On 5 Jul 2005 20:42:15 -0700, wrote:

I seem to have plenty of bees, especially Carpenter Bees, buzzing about
my garden, and don't seem to have any problem with pollination of other
plants. I guess I could take a camel's hair brush to the blossoms and
try and hand pollinate them, see if that helps.

-Fleemo

I just take my finger and brush it over each flower. Many times if
you still have a reasonable number of fruits left after the drop, it
can be considered a natural thinning. That is, provided your watering
and fertilization practices are proper. I fertilize my lemon and key
lime trees with a healthy dose of compost on top of the soil, and
liquid seaweed sprays on the foliage. The seaweed has shown to
decrease the infestations of red spider mites. Scale is also a
problem for citrus, so check carefully for scale on the bark. Pruning
citrus is also important. You should not top the tree, but you should
remove any branches growing in toward the center, anything shading the
fruit, and certainly anything dead.

There is a lot of information about backyard citrus. Do a search and
you will find endless information on fertilization schedules, etc.

victoria