i know its a stupid question but i have a ruby red tree bought from a nursery that i put in the ground about a month ago. i dug a hole 2 by 2 and 2 foot deep, backfilled some dirt, but had to add some top soil to elevate the tree a little bit. its in a really heavy clay soil otherwise. i water it every couple days, not too heavily, but its been raining quite a bit here lately. the tree looks completely fine, all the leaves are a pretty deep green color, and what little new growth it had when i bought it is a lighter green color. that new growth hasnt changed since i bought it, and theres no new anything on the tree, when can i expect to see something happen??? i also planted a satsuma just weeks before and its doing fine, it had a small flush and about 10 fruit growing on it already, so i know its probably not my fault the grapefruit aint growing.... any ideas??? thx red
Most Citrus trees will only flush 3-4 times a yr in a climate like LA. Be patient, it is getting it's roots into the soil now and will put on another flush soon.
It is not surprising that your grapefruit tree has not yet produced a flush of new growth. Citrus trees, including grapefruit, grow in cycles. First the tree's root system has a period of growth. When the root growth period is finished, than the tree's foliage will go through a growth period. Then the cycle starts over once again. You can expect 3 or 4 growth cycles each year. As your tree was recently planted, the tree must first establish a sufficient root structure before the tree can produce new foliage. Each complete cycle takes approximately 2-3 months, depending on the climate of the area where the tree is growing. You should see a foliage flush in the near future. - Millet
Another thing you may want to look at is the rootstock the grapefruit is on. The only roostock that does really well in heavy clay soil is Trifoliata. Satsuma is almost always budded to Trifoliata, but commercial grapefruit could be grafted to any variety of rootstocks, many of which will not do well in heavy clay.
I just re-read your post and noticed that you said you water every other day. That is way too much water for citrus, especially in a heavy soil. You should not need to water inground trees there unless you go for weeks without rain. Too much water is the quickest way to kill citrus.
thx for the replys, i figured id have to wait a month or 2 to see something... i dont know what the rootstock is, maybe i could call the nursery to get that information. and i dont water that much i usually just wet the ground and mulch around it, and only if the sun has been really hot that day and the leaves wilt up a bit...weve literally gotten like 10-12 inches of rain this month. i know thats too much water. one more question, any chance of a few flower buds this season or do i have to wait a few years for it? red
Because your tree is a grafted tree, it is capable of blooming the first or second year after the tree was grafted. However, it is always wise to remove all fruit for the first three years, so that all the energy produced by the tree goes into growth rather that fruit. The fruit produced by a young citrus tree is rather inferior anyway. - Millet
You have pretty much missed the bloom for this year, most citrus bloom primarialy in Feb and Mar. Again, you do not need to water inground citrus unless it has been dry for several weeks at least--in your area that probably means almost never! You will kill them. Mulch is also not good for citrus. It is good to keep the area under the tree completely free of any grass, weeds or leaves that fall. If you do mulch, keep it at least a foot from the trunk of the tree--or it can cause root rot.
Skeet, redster's Ruby Red Grapefruit tree is only one month in the ground. The trees root system is still very limited. Until the tree's roots have grown far enough into the surrounding soil he will have to water on a fairly frequent schedule (unless the tree receives enough rain to irrigate the tree). - Millet
yea you right about never watering it...i just look at those kinda droppy leaves and feel sorry for it i guess...maybe ill leave it alone after a few days and see if it perks up by itself without watering. i did mulch it a foot from the tree, theres really no other way to stop the grass from growing around here, its like a wildfire during the summer with all the rain we get. thx red
Droopy leaves, is a sign that the tree needs watering, buit droopy leaves can ALSO be a sign of over watering. - Millet
Millet, I understand the need to water trees when it is dry until they are established, but in the kind of heavy soil that is common around N.O., and the rain that they have had, it is much more likely the the drooping is caused by overwatering. One other thing, There is a product called shake and feed that contains trifluralin-- it will prevent weeds from sprouting, it will not stop grass from growing in from outside or kill sweeds that have already sprouted.
