Hello. Im from southern california and ive been having problems with my navel orange tree. it is about 10 feet around by 12 feet tall. its about 10 years old, maybe more. The oranges fall off orange, but before they are ripe, and they arent very watery either. They used to really incredibly sour and dried up, but now theyre not as sour and a little jucier, but overall theyre not very watery. How much water does a navel orange tree need? how much fertilizer and what kind of fertilizer? ive heard that it needs about 1.5 lbs of nitrogen for each year it has been alive annually. Is this correct? I have been citrus fruit fertilizer on it, and some decomposed cow maneuver, and organic fertilizer, but it doesnt seem to be helping. Maybe im doing something wrong?
Hi Schneiderman, I think your problems are from improper watering. You could also be over fertilizing. Here's a guide to nutritional deficiencies and toxicity. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/CH142 Here's how to water a citrus tree. http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/solver/watering.html Fertilizing. http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/solver/fertilizer.html Bloom Drop, Fruit Drop, Leaf Drop, and Twig Dieback. http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/solver/drop.html This Arizona site has water and fertilizer requirements based on tree size. http://www.greenfieldcitrus.com/water_main.htm Lots of helpful info here. Be sure to read 'Productivity and Maturity' at this first site. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/patiocitrus/care.html http://www.greenfieldcitrus.com/selecting.htm Newt
I think Newt is right about over fertilizing-- I think the recommended rate is 1.5 pounds of N total per year for a mature tree-- spread over 3 applications.
