botanical Garden Forums.
How often do you fertilizer your tree? I had read before that you should do it every two weeks, but I have noticed burnt leaves from time to time. Probably cause from too much acid. I cut back and don't feed it as often. I also read somewhere else recently that I should also be using a basic granular timer release fertilizer. I have not done that, should I be?
I would apply the fertilizer as recommended on the label. A monthly schedule is often given therefore dilute to half strength if you want to fertilize every two weeks. I only use a time-release fertilizer when I repot.
Another question. Are these hybrid and if so what would the seeds produce? And do the seeds need to dry before germinating or what? I've moved and now have a window with southern exposure and a patio so my trees can go outside in the summer. And the Calamondin bloomed and has 6 little fruits on it. It's also putting out a few more blossoms recently, is that normal?
Calamondin is a cross between mandarin (Citrus reticulata) and kumquat (Fortunella). It produces polyembryonic seed which means each seed can contain both zygotic and nucellar embryos. The latter are genetically identical to its parent. Citrus seed should be sown fresh. Sounds about right.
My tree has been dropping leafs like crazy For the last couple months. I have done some searching on here and found a few ideas. One was root rot, and the other was cold root. So we repotted it and it was root bound. The roots looked fine otherwise. It did not drop one leaf over the next 48 hours, then it went right back to losing leafs. We move you away from the window in case it is a to cold. But that has not seem to help. Any other ideas?
Cold roots would have been my first guess. Does the tree seem to lose more leaves on sunny or bright days? Even though you believe this not to be the case, you might try wrapping a string of small incandescent lights around the container and see if it stops the leaf loss. Can you think of any difference in the conditions during the 48 hours in which the tree seemed fine? Was there less light, warmer, etc.? Is the tree exposed to any type of draft? Although others would dispute this, I suspect calamondins may be susceptible to low humidity levels. What is it like in the room?
Sunny or Cloudy Made No difference. It is kind of drafty where it was. It is still in the same room. Just not by the window and the temperature does seem to get a couple degrees cooler in their. I just started running my humidifier. The only difference I can think of during that 48 hours Is different dirt in a bigger pot, and I'm sure the dirt was warmer. I will try wrapping the pot with lights that is a pretty good idea I was wondering how to warm it up.
