Moro not flowering??

[Susanne42]

I have a Moro blood orange tree that I got about four or five years ago from FW in california. It was a three to four year old when it came  here. It is container grown and all it does is growing leafs. Not one single flower. What am I doing wrong? This is the only tree in my collection not flowering (besides some that are too young)
I keep it under artificial light for 12 to 14 ours. Night temps cooler than day temps.
This is not a small tree. Thick and lush canopy.

[Luisport]

I have the same problem with my kumquat tree. It's big but no flowers...   

[citrange]

Susanne - how warm do you keep it over winter?
It looks very green & well fed.
I would try reducing feeding and keeping it cool and fairly dormant during winter.
Then when it warms up in spring it is more likely to produce a flush of flowers.

[Susanne42]

Thank you Citrange. The first three years I had it in a more dormant stage, light not as bright as this year, no fertilizer and temps around 60. This is the first year I have it actively growing during winter. All other trees are actively growing and flowering.
But maybe too much nitrogen? Wrong pruning?

[Millet]

Depending on how your pruning the tree, that could be the reason the tree is not flowering.   Citrus bears flowers on new wood, and by the very act of pruning the new wood is removed.  Therefore, a pruned tree cannot flower.

[Susanne42]

That is only true for oranges?? My feminello is flowering on older wood. Or at least it seams to me.
I have not pruned since july. How old does the new wood needs to be before flowering?

[Millet]

Susan, no all citrus flower on just the new wood.

[Tom]

How old does the new wood needs to be before flowering?

Susan you ask a very good question that I don’t know the answer to. I thought citrus bloomed on 1 or 2 year old growth.  The answer probably involves how late or early you prune in the calendar year. I’d guess if you finished pruning in late winter there would be a flush of growth and blooms in the spring ? My 2 kumquats bloom very late in the year. Very late to me because it seems like mid summer at least until they bloom. I pruned my inground Satsumas and Meyer in late fall and a little bit in early spring and this year my fruit volume is way down. I don’t know if it’s the severe pruning I did to keep them under the frost cloth frame or if it might have been just an off year made worse by a late freeze.

My guess is do your severe pruning very late or very early so you don’t affect the next year’s bloom and crop. It’s ok to nip a little bit here and there but the less pruning the better. In container citrus it’s not a good idea to cut out a lot of the top growth without taking the same % out of the roots when the citrus is root bound.

Susan the picture of your citrus looks very good to me. Does it get to spend plenty of time outside with plenty of sunshine in the summer ?

Tom