Clementine tree does not produce fruit. WHY?

Discussion in 'Citrus' started by tanos98, Oct 31, 2007.

  1. tanos98

    tanos98 Member

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    Hello All, I'm am new to this forum. I joined hoping that someone could help me with my problem. Thanks in advance..
    I have two Clementine Orange trees that were started from seed. They are around 10 years old and I still have not had any flowering or Fruit on either tree. Can anyone tell me why?. I am located in NY so the trees are outdoors from the spring through the summer and are kept indoors for the winter months. Both trees appear to be quite healthy although I almost lost one a few years back. I cut it back hard and it seems to be doing OK. The other is extremely healthy. Approximately 4feet tall, 3 foot crown, Very full, approximately 2-3" diameter trunk and plenty of hearty 2-3" thorns that are very strong. The root system is very strong and the trees are repotted every year or two. I water when dry and fertilize with a 20/20/20 mix every other week and have added phospherous to the soil. Hopefully I have supplied enough information. If anyone can give me some advise it would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks Paul
     
  2. Newt

    Newt Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Hi Paul,

    You should find this helpful.
    http://members.aol.com/citrusweb/pdf/propagation.pdf

    Newt
     
  3. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    Last edited: Nov 3, 2015
  4. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Tanos, there is two things you need to know about your seedling clementine tree. First of all, all most every type of citrus variety when started from seed will produce a tree and fruit exactly the same at the mother tree. There are only a few varieties of citrus that do not produce true from seed, and unfortunately Clementine Mandarin is one of them. However, your seedling tree will produce a mandarin type of fruit. The chances are that the fruit will be inferior to the fruit from which you obtained the seed. On the other hand, many of the well know commercial citrus varieties sold in the stores today, were started as chance seedlings. Second, mandarins when grown from seed will mature and begin blooming at approximately 5 years of age, when grown outdoors in a warm location such as California or Florida. As a container tree that is placed out doors in the summer and then brought inside a warm house for the winter, the time until maturity will be a little longer by perhaps 1 to 2 years. Therefore, your tree may or may not already be mature, and capable of fruiting. Now the IMPORTANT part: citrus trees bloom and fruit because of stress. In tropical climates the stress is produced by the dry season. After the dry season has passed and the rainy season begins the citrus trees begin to bloom and fruit. In the SUB- tropical areas of the United States such as Florida and California the stress that causes citrus to bloom is from the "cold" winter months. A citrus tree normally requires 850 hours of chill (temperatures below 68F, a little lower is better) in order to bloom and fruit. I suspect the problem with your tree is that because during the summer the tree only receives very warm temperatures, then you bring you tree indoors and throughout the winter the tree still only receives still more warm temperatures. If you wish the tree to begin blooming (providing the tree has actually reached maturity) you must insure that your "clementine" receives the proper amount of chilling hours. Lastly, are you pruning this tree? If you are you MUST stop pruning or your tree will never fruit do to the fact that the tree will not reach the required node count. Good luck to you and your tree, I hope the best for you both. Ten years is a long time to wait, take care. - Millet
     
  5. tanos98

    tanos98 Member

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    Thanks to all who replied to my post regarding my Clemntine trees. I will do as advised that is different to what I am doing now, cross my fingers and see what happens. Doesnt look like I will be eating any or the fruit on a regular basis (If it bears ant at all) but I will have to give it a taste. Thanks again for all the information and advise.
    Paul
     

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