6 responses |
Marcus starts with ... Hi everyone, Is it normal for Mandarin trees to have many tiny fruits drop off ? Also, when do one normally fertilise a Mandarin tree within a year ? So far, i have fertilised it in September, and December with chicken manure, potassium, and citrus fertiliser.Is it too much ? I am worried that it is encouraging leaf growth instead of fruits. I live in Melbourne and my Mandarin is the Emperor variety, and it is about 4 years old. I have attached some photos of my mandarin tree for easier reference. Many thanks everyone.
| About the Author Marcus Melbourne 9th January 2014 6:51pm #UserID: 7567 Posts: 15 View All Marcus's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
About the Author Boris Spasky 9th January 2014 10:02pm #UserID: 7085 Posts: 184 View All Boris Spasky's Edible Fruit Trees |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason says... My first thought was why do you have plants under it, just didn't want to be the one to say it. Usually the problem with mandarins is having to thin the fruit. I don't let my trees carry fruit before five years anyway because it slows them down do much. So I'd continue with the heavy fertiliser until its a little bigger then back the nitrogen off until it flowers heavily. | About the Author Jason Portland 10th January 2014 3:01am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
About the Author Marcus Melbourne 10th January 2014 10:56pm #UserID: 7567 Posts: 15 View All Marcus's Edible Fruit Trees |
|||||||
About the Author Jason Portland 11th January 2014 12:48am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
|||||||
Brain says... Yes, emperors does drop a bit of fruit at about thumb tag size. I have one and it does that a lot. Also, they seem to be alternate bearing - great one year, nothing the next. I would not use lawn clipping as mulch - i.e. nitrogen draw down. Citrus has shallow roots and don't like competition from other plants. I think regular small doze of slow release citrus fertiliser is the go. For mere mortals, it is quite hard to time the plant and give it the right doze of specialised fertilier for it to fruit and hold fruit. What you can do is to keep the plant healthly with enough nutrients for it to flower and support fruit. From what I can see, your tree is doing well, so your existing fertiliser regime is working. IMHO, probably a tad too much. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 13th January 2014 12:44pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||
Mike Tr says... Emperors are the best in tropical cliamtes as they fruit heavily every year and have a better flavour than otheres in humid conditions.I think in cooler climates imperials,satsumas and so many more might be better. Fertilize after fruiting with something like 10:10:10, and have some micronutrients and all well back from the trunk.All mulch is good but away from the trunk and not piled deep.N drawdown should not be too bad. | About the Author Mike Tr Cairns 13th January 2014 3:26pm #UserID: 8322 Posts: 614 View All Mike Tr's Edible Fruit Trees |
||||||