Orange tree problem

Could anyone give me suggestions about my orange tree with "issues". We are in Southern California in La Jolla, about 1/4 mile from the coast. It was in either a 20 or 25 gallon container; planted 4 years ago on the west (ocean) side of our fenced backyard. There are pine trees planted on the other side of the fence. It is on the same watering schedule as the surrounding plants...mostly azaleas. Fertilized regularly with citrus food. It has grown maybe 3 inches; produced maybe 4 oranges in 4 years, no abundant flowers; has a large bare spot on one side (facing north) with dead branches and twigs. It gets full sun until late afternoon.

Before I go further, let me say that I am not a serious gardner....if it grows, it stays; if it fools around, it dies.

Back to the tree...I am wondering: 1) Is the ocean wind is bad for it. 2) Is it overwatered (average 3 days/week). 3) Could we lift it and at least turn the bare side to the fence without killing it? 4) I have heard striking the trunk a couple of times with a broom handle will jump-start a tree. Is this true?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

The only thing that juped out at me was your watering schedule. I rarely water mine but I have an old and large tree.
I Googled citrus culture and found this:
Moisture: Orange trees are fairly drought tolerant, but fruit quantity and size may suffer if supplemental water is not given during prolonged dry periods. Annual rainfall totals of 40-45 in (102-114 cm) are adequate for orange trees. Orange trees cannot tolerate saturated soils.

And another site:

Plant the tree in a warm, sunny area where the soil drains well.

Mulch to conserve water.

Water the tree deeply once every 7 to 10 days in midsummer. Water less often if it rains or if the weather is cool.

Fertilize every four to six weeks from February to August.

Try adding 1 tablespoon of epsom salt per gallon of water or sprinkling about 3 tablespoons of epsom salts around diameter of tree and watering well. Check with MitchF - he knows citrus.

I've had trouble getting the watering right on my potted citrus. Recently I read somewhere that container grown trees need a lot more water, so I increased it to at least twice a week, more when it's really hot and dry. They are doing much better now.

Having said that, mine are small trees in much smaller containers and it's drier here as we're 10 miles inland. What kind of soil was used? They need good drainage, not dense wet soil. Have you tried sticking your finger in to see how moist/dry the soil is, rather than just watering on a schedule?

I'm always looking for tips that might help, so let us know if you learn anything.

I would say that 3 days a week is too much, though that would depend on how long it is watered, of course. We are inland with very little ocean influence, that is, it's hot. The tree gets watered when the grass gets watered, which is no more than 3 times a week.

I am just speculating, but it also could be that your place isn't hot enough. Are there other successful trees in your immediate neighborhood? In CA, oranges are grown commercially in places that are at least moderately hot in the summer. The groves that I know of are way inland from the ocean. Lemons are commercially grown where it doesn't get as hot. Grapefruits are commercially grown in the desert.

If oranges don't get enough heat then the fruit won't sweeten up properly and won't taste very good, but the tree itself should still be able to be healthy so it sounds to me like there's something else going on. I know people that have tried them up here in areas closer to the ocean and the trees themselves are perfectly fine, just the fruit doesn't taste very good.

Based on the amount of water your tree is getting, I have a feeling it's probably way too much (since you said it's near azaleas and getting water 3x a week). It sounds like you've got plants with opposite water requirements growing in too close proximity to one another.

I'm certainly no expert on citrus, but being within walking distance of the ocean, I see orange trees doing very well here...but our summers here tend to (probably) be hotter than yours in LaJolla...maybe not.

A friend of mine had an orange tree growing in the lawn of his yard here, which got water 3x a week (sprinkler system on a timer ) and it never did much at all. He moved it to the back, away from the lawn and it improved immensely since it then only got water maybe once every three weeks. It doubled in size within a year and set a lot of fruit.

I've never moved an orange tree, but I guess you could try it...hopefully to a place where it gets a lot less watering and the drainage is good. Heavy clay soil with poor drainage is a killer for orange trees.

AFAIKT, everyone is talking about planted trees, not container grown. I really think there is a difference. Mine did not start doing well until I doubled the watering - but they are planted in a soil free mix and not in such a big pot. The container soil might be the problem.

I have a lemon in a pot and it gets watered every other day. Of course it gets really really hot here in the summer. I have an orange tree in the ground that does great. They both get sun most of the day. The lemon gets fruit but it seems to take a long time to ripen.
Don't know if this helps or not, just my limited experience.
Linda

Thank you very much for all of your replies. I will begin by reducing the watering schedule for the orange tree and using the epsom salts treatment from "pcds" of Riverside. As a last resort, we will move it to another spot.
Gratefully,
Durham57

Orange trees would rather have deep watering at their drip line than sprinkling. I use a soaker hose on mine every other month but it's well-established. I feed it with Citrus food and if it's looking yellow I use an iron chelate supplement.

Edited to say that citrus trees don't like water on or around their trunks.

This message was edited Oct 19, 2008 6:29 PM

No one mentioned this possibility, but if the tree was rootbound when transplanted, it may not be able to root properly and resume growth very well. This might explain the poor performance. Additionally the cool coastal climate is not ideal for an orange and the watering needs to be evaluated as per previous suggestions.