The Tropical Fruit Forum

Come in Millet !...i need your wisdom......its autumn in Perth western Australia but we have still been getting 29C but its about to drop to 21-22C...we have had a really dry summer...hasnt rained at all.....
my problem......Last year i bought a large "Imperial mandarin tree" ...it had nice size fruit on it and i transplanted it into a 50 litre pot.....as the fruits reached maturity and just started to go orange.....each fruit dropped one by one and i didnt get one fruit reach maturity.....the tree was not  overloaded by any means.....i read that this might have been caused by not getting enough water before i bought the tree.......well its been through this season and ive watered it twice a week and fed with good quality slow release fert every month...little but often......it has again grown some good sized fruit but they are now starting to turn orange and one dropped last night......the same has happened for the last two years with my "Honey murcott" mandarin which is in the ground......i feed that with compost and organics in winter and slow release ferts both organic and chemical through spring and summer......thats started to drop fruits that are starting to turn orange as well......3 have come off past two days.....all small ones.......i really wonder what i am doing wrong......do i need to water more ,,,do i need to feed high potassium to hep fruit mature?...i read one guy said that if you feed too much they drop their fruit ...another if too much direct sun they drop their fruit.....im really not sure but they are both doing the same thing...am i feeding too much?...the one in the ground is in sand but ive composted the top and mulched for many years now.....but its very free draining.....some of the fruits are getting a nice size......so i have done something good so far but i cant work it out....i dont want all me fruit dropping off again...one by one......imperial mandarin in 50 litre pot and honey murcott mandarin inground...sandy soil....cheers Jon sorry the pics.are night time ......Thoughts please?

Just wondering what causes "Leaf crinkle" on Citrus.........we had quite a warm end to winter here and all our trees got pretty excited and started putting out new growth early.........at first i thought it was citrus leafminer...because they crinkle and curve leaves up but i have looked underneath the leaves and there is no sign of pests at all........My suspicion is the cold overnight temps has caused it.....spring started sept 1st but we are still getting temps of 7/8 or 9C overnight which is more winter night temps and cold winds coming through....Am i right here? cold temps crinkling new growth?

Any idea why my leaves are curling like this please?.....i suspect potassium deficiency?   Thanks.

I read a post from Millet that suggested spraying your trees with urea a month before spring burst........so i sprayed my mates trees and sprayed all my trees with a fert high in ureas @ the beginning of August........All but one of our trees are covered in blooms........So thanks for the tip Millet......now to spray again when fruits are the size of a pea.

Its the start of spring in Western Australia  and all the bugs start thinking about it.....ants climb up your trees and farm aphids with them.....which suck the sap from all that fresh new growth....This is a non toxic way of keeping those ants out of your trees....
Tools you will need= masking tape and vaseline.
Wind the tape from the top to bottom ...sticking it to the trunk....at the bottom...do a half twist and go back up to where you started.....finish it off........then smear vaseline along its length.....ants will not go beyond....i use longer because it also acts to protect the trunk from the harsh sun but shorter is ok as well.....works a treat....now i await the leafminer !

Have heaps of these ....young ones ...all over my tahitian lime....was thinking of spraying them with vinegar and soap......any other way I can kill them off without resorting to insecticides please?

This tree nearly snuffed it last year but its putting out lots of new growth now but it doesnt want to grow anything on one side of the tree....looks very strange......is there anything i can do to encourage it to put out growth on that side of the trunk? i have had it in the sun  all the time in the hope it will put out growth there to help cover its trunk.
All my other trees are going for it....when i get chance i will take pics of all of my fruits and post on here= lots of citrus in ground and pots..pommegranite......papaya.....chillis.....blueberries......cape gooseberry.....strawberries....mangos in pots and in ground....grapes (new vine)......figs....avocado....Loquat.....one of my citrus is in  a 90 litre pot...another 70 litre and another 50 litre...plus a whole load in terracotta......my backyard is a jungle !

Hi.....Its winter here in Perth...western australia.......i have two different types of blueberries which i transplanted into bigger pots ( four plants)......they were all heavily rootbound.........
One type seems fine ....has heaps of flowers on it and is growing small berries.......which seems a bit early to me.........the other type(2 of them) have a few leaves dropping and going this lovely colour.........I felt it might be due to the cold temps which have been around 6C at night or maybe from the transplant.......is that correct or does anyone have any other theory ?  .......Thanks Jon

Sure this has been asked before but i am going to ask it......
what is the optimum Ph level for container citrus for advanced nutrient absorption ?       Thanks.

I have potted up most of my citrus into bigger pots just before autumn ....here in perth western Australia........I do have two other dwarf citrus that have put out their autumn growth flush.....I am aware that citrus tend to go = root growth/top growth/root growth/top growth....................so would it be a bad idea to put these trees into bigger pots while they are doing top growth? ....or would i be better to wait until near the end of winter to pot up? .........thanks

Hi.....Dont know what is going on here.......basically its a dwarf imperial mandarin....it came in a 150 size pot....was root bound so i immediately transplanted into a 200 mm pot and gave it some seasol(seaweed solution) and kept it in the shade for a week..........have since kept it in morning sun.....mulched with Lucerne and keep it moist but not wet...have put some slow release organic fert on top of soil......I live in Perth western australia......temps range from 23 to 36C ........at a loss as to why the leaves are going yellow like this........i didnt disturb the roots much when i transplanted...I have checked webpage for deficiencies and cant find anything....any thoughts please?

I am looking to pot up some young dwarf citrus.......was thinking of mixing premium potting mix with coarse grit(washed river sand)..........Is this a good idea for dwarf citrus?
I cant remember what was the ideal mix but i remember when Coconut husk chips were all the rage.........what are you guys using for your container trees please?

From what i have learnt on here....for some reason i believe nitrogen in the form of nitrates or ammonium are better for potted citrus than urea........I dont know why but i am sure i read that here..........which of these would suit my small dwarf citrus in pots please?
 First one is an African violet plant food that i thought was perfect.......the highlighted yellow are the specs for where i am.
The other one  is specific to citrus but most nitrogen comes from urea(which i thought would be better for inground plants)........................Millet = come in /over !!!!!!!....your der man to answer this please.