My oroblanco grapefruit (purchased from Four Winds in November) was in a south-facing window in the kitchen. It recently grew 6 inches and developed clusters of HUGE fragrant blossoms, LOTS of them, looking like white grapes. I moved it to our sunroom, literally 12 feet away, same window orientation. The other citrus in the sunroom seemed to have better-looking foliage, possibly due to cooler nights, which is the primary reason I moved the Oroblanco.

Now the buds are dropping. Not all of them, but many, many of them. And some of the new growth, 3 inch sprouts, are falling off. The tree otherwise seems to be doing well, but I never expected this small change to cause such a dramatic result. Any ideas as to why?

Thanks

Stan F.

Only 1 to 3 percent of flowers on a citrus tree ever develop into fruit that remain until maturity. All the rest of the flowers are discarded by the tree. If every single flower developed into a fruit, the tree would be crushed under its own weight. Everything about your tree is normal. - Millet (653-)

Thank You, Millet

Stan F.

Everything that Millet mentioned about the flowers falling off is normal, this is happening to some of my trees right now actually. what you mention about the new "sprouts" falling off troubles me, this is not normal. I think you are talking about new foliage and leaves falling off after growing about 3 inches, is this right? this, in my experience should not happen and could indicate stress due to moving to a new location or something else.

Keep an eye on the tree if it continues to decline post a photo, that could help with diagnosing the problem. Good luck and hopefully the problem goes away.

"I think you are talking about new foliage and leaves falling off after growing about 3 inches, is this right?"

Yes, it is (was). Unopened and partially-opened blossoms were falling off, as well as 2 in. - 3 in. slender shoots, (looked like very skinny asparagus). It must have been an adjustment to a very minimal (in my opinion) environment change from an indoor south-facing window to the sunroom. It was disheartening to see all those "white fragrant grapes" falling to the floor unopened.

The good news is that it's stopped. The new top growth is shiny and "happy", and the flower-dropping has just about ceased. I had never expected such a response from what I felt was just a minor change in location.

Thanks for your concern and follow-up.

The move had nothing to do with the flower drop. 97-98 percent of flowers on a citrus tree are discarded under any and all circumstances, whether they are open or not. It is impossible to know about the 2-inch shoot without seeing the tree, or a few good pictures. They could have easily just been part of an inflorescences. Anyway, as would certainly be expected, it stopped with the completion of the bloom set. The best to you and your tree. - Millet (648-)