hi..i have been growing an orange tree for about 3 years now, no fruit yet but fingers crossed. My question is about the trunk. I have 2 trunks!, I grew this from just 1 pip,is the pip a twin or just a variety of the orange tree family, if for some reason its 2 trees from 1 pip would i be advised to seperate them,the tree is 3 years old and really thriving in uk, so im tempted just to leave as it is but would this impeade growth as they get older please help..from jamie in uk.
The seed you planted was polyembryonic. The two trees are likely the result of nucellar embryos which means they are indeed twins and are identical to their parent. Don't expect fruit any time soon though; orange seedlings mature in 10-15 years if allowed to grow. The tree has to attain a certain node count before bearing fruit. Pruning will delay the maturation process. The juvenility period will be shorter for mandarin oranges. It may be difficult to separate the two trees after having grown together for three years. There will be root damage if you try. You may want to consider removing one if you're concerned about them competing for nutrients.
thanks for quick reply..thanks for your help. i think ill leave the two together,they are in a very large pot and i really dont want to damage them by seperating. what would you recomend as a feeder,bearing in mind i have only potting compost in there and only ever used water. it seems to work,like i say the trees are really thriving and the leaves are a lush green. its coming up to spring in the uk now and i usally put it outside in the summer, i dont mind waiting for fruit because i really like the look of citrus leaves, i also have 2 lemon trees that i planted from seeds,they were sprouting when i cut a lemon in half and thought what the heck and planted them in normal potting compost fed them on just water they are about a year old and they are about 10 inches high and look really healthy.what about a feeder for these.
A high nitrogen formulation approximating a 5-1-3 NPK ratio is often recommended for citrus. Look for one that includes micronutrients. At repotting time you may want to consider using a more porous medium than regular potting soil. This may involve adding bark nuggets, perlite, and other materials to improve drainage.
Your tree might mature a little earlier than 10-15 yrs (maybe 7-10), but if you can get budwood from a mature (fruiting tree) and graft it onto your tree, it will produce fruit much sooner (1-2 yrs after grafting). You can also add multiple varieties to both your orange and lemon. Grafting is very easy, especially T-budding and I had about 70% success on my first attempts--you just have to know when to do it.
