On 12/14/2009 12:25 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Dec 12, 8:13 am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 12/12/2009 1:24 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:
Yo, amigas y amigos - I have had terrible luck with dwarf citrus
over the years (decades?). Finally got one that may make it, I hope I
hope. As soon as I put it in the ground (I am skilled transplanter)
it bloomed profusely. I was happy. All the blooms fell off. I was
UNhappy. I fed it and cared for it, and now -- about a year later
-- it is blooming again.
But in So. Calif coastal, that seems like a weird time to bloom.
Usually, AFAIK, the oranges are ready for harvest in "winter".
Anybody fill me in on what's happening - what I should be doing, or
not doing?
TIA
Is it actually an orange? If your plant is instead a lemon, they bloom
on and off all year round. Mine is blooming right now.
I have a lemon that I planted not long after I bought the house,
many, many years ago. Never stops producing. Though it's been
forever infested with whitefly, like most everything in my beach
community, there's plenty left for me & neighbors I give to.
If it is indeed an orange, it is blooming out of season. Avoid feeding
from early October until early March. Although oranges are evergreen,
they do have a form of dormancy in the winter.
Yes. it is a Washington dwarf orange.
I don't know why it is blooming out of season. I did some rescue
feeding
last summer, when it was not looking good, but that was months ago.
Do you think the blooms will drop off, or will hang on through the
"winter"
and make oranges? In the latter case, will it really take a YEAR for
the oranges to ripen? So...? any more of your educated feedback
(and that of others) is welcome.
I'm not sure if blossoms at this time will produce fruit. If they do,
the fruit is likely not to ripen until the normal time at the end of
next autumn.
Note that citrus is self-thinning. That is, many blossoms will fall off
without forming fruit; and many small immature fruits will fall off.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary