purchased 1/2 doz probably 5 years ago. just little fella's they were. . now they are well over 6 foot, but not one bud / flower / fruit . they are in a sunny to semi shaded position. I have feed them occasionally with a soluble fert
Why no fruit ? . I have a feeling I may have the answer. . with that sort of growth in 5 years, are they too well fed ? feed something to much and i may not be inclined to reproduce as it has no reason . lifes too good ?
lythande1,
May 12, 2:06pm
Well they are a tropical plant.
kateley,
May 12, 2:25pm
instead of feeding occasionally with soluable fert, try feeding regularly with an appropriate citrus fertiliser
dibble35,
May 12, 2:38pm
MInes at nearly 6 ft and I only got it maybe 3 yrs ago. Its grown much faster than any of my other citrus. Maybe it's getting to much Nitrogen in the liquid fertiliser you are feeding it and not enough of the calcium and magnesium citrus need. As Kateley says get it a proper citrus fertiliser and feed it twice a year spring and autumn
brightlights60,
May 12, 2:39pm
My citrus trees are in two huge pots near our front door. Here in Christchurch, they need possibly more work than anything in my massive gardening. They don't like frost, so need covering in Winter. They need a LOT of water, and they need citrus plant food, no other. Never just toss it around the roots, it goes out from that along the "drip" line, where if the water comes off the leaves it would hit the fertilizer on the soil. They also need spraying, I use something fairly enviromentally friendly, but sometimes just have to use a good pesticide specifically for citrus trees. They get a magnesium deficiency, which is solved with epsom salts in water. So they are high maintenence, but I do get awesome crops from them.
the-lada-dude,
May 12, 3:57pm
are you getting flowers > fruit . citrus goes pretty well here in the Te puke area
dibble35,
May 12, 5:39pm
Yep, flowers and fruit from the 1st year i had it in. This is the 3rd fruiting season it's had and I got enough limes to make a big batch of lime marmalade, give lots away and theres still a few on the tree. You can get special fertiliser for 'fruiting plants', this has the correct nutrients to encourage flowering and fruiting. I would use the citrus fert now (think it only feeds for 3 months depending on which you buy) and a fruiting plant fert in 3 months time to encourage the flowers//fruit.
gabbysnana,
May 12, 5:42pm
Mine lives in a cold frosty spot, dorsnt stop it flowering and having heaps fruit year after year.
omamari,
May 12, 7:09pm
Must be the geographical location. We planted a lime 3 years ago, It's now about 2,5m tall and loaded with fruit, Been fertilised about 3 times, West coast Northland
tourer100,
May 12, 10:02pm
I agree it sounds like too much nitrogen, not a bad thing up till now so it grows the tree, now for fruit you need a more balanced fertiliser. I use Nature’s Garden from Enviromental fertilisers, they post. My tree is about 4 years old, in full sun and laden with fruit., I do feed it about 4 times a year, Fenton and lots of compost on top out to drip line.
the-lada-dude,
May 13, 8:43am
Yes potassium from memory to promote flowering,
nothing seems to flower here, growing toms is bloody hopeless, blueberries go well, which suggests acid soil , . have limed other parts of the section ( & not the BB ) which made no difference. I have 400 m2 of grapes which seem to go well, but they are knowto do ok on shitty soils . soil test coming up !
golfdiver,
May 13, 11:13am
Can’t grow on a north facing slope in Te Puke? Maybe horticulture isn’t for some.
the-lada-dude,
May 14, 8:15am
and breathing should be banned for trolling posters, they're using up our precious oxygen, don't you agree ? eh AW ! . How about you tell us all about your horticultural and agricultural exploits, we'll generously give you 10 seconds, that should be time enough. lol / loos
ceebee2,
May 23, 4:22pm
I have a really productive small lime tree that thrives when fed Citrus fertilizer around drip line only.
Average 1 full 10L bucket / season. (Tree is approx. 1m tall x 1m dia)
nchun,
May 23, 9:41pm
How much did the little plants cost you? If it was quite cheap, and they were quite small, its likely they were seed grown so you only have another 5 years or so to wait until they start fruiting.
dibble35,
May 24, 6:07am
I've never seen seed grown citrus available for sale anywhere. Only cutting grown or grafted. And i've been in the citrus tree growing, and then garden centre business for a long long time.
pipilongstockng,
May 27, 9:00am
yes but theres a whole lot of roadside stallls and saturday markets that could have been selling 'the little fellas' grown from seed.
wheelz,
May 27, 11:56am
Seedling citrus are definetly sold out there. my first lime tree was a seedling grown Tahaitain lime. took over 10 years to hold onto fruit from flowers.
I've worked in a garden centre. the owner got hold of seedling grown Meyer lemons cheap. sold them to ignorant customers.
Since then, I've grown grafted Bearrs Tahaitain limes, fruit within 2 years.
dibble35,
May 27, 4:15pm
Theres no guarantee what 'citrus seedling' you're going to get, could be crossed with anything!
the-lada-dude,
May 29, 2:57pm
Hope I haven't got that rubbish !. i'm gunna pull out red & black current and a thorhless BB which are in a sunnier part and T/ plant the lime trees + citrus fert
jenny188,
Jun 3, 9:44pm
Is there any sign of swelling at the base of their trunks ? This would indicate whether they were originaly grafted plants, in which case should fruit in 2nd or 3rd year (if not in the 1st) Ungrafted seedlings in a lot of fruit trees is often 7 years or more. Moving them now could kill 1/2 of them and stop fruiting of the rest for another couple of years.
gsimpson,
Jun 3, 10:30pm
Ours fruits well in Oamaru
dibble35,
Jun 4, 7:51am
You are lucky i think. always thought that only lemons would grow 'down south' as it was just getting far to cold for anything else. Here you are successfully growing limes and other people much further north struggle. good on you :-)
gsimpson,
Jun 4, 8:32am
I made a citrus garden in a sunny / sheltered spot in front of the house. The lime is actually doing better than lemons either side of it. It can get cool here too. It was -3C a morning last week. The pond was frozen over to the consternation of the ducks.
dibble35,
Nov 3, 6:58pm
LOL, and we are all moaning at work when it was 7*C . positively balmy/warm compared to you
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