Must be nice, not having leafminers.

Nice photos!

Nice pics, Marc! Chinotto looks so appealing with all those oil glands, just like your red clementine! Isn't it too small for a Valencia, I mean it looks more like a tangerine, to me. Judging by the base of the fruit and the leaf next to it.

Igor

All my oranges are too small... weather has been too cold for growing citrus well this year... But then this isn't a citrus growing area...

No matter what, it's already a great success... I'm only 5 degrees south from you, and the weather just started being very fickle here, too. So far we have really had a constant flow of favorable weather conditions.

Here's a (not so good) picture of the microcitrus as it is today...



A close up of the leaves of the valencia orange...



And here's a shot of the cara mandarin I acquired recently...

Yes, you're right, it probably is a Valencia... Leaves from the previous picture seemed to be somewhat elongated compared to an average Valencia leaf. Also the base of the fruit was rather flattened than round/oval, which isn't kind of typical. But again, it could be the fisheye mode on your camera (j/k). Is that the most recent flush? If it is not the case then it might be suffering from some (milder) form of chlorosis? Generally, the leaves look okay, although slightly brighter. It maybe nothing to worry about. Especially if those are young leaves from a recent flush. I'm not nitpicking, I just tend to be quite wary about everything. Is that a tangerine you purchased from Baches, on the last picture? Looks nice!

Igor

I think several of my plants suffer from chlorosis... I have given epsom salts a couple of times but it doesn't seem to work. I believe it must be the tap water which is rather calcareous here. Do you think that is a possibility?

The valencia doesn't even look too bad. Some plants, like the feminello lemon and yuzu, look worse. Some other plants, like the moro orange and bearss lime, don't appear to have it at all...

All suggestions to improve the situation are very welcome!

I'm quite sure it is due to high pH in your tap water. You might want to try dechlorinating it and/or decreasing its pH value by either organic (citric acid, sulfuric acid, ...) or inorganic (vinegar) means. Dechlorination could be done by bringing it to boiling or by sitting the tap water out overnight or even for a couple of days. What I prefer is adding 6-7g of citric acid to 10l of tap water. You can go as high as 9g/10l in order to acidify already alkaline soil. Let it sit for an hour (or more) and you're good to go for your regular watering routine. Bear in mind, that these numbers work for my tap water which is about pH 7.2 - 7.8, I would still suggest you to check the pH of your tap water supply. Using the method I've just described, I manage to keep the soil pH between 5.5 - 6.0, which the citrus obviously love.

Igor

I have found a document on line that describes the average composition of our tap water. It's in Dutch though, not a problem for me of course
According to the document, the pH value of our tap water averages around 7.9, which is probably too high then. Where could I buy citric acid?

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This morning I cut of the ripe fruits I had available. That equals 2 fruits... , one chinotto and one blood clementine:






The chinotto was juicy this time, unlike the previous fruits I had from the plant, which were completely dry. There was a nice mandarin aroma, but a slight bitter taste which I didn't dislike...


The blood clementine looked promising on the outside, with a lot of red specks. We did have some periods of cold weather in the past couple of weeks with temperatures below 5°C/41°F, making me expect to find some blood on the inside...


The inside color was a disappointment though, hardly any blood at all. The taste of the (very small) parts was excellent though, a nice mix of sweet and acid!

Great pics. Awfully early for clementines though, they are usually ripe around Christmas. That may be why they were not red yet.

But that fruit has been on the tree since last fall (2011), so I think it should be ripe by now! And the taste was great, which makes up for it!

They both look very delicious and juicy. Although you perhaps, should have taken pics of fruit cross-section instead. Since it shows of the more juicy inside of those reddish vesicles. Citric acid is available in almost any grocery store, as it's commonly used for canning (preserving food).

Igor

Very nice pics and fruit!