Not sure why it is so difficult for this plant to bear fruits. I even tried using a paint brush to brush the pollen to the stigma and also to different flowers. All the times , the flowers drops after the petals dropped completely. I noticed the stalk to the flower would break after the petals dropped. Anybody sure the same experience. ? Kind to sure the remedy. Thanks.
Dan, it completely normal for 96/98 percent of Pomelo (Grapefruit) flowers, and flowers of every citrus variety, to drop from the tree without developing fruit. Only 2 to 3 percent of the blooms will ever develop fruit and than remain attached until maturity. If, however, your tree is not producing any fruit at all then there are several things you can do to encourage fruit set. 1). be sure to fertilize the tree with a nitrate source of nitrogen approximately 4/5 weeks before bloom is expected. 2). take extra care that the soil does not dry out while the tree is in bloom. 3). apply potassium as a foliar spray application (Potassium Nitrate) when you first notice blooms developing. It would be helpful if you would give the trees age, and size. Good luck to you and to the Pomelo. - Millet
Its great to hear from you Millet. I got two pots. One grown from seed about 8 years and never flower at all no matter how hard I tried - fertiliser high K or change soil whatsoever. The other pot I mentioned is purchased from grafting. It was blooming with many flowers when it was on sale. It all dropped and till now the third bloom, it never fruit. Could it be the weather here in Singapore, temp about 30 - 33 degress C during the hot weather and rainy season during end Nov -Dec. You mentioned (1)high nitrogen source - is it NPK with high in N or just N fertiliser? I will wait for the next bloom to do all that.
Danny, Pomelos are very difficult to fruit as a container tree Danny, a Pomelo grown from seed will take 10 to 15 years before the tree will be mature enough to fruit, when grown outside in the ground in a warm climate like California, Florida. When grown in a container Polemos are very difficult to fruit, due to the high node count requirement. Use the search box on this forum and search under 'Grapefruit', 'Node Count' and you will find out how Pomelo become mature, and the difficulty when grown from seed. Also, NEVER EVER prune a citrus tree if you want the tree to produce fruit. In Singapore, is the weather warm enough during the winter months to leave the trees out side year around? Temperatures of 33C (92F) is not to warm to cause any problems with a Pomelo fruiting. Pomelos like hot and humid conditions. Take care, and good luck to you and to you tree. - Millet
Millet - thanks for your valuable advise. Too late now. I prune it quite often to maintain at about 6 -7 ft. The highest temp here is about 35 degree C but very rare to hit this level. No winter but all year sunny weather. Only cold rainy during Nov -Dec to about 24 degree C low at night. Guess I will just settle for viewing and forget about the fruit. Really thanks a lot for your information.
