[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[Leo A. Martin]

>> My orange tree has beautiful,very large naval oranges on it every year,
>> but they are all real dry and woody inside. I fertilized them very well
>> by
>> digging a hole under the drip line when I moved into the house in 1998
>> and
>> the next year they were dry and woody. Someone told me it was because I
>> put too much fertilizer on them, but I haven't fertilized them since
>> then,
>> so why are they that way now? The lawn sprinklers go off three times a
>> week for 15 minutes a time.

Judy - If your citrus trees are only getting lawn sprinkler water for 15
minutes thrice per week, I bet you are not watering them enough.
Insufficient water can cause dry fruit.

Just this once, in the spring and summer put the hose under each tree near
the dripline and let it run at a slow trickly for 8 hours, every 10 days.
Then report back.

I nearly killed all my citrus trees 20 years ago when everybody smart told
me I must never, never water them more than once a week. It turns out my
soil drains so fast I have to water every 3 days in the summer.
Everybody's soils are different. But your trees sound like they might not
be getting enough water.

Leo Martin
Phoenix Arizona USA