Minneola Tangelo. Orange, Pomegranate Not Producing Fruit

Q. I've had a dwarf Minneola Tangelo tree for about 4 years that gets morning sun, but I've gotten fruit off it only once. I've had an orange tree for about 1 year and a half that gets full sun; it had blossoms, but they all fell off before the heat of summer even began! I planted a pomegranate tree in full sun this past Mother's Day.  When I bought it, it had blooms on it; they also all fell off.

Unknown young pomegranate variety after maybe two years in the ground. Some pomegranate varieties are precocious...meaning they produce fruit early while other varieties produce fruit the first year. 

A. There are several different issues with your fruit trees. The Minneola Tangelo flowers only once in January and February. The same will be true of most sweet oranges. If there are freezing temperatures during this time at your landscape locale, then you may get little to no fruit when this happens. When your landscape gets winters with no freezing temperatures then each flower will produce fruit.

Late freezes

           It only takes a couple of degrees below freezing for a very short time to eliminate the flower and fruit. Multiple freezes during the spring results in total fruit loss. You may see fruit from these trees in the future, but it depends on the occurrence of spring freezing temperatures.

Be patient growing most citrus here. Citrus is more productive when there are no winter or spring freezing temperatures such as in Yuma, Arizona. Periodically we get winter freezing temperatures that can outright kill different types of citrus trees. The only reliable citrus for producing fruit in our climate are the so-called kumquats. This is because they are very cold hardy and flower all through the year.

Not Old Enough

Pomegranate loss of fruit is a different story. Pomegranate flowers through most of the year because the flowers are produced on “current season wood”; new growth and not last year’s growth. Some pomegranate varieties are more precocious than others and you will see fruit the first year they are planted. Other varieties produce fruit in the second or third year after they are in the ground. Just be patient and they will produce fruit. Plants frequently produce flowers but no fruit when they are young. It is an indicator that next year they may start fruiting.