If you want your orange trees to grow excellently, you need to take care of them. There are many things you can do to keep your orange tree in a good condition.
When the orange trees are growing well, their growth will be better and they can produce more flowers and fruits.
You can achieve good harvests when the tree is well cared for. That is why sometimes it is good to do some maintenance to keep your tree thriving.
How To Take Care For Your Orange Tree?
Make Sure Your Orange Tree Is Getting Enough Sunlight
Orange trees need sunlight in order to make their food. The tree can make its food with the help of the sun.
When the tree gets more sunlight per day, the tree will grow fast and thrive well. That is why if you are going to plant standard orange trees, you must plant them in an open space where sunlight is abundant.
Standard orange trees are growing tall around 20 to 30 feet and you can’t plant them in the pot. With enough sunlight, the tree can manage to make its food and improve its overall growth.
Orange trees need at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. If you are growing dwarf orange trees indoors, you must place your trees near the window or in a spot where sunlight is available.
It is also better to bring them outside so that they will get a lot of sunlight, especially during summer.
Yellowing of leaves can also be prevented when the orange trees get a lot of sunlight.
Enough Water Is Needed By The Orange Tree
Water is also important for the orange tree to grow better. You need to give them enough water regularly to keep them in good shape.
You can water the orange tree once or twice a week depending on the weather and soil moisture. If rainfall is available you don’t need to water your tree.
If you think that rainfall is enough then you should not give water to your tree, but if the rain is just too little you can still give water to your tree.
You can also check the soil moisture. If the soil is dry you still need to check it by pressing your finger 2 to 3 inches in the soil. When you feel that it’s totally dry you can water your orange tree.
Potted orange trees commonly need more water because the soil dries faster in the container than in the ground.
You need to give the tree at least 1.5 inch of water per week. That volume of water is enough for the tree and it will help them to be more established.
Avoid overwatering your citrus tree because it can cause problems that can affect its growth.
Dropping leaves, and yellowing leaves are some of the problems that may happen because of overwatering.
Applying Fertilizer Can Help Orange Tree Blooms And Fruits
The orange tree needs more nutrients during its early stage. The nutrients will help the tree grow taller and faster.
It will grow more branches, leaves, and roots. When you have good soil that is rich in nutrients, your tree will grow fine.
But if your soil is lacking nutrients, you need to do some action and improve it by adding fertilizer.
There are many kinds of fertilizer that you can use. You need to use a fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen to keep the leaves green.
Yellowing leaves on an orange tree are caused by either nitrogen deficiency or iron deficiency. By adding these elements to the soil you can assure that the tree leaves will be healthy.
You also need other elements like potassium and phosphorus to improve the tree’s growth and increase the flowers and fruits on your orange tree.
Pests And Diseases Control
Pests and diseases can attack the orange tree. But one good thing is most orange trees that are being sold at the nurseries and garden centers are grown through grafting which makes them pests and diseases tolerant.
There are many orange trees that you can grow and you will not worry much about pests and diseases. An already grown tree will also give you fruits faster.
It is hard to grow an orange tree from seeds because it takes about 7 to 15 years before it fruit. Also, these trees are not pest and disease tolerant which makes them a little bit hard to manage.
You can use pesticides and fungicides as a treatment for those things.
Pollination
An orange tree and most citruses are self-pollinating. But even though this tree is self-fertile you can still help your tree increase its flowers and fruits.
There are times that there is little wind and no roaming pollinators. Those things can help pollinate flowers but when they are not available there is likely there will be fewer fruits on the tree.
When it happens you can do hand pollination. To do hand pollination you can use a small, soft brush and start brushing the flowers. In that way, you are able to transfer the pollen to the flower’s stigma and help flowers to be pollinated.
You can also use an orange flower, use it, and brush them on other flowers.
Pruning Orange Tree
If you want to keep your orange tree small you can do the pruning. Pruning will help the tree to be healthy and make them better.
You need to prune some damaged branches because it can affect other branches. Also by doing pruning, it will improve the tree aeration and lighting.
By trimming your orange tree you can also make them smaller, which makes harvesting of oranges way easier.
Use the right tools to make the cut fine.
FAQ
Is It Hard To Take Care Of An Orange Tree?
As long as an orange tree gets enough water, sunlight, and nutrients it will not be hard to grow this tree. Also, there are many orange varieties that are pest and disease tolerant which makes them easier to grow.
How To Take Care Of An Orange Tree Indoors?
To care for an orange tree indoors, give them at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight and you can do this by placing them in a spot where sunlight is abundant. Give them at least 1.5 inch of water per week and improve the soil nutrients by adding fertilizer.
