[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[Dick]

If you have been following this routine for some time, Ray, and the trees 
appear healthy with abundant fruit, it is difficult to say you are doing 
anything wrong.  For fourty years,  I have deep watered only in a 36" band 
around the trees with the drip line in the middle of it--and fertilized in 
the same trench with 21-0-0, when I didn't forget, on a crude schedule 
dictated by visable wilt or the calendar roughly on three week intervals 
through summer, almost never when ambient temps are below 50F.  Most citrus 
will survive, I've noticed, in the Salt River Basin with a considerable 
amount of neglect but flourishes with a little TLC.

My own 40 plus year old citrus trees, four varieties, while still producing 
much more fruit than we can consume, show some signs of age as do I but the 
trees appear beautiful with healthy, green foliage and abundant blossoms. 
Citrus will abort any immature fruit from pea to golfball size that  it 
cannot maintain without sacraficing itself.  I have never pruned a branch 
that wasn't already dead or that hadn't repeatedly slapped me in the head 
when walking by an then only in anger. The branch that assaults my wife, I 
leave on the tree for reasons better not spoken. But, foliage on citrus is 
best growing all the way to the ground to avoid sunburn on bark that cannot 
tolerate direct, prolonged sun. The natural instinct for citrus is to have a 
foliage shroud protecting its stem all the way to the ground. Fleeting rays 
through the foliage as the sun moves across the sky won't hurt it. Trunks or 
branches with full exposure will burn unless painted with a white, latex 
paint you can buy for that purpose to effectively reflect the sun like a 
suntan lotion.

Dick Gross, Master Gardener Volunteer
University of Arizona Maricopa County
Cooperative Extension

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <raymenstarkka at aol.com>
To: <arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu>
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2008 4:42 PM
Subject: [Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page


> Raymen Starkka
> 85375
> raymenstarkka at aol.com
>
> My orange tree is about twenty five years old,fairly good size and appears 
> healthy. produces well.Because I am away from May 15 to November 15 I, 
> trim my tree early May (just befor leaving)and again late November, after 
> I return. I fertilize with Citrus food 13-10-4 when I return in November 
> again in February and just befor leaving in May. I flood the root system 
> two to three times while hear.
> What is your oppinion of how I'm caring for the tree and what you suggest 
> I might do differently. Please note, the automatic dripper system 
> maintains regular watering all the while I am not hear.
> Thank you,
> Ray Starkka
> 623-556-4513
>
>
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