orange trees (forum)

Francis F starts with ...
why does my orange tree have thorns and also not provide fruit into its sixth year.

Time: 5th January 2020 8:03pm

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People who Like this Question Farouk
About the Author Francis F
Southport , Gold Coast
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Farouk says...
Hi Francis,

that's odd how did you get this fruit tree, where did you purchase it?

The thorns are normal as some/most varieties have thorns on them for citrus trees.

Has it had any flowers yet?

Could you send a photo of the tree? Particularly the trunk near where the graft union is where the arrow in the photo shows.

Have you tried to fertilise the soil? Put some compost & citrus fertiliser (follow the instructions & don't overfeed) + water well.
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Time: 6th January 2020 4:11pm

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About the Author Farouk
SOUTH WENTWORTHVILLE,2145,NSW
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Manfred says...
If it is a seedling it is still in the juvenile phase. Thorniness and vigorous growth are two characteristics of juvenile citrus.

If it is a grafted tree, did it die back and regrow from the root? If it is not growing vigorously that is most likely the situation. Have someone who knows citrus look at it and diagnose.

Time: 6th January 2020 7:09pm

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About the Author Manfred
Wamboin
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Julie says...
Sounds like it was grown from a seed. Grafted oranges don't have thorns.

Time: 6th January 2020 7:43pm

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About the Author Julie
ROLEYSTONE,6111,WA
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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Francis
If you keep your orange tree indoors or in a greenhouse it won't produce fruit if it's not hand pollinated. If there's no or few bees to transfer the pollen the tree won't fruit. If it flowers on a cool weather bees will shy away because of the cool weather.
If any of those reasons applies to your orange tree then you will need to hand pollinate it next time it flowers. You can use a small paint brush or cotton balls. Just brush or dab one flower to another as many as you can for a week or 2. Don't be surprised if 80% to 90% of the fruits fall off. It's natural. Some orange trees have the occasional thorns. Again its normal. Happy gardening 😎

Time: 6th January 2020 10:04pm

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About the Author Fruitylicious1
TAMWORTH,2340,NSW
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jakfruit etiquette says...
The thorns indicate a juvenile growth stage. That could be a seedling, it could be a rootstock sucker, it could be a watershoot from a mature orange tree. Even an old tree could send up a thorny non fruiting juvenile shoot, thats how new main branhes are built.
Also a graft or bud could produce juvenile growth. If you take buds from a thorny shoot from a mature orange tree, you will propagate a thorny juvenile new tree. More info please Francis.

Time: 8th January 2020 8:12am

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vic
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