I have had a orange tree for three years now and have never gotten fruit. This year I have even tried to pick a flower once a day for about two weeks and pollinate the other flowers on the tree. I then seem to get a start on some fruit. (what looks like a small growing orange and then after about two weeks it turns yellow and falls off at the stem. I am wondering if I have to pollinate with a different tree or is there something else that I am doing wrong. The tree appears to be in prefect health otherwise. I sthere anything else that I can do? thank you in advance for any help.
How big is your tree? Are you fertilizing the tree frequently (at least once a month during the growing season)? It is not uncommon for citrus trees to drop fruit--only 1-2 % of the fruit will make it to maturity. Skeet
yes I am fertilizing, not once a month but a couple of times a year probbably three. I expect to loose some fruit but I have never even gotten one. The tree is 5 to 6 feet tall.
I used to fertilise with every feed, which I admit is a bit too much, but every 7 - 10 days is good, between watering. Here we have a special winter and summer formula that works well, winter for blossoms and summer for growth.
Are you getting lots of flowers, but no fruit set---or just a few flowers? How much sun does the tree get? Increasing the fertilizer to 5-6 times during the growing season will help. You can also spray the foilage with potassium nitrate (salt peter) 1 to 2 months before bloom time--use a 1 to 2% solution. As for pollination, in general oranges do not need pollination, unless it is a Tangor or Tangelo type orange, if it is you need a different variety for pollination or you can use Giberellic acid ( a plant hormone that fools the tree) --it results in seedless fruit, however the spray concentration is critical and should be 10 ppm. Skeet
according to this Florida Extension page http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/CH/CH07200.pdf "Minneola is not strongly self fruitful and low yields will result if pollinators are not supplied in close proximity and numbers." That doesn't mean that it will not bear any fruit if not cross-pollinated, but clearly it may be part of the problem for bwendel07 if the tree in question is a minneola tangelo or one of the other tangelo or tangors. Skeet
Yes the tree produces alot of flowers, I had at least 50 but less than 100 I would say. I know that is a broad range but I actually did not count then. I do know the strain type of the orange tree but I do not think that it is one that was mentioned. I get what I thought was set fruit, but then they turn from dark green to a yellow and fall off about a week later.
With only about 50 flowers you are probably close to getting some to set. Hopefully next year. There are a few things you can do to enhance blooming such as a foliar spray of potassium nitrate about 6 weeks before bloom time. Making sure the tree is well fertilized and has trace minerals through the growing season, and exposure to cold (temps between 40 and 60 are sufficient). It is imporatant that the tree not be drought stressed during the fruit setting period, although a little drought stress during the summer may enhance flowering. Skeet