Orange tree collapsed
by
Ab0808
+10
Last weekend our orange tree collapsed and now looks like a banana peel. The amount of oranges looks the same as last year so I don't know if it is caused by the weight of the oranges or if we are looking at a diseased tree. We haven't pruned it since we bought the house in 2008 which also might be the culprit. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Will be checking with a local nursery this weekend as well.
10 answers
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The weight of the fruit is part of the problem, but I think the tree and branches have stretched and weakened from too much shade. You can stake it, but this will be an ongoing problem because it will always want more light. It won't hurt the fruit to lay that way. Sometimes, but not always, the plant will drop what it can not support.
Caley's Culinaries
on Nov 08, 2013
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it gets full southwest sun all day. This picture was taken early in the morning which gives it the imoression of lots of shade. Thanks for the answer though. Should we be pruning it every year? I guess we need to do a little more research. We are in the east bay city of Antioch, CA so it is generally warm and sunny. Also, we haven't had any substantial rain in months, it has been a very dry year, I wonder if thst contributed to it.
Ab0808
on Nov 08, 2013
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I'm a new Gardner, I could be wrong, but I thought trees should be planted by themselves and leave about 10 feet between objects? With everything you he going on, it could be a battle of nutrition in the soil. Id check out the ph of the soil and see what orange trees like, find out the recommendation of growth between each tree. To uplift it's growth, you could always get special plant food designed for citrus trees. I've recently planted all of my citrus, about 10 ft apart or so. The kumquat, has heavy branches falling to the ground because its a young tree and the fruits are heavy on it. You can always use sticks to help keep the tree up to. Good luck.
Holly Clark
on Nov 09, 2013
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Citrus trees are fairly high-maintenance. You definitely need to supply regular irrigation for your tree, and it needs to be on a regular fertilization regimen as well (my Meyer lemon gets three applications a year). Young citrus trees produce far more fruit than their limbs can support, so you need to remove anywhere from a portion of it to the majority of it depending on the age of the tree. Here are further tips from the University of California. They were written for the Sacramento area, but should mostly be applicable to you: http://ucanr.org/sites/sacmg/files/72239.pdf
Douglas Hunt
on Nov 09, 2013
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i live in the east bay of san francisco i have a ruby red grapefruit, orange and blood orange trees all next to each other and they are all doing well. i do water them on a regular bases and put the citrus stake type food in twice a year. i'm sure mine don't get as much sun as yours. i have a tangerine tree planted somewhere else and it does great. i do have to cut the grapefruit and tangerine trees back.
Jenny
on Nov 10, 2013
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I live in Arizona. When do I fertilize our orange tree? It lost a substantial amount of leaves because we had a faulty valve. Someone must have seen that and turned our water off while we were gone. Meantime, the leaves started curling up and dropping off. We have at least a dozen oranges on the tree and it started with only two. Of course we fixed the valve and now it is getting water but don't know what kind of fertilizer to give them.
Elaine Simmons
on Nov 10, 2013
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Thank you Douglas!
Elaine Simmons
on Nov 10, 2013
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Early last year (May, I think) we built a 'cage' of sorts around our big satsuma tree out of 4x4 posts & 2x4s to support the branches; essentially 4 'corner' posts with 2 rows of single 'rails' connecting the posts at appropriate heights. This is the only pic I could find http://eq4bits.com/images/orange-tree-braces.jpg
Lindsay Jackson
on Nov 10, 2013
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Thanks Douglas, we definitely neglected the tree. Is there any hope of saving it?
Ab0808
on Nov 10, 2013
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I would remove a lot of the fruit so that it doesn't permanently distort the branches. Usually citrus trees will self thin but young trees don't always know what they are supposed to do. I would also check with your extension office. If you go on line to edis.ifas.uc.edu (not sure of the abbreviation for the California state university) you should be able to do a search for citrus. Citrus in the dooryard is the one that I use in FL and it has water requirements along with fertilizer needs. Good luck
Leona G
on Nov 10, 2013
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