I was given an orange tree a few months ago. The fellow planted 5 orange seeds 5 yrs ago and now the tree is aprox 4 feet tall. The leaves are very sticky and dripping all over the place. Is this normal. Will this tree bear fruit? I live in Ont. Canada
Sounds like the tree has an infestation of scale or aphids; they excrete a sticky substance known as honeydew as they feed. Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. A search in the forum will bring up past threads on the subject. A seedling citrus tree has to acquire a certain node count before it matures and begins to bear fruit. This may take roughly 10-15 years for an orange tree. However that may be optimistic for an indoor tree not only because of its limited growing environment but also because it has to be kept in check by pruning. The removal of growth will delay and possibly prevent the tree from ever reaching maturity since doing so reduces the node count. Do you know what kind of orange it is?
I think 10-15 is a little on the long side for inground oranges to produce fruit from seed, but it could be over 10 years in your climate and in a container. I agree with Junglekeeper about the sticky substance. Aphids are easily removed with a forceful stream of water, but if it is scale, you would be better off with horticultural oil. It is non-toxic and safe as long as you do not apply it when the temperature is above 90--spray in the early morning or late evening.
I like to use about half a gallon of warm water, two tablespoons dish soap, and two tablespoons of olive oil mixed and sprayed onto both sides of the leaves. This mixture breaks the surface tension of the water, killing the bugs, and it also leaves a thin coating of oil that repels future infestations all while cleaning the plant to a healthy shine!
skeet, You may be right in questioning this figure. I had noted a wider range of 5-15 years in my 'journal' after reading a number of publications. (This may be a composite of the various figures I had come upon.) The 10-15 year range was suggested by Dr. Manners in one of his posts on the subject.
Junglekeeper, I do not have any first hand experience--yet. I am growing a couple Valencia oranges from seeds and hopefully will have fruit sooner than 10-15 yrs. I am sure it could take at least that long for Penny considering the shorter growing season and the container limitations. Penny, there is one option that will get you fruit sooner-- grafting with mature wood, if you can get any. Grafting is not that difficult and is rewarding when you are successful.
