How do i get my orange tree to bear fruit?

i live in south east england, london, and have a jaffa orange tree, it is meant to be less delicate to the cold weather than other citrus, i give it citrus plant food specially for citrus plants, how to i make it grow fruit without a conseravtory or greenhouse, it is 2 years old, but besides the age, how would i make it bear fruit if it doesnt,also, i water it once a week or when the soil looks dry from the top.

How do i get my orange tree to bear fruit?
Hi, you may be in for a wait with your Jaffa, as growth conditions in the UK are not ideal. I'd expect fruiting not really to start before about 5 years old, although I don't know the condition / size of your plant. I've got some of my experience from my own plants as well as friends that grow overseas.





Firstly, you'll need to ensure that it has adequate winter protection, so that you don't get major damage or loss of your tree. You'll probably find that some parts of your garden, or growing environment, have microclimates that are warmer than others. These are likely to be more south facing, and sheltered.





I grow a lemon tree outside in the UK midlands and it seems generally fine. Occasionally I'll cover it with a garden 'fleece' during really frosty weather here. It lets light and water in, but provides a few degrees of protection.





A friend in the US covers the base of his orange and lemon trees with pipe insulation that he wraps around it. This stops alot of his getting frozen - near New Orleans, where it is warmer of course. As the tree grows, its trunk will become stronger and less susceptible to cold damage. If growing in a pot, be careful that the roots don't freeze, as this could kill your plant.





So, back to getting it to fruit:


I'd feed it with a specialist citrus plant fertiliser, which should have the right combination of nutrients for it to grow, flower and fruit. I sometimes add Sulphate of Potash (Potassium Sulphate) to some of my plants, to 'encourage' flowering. Potassium is the element that is needed for flowering to occur. (It's the K of the standard 'N:P:K' fertiliser ratio, that you'll see on fertilsers).





For watering I either use rain water, or I filter my water with a standard home water filter, which prevents shock from the chemicals in tap water. Don't allow your plant to wilt much, probably watering during the growing season, around every 2 weeks.





I grow mine in a John Innes no.3 mixture, which provides a fairly open soil type to grow in.





I don't know whether you grew your Orange from a seed, in which case it may not have full Jaffa characteristics, or whether it was purchased, probably as a grafted plant. If it's grafted, don't allow suckers from below the graft to take over, as these will be from a more vigorous variety, used as root-stock.





Aim to get as much sun as you can for your orange, although be wary of extreme heat: if you get this, some shade will be to the plant's advantage. In foreign cultures, the trunks are often painted white, for a cooling effect: probably not needed here in the UK and my Lemon isn't but grows well.





Pruning is probably not much of an issue, unless there is lots of growth in 1 area, and some thinning is needed: I do this in spring, before major growth starts.





Watch out for leaf discolouration: this can be an indicator of a few things: nutrient deficiency or predator attack. For nutrients, it may be because the soil is too acidic, and thus it's not utilising what it needs, or just plain deficiency. If you feed with a Citrus fertiliser, you should be ok. Sometimes I add a little Ericaceous feed to mine, when I've noticed this, and it recovers quite well. (Don't overfeed though!). Otherwise, ensure that the feed you're using contains trace minerals, such as magnesium, iron and zinc. I hope that you never get any plant deficiency, just watch out for discoloured leaves which are an indicator of this.





Pests: citrus are likely to be attacked by aphids, scale insects, red spider mites and other pests. You can treat these in similar ways that you would with other plants. When flowering / fruiting, beware that you'll need treatments, if chemical, that are suited for edible plants.





Hope I've covered enough to get your plant growing well.





Good luck! Rob
Reply:Insure soil fertility and humidity. Pray for the correct fruiting weather or season. Guard against insect and human pests. If nothing happpens, I think its time to cut down the old tree and plant a new one. Good Luck. Report It

Reply:you can do one good thing by going to some near by nursery and asking the experts there.......u ll get accurate answer
Reply:An Orange tree takes longer than 2 years before it starts to bear fruit. A good thing to do with them is to urinate under them. I am not joking. It helps the tree for some reason. You can always P I S S in a bottle and poor that on every day. We have had an Orange tree for over 30 years and still do it if we think it needs a pep up