Author Topic: Help with Navel orange in Phoenix  (Read 947 times)

AZCitrus

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Help with Navel orange in Phoenix
« on: August 01, 2020, 07:07:49 PM »
Hi Everyone -

As the subject states, I have a dwarf navel orange tree in Phoenix that I am struggling with.  It was planted about 2.5 years ago and has yet to bear fruit.  The current size of the tree is about 3' diameter.  It is planted on the east side of my yard, and gets mostly afternoon sun due to a block wall providing shade in the morning hours.  I water it once per week for 12 minutes on a bubbler irrigation head that has adjustable flow - I am not sure what the GPM is of the device.  I had been watering it twice per week for 11 minutes, but some of my initial research led me to believe this was too frequent.  I put it on the new watering schedule about a month ago.  For what it's worth, I have a dwarf meyer lemon tree on the west side of my yard that was planted at the same time as this tree, but has grown substantially larger (although it did not bear fruit this year, I think I messed it up while playing around with the watering schedule).

I have included a picture below of the current state of a small section of the orange tree, but this is indicative of the entirety:



I'm not sure if the state of the leaves is due to sunburn, a disease, a pest, watering issue, or some combination of the above.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you


Laaz

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Re: Help with Navel orange in Phoenix
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2020, 08:12:52 PM »
Looks like sunburn. 12 mins once a week in Phoenix? You're not giving it anywhere near enough water for the desert conditions you have there. I would give it a heavy dose of fertilizer & water it at least every other day for a good 30 minutes at a time.

AZCitrus

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Re: Help with Navel orange in Phoenix
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2020, 10:28:38 AM »
Looks like sunburn. 12 mins once a week in Phoenix? You're not giving it anywhere near enough water for the desert conditions you have there. I would give it a heavy dose of fertilizer & water it at least every other day for a good 30 minutes at a time.

Thank you for the reply Laaz.  Would you recommend this watering schedule as a long term option, or as a way to "jump start" the tree again?  If I water for 30 minutes with a bubbler irrigation head, the bowl under the tree is going to be completely flooded.  Also most documents I've read have indicated that citrus trees prefer deep irrigation, once every 7 to 10 days, even here in the desert.

Thanks again

Laaz

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Re: Help with Navel orange in Phoenix
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2020, 11:12:10 AM »
If it were me, I would keep the watering schedule for quite a while & see how it works out for you. Here in the south, we have torrential downpours most of the summer & citrus thrive in these conditions. Also if your soil is very dry, giving a good soaking for a while can trigger the tree into blooming.

Millet

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Re: Help with Navel orange in Phoenix
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2020, 02:14:26 PM »
I certainly must agree with Laaz, that the leaf damage is due to sunburn.