Good question. Just water enough to moisten the non-woody absorbing roots.
Over watering can cause woody root rot or decay. If you do fertilize (add
essential elements) with a fertilizer containing Nitrogen, cut the
recommended amount (dose) at least 1/4. Over fertilizing with nitrogen can
also cause many problems. To better understand fertilizing you must learn a
little chemistry. Here are two articles on chemistry.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/CHEM.html

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html


Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

"Bill Bowden" wrote in message
ups.com...
I sprouted a little orange tree from a seed and planted it a large
styrofoam coffee cup with "supersoil" potting mix.
It has grown with 3 or 4 shoots, the longest is about 9 inches but
doesn't do well in direct sunshine.

It seems content in my kitchen window with indirect sunshine, but if I
take it outside in direct sunshine, 1 or 2 of the shoots will turn
brown and die in a couple days.

I'm wondering if it needs some special fertilizer, or more water, or a
larger pot, or less sunshine?

What are the recommended conditions for small orange trees?

-Bill