Orange Tree Flowering Now and Not December

Q. We have an orange tree that did not produce any flowers this last December.  Over the last week in March the tree has started covering itself with buds all over.

Yes, Remove Citrus Suckers

Q. The low temps this winter affected my citrus trees.  Most of my new growth is on the suckers.  Should I remove them?  Or just let the tree be.
 

A. If you look at the trunk of the tree you should see a bend in the trunk or “dogleg” where the top was budded or grafted on to the rootstock. I doubt if it is on its own roots which would mean you would see no bend or dogleg.

Graft or bud union creates a "dogleg" on the trunk.

Anything coming from or below this bend should be removed and kept off. Whenever you see any type of growth at all from these spots it should be removed. If you let this growth develop it will rob growth from the part of the tree you want to keep and eventually dwarf or kill the good part of the tree.

Next you want to allow the lowest branches to develop from the trunk at a height you want these branches to remain. The distance these lowest branches are now will be the height they will be in ten years from now.

 If these are too low then move up the trunk to a place where you want the lowest limbs to develop. Remove any of these unwanted lower limbs completely from the trunk by cutting them as close to the trunk as possible.

You can do this now if you want or you can wait until next January or February if there is fruit on them. I am not sure which citrus you have but if it is lemon they should probably be harvested in December.



Birdseye view of limbs radiating from the trunk of a young fruit tree to provide balance.

Try to find limbs to keep which are coming from the trunk going in different directions. Hopefully you will find one limb going north, one south, one east and one west (I think you get what I mean by going in different directions as this will give the tree “balance” and reduce shading of itself).

On the limbs coming from the trunk, remove shoots going straight up or straight down. This leaves shoots that spread out in a fan (horizontally or laterally) but remove shoots that are growing up or down. This allows for better light penetration inside the tree and helps distribute fruit production throughout the canopy rather than just on the perimeter. I hope this helps.

When to Transplant Fruit Trees?

Q. With this unusually mild LV winter, when is the best time to transplant dwarf grapefruit trees?

A. By transplant I take it to mean you are moving a grapefruit from one location to another location. Planting or transplanting can be done now. You will have more success if the tree has not been in the ground more than three years. You will have even more success if the tree has been watered by drip irrigation in a fairly small basin or area next to the tree. You will have even more success if the tree was root pruned last fall around mid to late September.

Roots of M111 on 12 yo Anna apple. We remove fruit
trees from the orchard as we learn about them and
then move on to those varieties we have not explored.
Root systems can get large quickly and make it no longer
feasible to relocate older fruit trees to new areas after
about three years in the ground

            Root pruning just means you went around the entire tree with a shovel and severed the roots in the approximate location where you are planning to dig and transport it. Given all that, prepare your hole for planting first before you move the tree. Dig deep enough to accommodate the root ball but not much deeper.

            It is more important to dig it wide than it is to dig it deep. Get your soil amended and add some phosphorus to the soil. Move your tree as quickly as possible to its new location and try to orient it in a similar orientation, north to south, as it was in the old location.

            Backfill around the tree. During planting, run a hose in the hole at the same time you backfill to remove air pockets. Drive a stake next to the tree and into the bottom of the hole into solid ground. This stake will immobilize the roots if tied to the tree tightly.

            I usually use rebar pounded into the soil next to the tree after it has been planted. I wrap the tree and rebar together with green nursery tape to immobilize roots. This leaves the top to move in the wind.

            The trees should be planted the same depth as it was when it was removed from the soil. No deeper and no shallower. If you have rabbits, protect it with one inch chicken wire after planting. Mulch the soil around the tree with wood mulch keeping the mulch away from the trunk a foot. After one season of growth, remove the stake.