An orange tree. Ben Kirkby/ Arizona Daily Star 2/13/98.
Q: I have two dwarf Hamlin orange trees that are dying. They have been in large pots since I got them about seven years ago. They are both losing all their leaves and the branches are dying (dried out). I thought maybe they were getting root bound so I transplanted them in the ground but they weren't root bound. In fact I didn't see any good size roots just a lot of little ones. I admit I'm not good at feeding them. I've put Best citrus food 13-10-4 on them but not every often. Up until this year they were pretty good at bearing fruit but the fruit this year was scarce and not eatable. Do you have any idea what I might try to do to save them? They are in pretty bad shape. This started about a year ago.
A: The transplanting process is stressful on plants so it might take a while for them to come back to good health. To make sure they have the best chance, you need to make sure they receive sufficient water and fertilizer. Your water is best delivered through drip irrigation. In the summer they should receive water every seven to 10 days to a depth of 36 inches. In the spring and fall, you can back that off to watering every 10 to 14 days. In the winter every 14 to 21 days is sufficient. Fertilizer for citrus should be provided three times each year. The first dose should be in the January/February time frame. The second does should be in April/May and the third dose should be in August/September. If you need information on how much to use, check our handy publication chart in our publication AZ1671-2015 using your favorite search engine.
Peter L. Warren is the urban horticulture agent for the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. Questions may be emailed to tucsongardensage@gmail.com.
