Hello all, greetings from Australia!

Been enjoying going through the forum over the past week or so, was great to find such a great resource.

Consider me a newbie to citrus care... I have been nursing a few potted citrus on my balcony for the past few years without any problems. I have recently moved and have inherited a really nice lemon and orange tree.

They are both giving me issues but the orange is really giving me problems. It would seem last season it was unloved and produced an abundance of fruit which we recently enjoyed however now it seems to be very unhappy, I'm thinking its me loving it too much

I think its a seedless valencia as it held the fruit quite late and seemed to fit the correct criteria but I could be wrong. It has not flowered much at all this season, although I'm told that valencias flower late but its beyond that now.

I have gone through a bit of troubleshooting... soil ph is around the 7 mark, I have given it N in the form of cow manure, also have given it potash (as some local nurseries told me it encourages flowering), I have removed the mulch I put down as I think its was holding the water too long (and it wasn't up against the truck).

Not sure what else to do, I have stopped watering because soil seemed damp but (as you can see in the pics) the leaves are pointing upwards with a curl... I've read that can be under watering so I am confused. My initial thought was its lacking N as the leaves are light green so I have given it a foliage spray of N.

Hope you guys can point me in the right direction! In ground citrus is killing me...

Pic 1
Pic 2

A branch will not develop blooms if the branch still has last seasons fruit attached. Valencia trees will retain fruit for a considerble period of time, but should be removed before the next blooming period. Citrus are HEAVY feeders, and require a lot of nitrogen. Manure, especially weathered manure, does not supply enought nurishement. - Millet (433-) 363

Thanks for the reply, Millet.

So I shouldn't be concerned about the leaf curl and pointing skyward... nothing sinister like root rot or anything serious like that ?

You suggesting the only problem is that I have under fed it ? What would be the best way to correct it ?, in Australia we are in the last month of Spring...

Regarding flowering, that's very interesting. I have asked many ppl that question and no one was able to answer it. I'm guessing the boat has sailed for getting the tree to flower for this season.

Is that rule of flowering apply to all citrus because the next door neighbour has a Chinotto (or some sour orange variety) which is completely neglected... has all last years seasons fruit, it flowered and has a lot more for this season, makes me think citrus like being neglected

The no bloom rule when fruit are allowed to remain on the tree, might not restrict all blooming absolutely 100 percent, but certainly greatly reduces the tree's production. Citrus, nor any plant, likes to be neglected. Not knowing how old your trees, I am going to assume that it is 5 years old, or older. Citrus trees 5 years old and older should be fertilized three times a year, starting in early Spring, and twice during the summer, with the three applications equally spaced apart. Normally for trees growing in the ground, the common fertilizers used are ones having the formula of 6-6-6, 8-8-8 or 10-10-10. Because Australia's fertilizer formulas are based on actual NPK, and the USA bases their fertilizer formulas on N, P205, and K20, you will probably not find a fertilizer formula with three even numbers. Select a fertilizer with as close to the above formulas as possible. For a 6-6-6 apply 2.7kg per application. 8-8-8 formula apply 2.1 kg per application, and if you apply a 10-10-10 apply 1.7kg with each application. Do not place fertilizer against the tree's trunk, but evenly spread it out to the tree's drip line. Water in right away. Welcome to the forum, we are happy to have you as a member. - Millet (433-) 363-

Millet, if australians use actual NPK It mens that if you use a (lets say) 10.10.10 it would mean more P2O5 and K2O than N in our system (we use the same system).
Is that what you mean?

Thanks for the welcome, learning a lot!

I'm unsure of their age but I can assume its around the 10-15yr mark from conversations I've has with previous owners.

When you say fertilise around the drip line... how can you do this if the tree has been planted over the lawn ? It has a small cleared area around the trunk, around half a metre. So I have been applying fertiliser around this narrow area while still avoiding the trunk.

I have been reading other threads regarding NPK formulas, so I guess I still have more reading to do and I will check what I am currently using is.

Sneek, the tree's root system extends out to, and perhaps a little beyond, the drip line, and needs to be fertilized over the entire area of the root system. Unfortunately, in this tree's case that area has grass growing and competing with the tree, which is not good for the tree's health and production. Even though the grass will rob much of the tree's nutrition, still this area of the tree's root system needs to be fertilizer. The roots near the trees trunk, where you fertilized, are old thick roots that absorb little fertilizer. The young tender roots, the roots that mainly feed the tree, are farther away from the trunk nearer the center and the outer ring of the drip line. Millet (432-) 362-

Sylvain, yes. The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents of most fertilizers sold in Australia are given as percentages of the actual elements (N,P,K). For example a 10-6.2-8.3 fertilizer has 10% N, 6.2%P and 8.3%K, by weight.

Other countries, including the USA, give the contents of phosphorus and potassium using the system of percent 'phosphoric acid' (P2O5) and percent potash (K2O). The fertilizer shown in the paragraph above would be given as 10-14-10 in the USA system. To convert: %P = 0.44 X %P2O5; and %K = 0.83 X %K2O.
Millet (432-) 362-

Millet, I assume this scenario would come up quite a lot, at least in Australia, where planted trees only get this sort of consideration.

What would you recommend the best way to fertilise in this specific case ?

Cut the grass around it as low as possible and fertilise over it, maybe ?

The very best scenario for the tree would be to get rid of the grass completely, and keep the area under the tree in bare dirt.

The next best scenario would be to cut the grass, and apply the fertilizer as mentioned above, and then water in the fertilizer well, so that it is flushed below the grass roots into the area occupied by the roots of the citrus tree. 90 percent of the citrus tree's root system is located in the top 20 inches (508mm) of the soil. The tree will require 3 fertilizations per year. The best to you and your tree. - Millet (332-) 362

Thanks, Millet.

Unfortunately, the removal of lawn isn't really an option so I'm going to try option 2.

I'm off to find some good ratioed fertiliser

Marc, don't bother to try to understand, you are in the P2O3-K2O system.
So, all we said in this forum is OK for you. The issue is only for Australians.