Trees produce but fruit is dry.
Dry, pithy fruit is normally a lack of moisture, and is called granulation. It is also typical for an immature tree. Give the trees normal care of weekly watering and three-to-four light feedings a year with a citrus fertilizer and production should improve with age.

Do mulches or ground covers help control of weeds under the tree?
Prevent rot problems at the base of citrus trees by keeping the lower trunk free of mulch and vegetation. A ground cover or mulch not more than 1-inch deep starting a few feet from the trunk is more for cosmetic reasons.  Most gardeners prefer to be totally safe and keep the trees clean to the drip line.

Citrus trees are full of young fruit, but many are starting to fall from the trees.
Most citrus tree set many more fruit than the tree can support. If all the fruit remained on the tree the limbs would crack, or the fruit stay would stay quite small. Fruit drop is nature's way of regulating what it can support. Trees naturally thin their crop immediately after flowering, during late spring and again in early fall. Young trees may drop most or all of their fruits. The tree has to store an adequate supply of food to produce a good crop.

Navel tree used to produce good fruit. This year the fruit is sour, thick skinned and warty looking.
It is possible a sour orange branch is growing from the root stock. Possibly a shoot grew up from the roots and has now become part, or all, of the tree. If possible trace the stem down to the ground to prune it out of the tree. It also may be so old that the fruit has reverted back to the root stock.

Three year old orange tree has very small and mainly dry fruits.
Expect juicy and better tasting fruits in a few more years. Young trees often fail to fill out their fruits. Do not count on good production for 5 to 7 years.

Seven year old tangelo tree produces lots of blooms and fruit. By June most of the fruit turns yellow and drops.
Some trees are slower to reach maturity but usually become good producers with time. Make sure not to push the tree with too much water or fertilizer. Apply a citrus fertilizer once in March, May, August and early October. Scatter the fertilizer under the tree and out past the drip line. Also schedule watering for only when the surface soil begins to dry. Normal watering is key. If no rain, water 1/2-3/4 of an inch once a week.

Tree produced a very large crop. Following year, very few blooms and no fruit.
Young trees give inconsistent fruit production. Older trees may have heavy and light fruiting years which is often called biannual or alternate bearing. During heavy production years the trees use up most of the stored foods producing the crop. Thus there is little left for flower bud formation for the next season. As trees grow older most don’t have totally barren years but there is going to be times of fewer fruits.  Just give your citrus the normal care of three to four feedings a year with a citrus fertilizer and adequate water during the dry times to encourage good fruit production.

When is the time to trim the trees?
Citrus trees need very little pruning, other than to remove small dead twigs.  Most grow a very uniform and rounded shape with out any trimming.  Unlike apples, peaches, figs and similar trees they do not need a yearly thinning of limbs to develop a certain shape or encourage fruiting. If pruning is needed the best time is around mid-February just before spring growth.

A large number of fruit split on tangerine tree.
Tangerines, navels and several other citrus are susceptible to cracking during the late summer and early fall months. The damage occurs when the fruits are taking up more moisture than they can hold and they burst open. Water when the surface inch of soil begins to dry to the touch. Too much water or an extended period of time between watering can encourage the cracking.

The fruit on my tangelo tree drops. What can I do to keep them on the tree?
Citrus trees keep the fruit they can support and drop the rest. Some years trees drop most of what formed after flowering. Help the tree keep as much fruit as possible by routine watering and fertilizing.

A citrus tree that produced a lot of green fruits and then the leaves turned yellow and dropped.
Most likely your tree has foot rot a disease that affects the trunk as it enters the ground. The fungus destroys the bark and underlying tissue that moves foods down to the root system. This causes the root system to starve and gradually decline. Often trees affected by foot rot exhibit heavy flowering and fruiting just before they decline. Once the tree loses its leaves it is not going to recover. Remove the existing tree and replant in a new area. Foot rot is encouraged by tree trunks that remain extra moist. Be sure citrus trees are planted slightly above ground level to avoid the disease. Also keep the trunk area free of mulch and other vegetation to prevent.

There are brown spots on the fruit.
Copper fungicides do a good job of controlling the fungal problems.

Is a Meyer lemon an ever bearing tree?
Meyer lemons are normally harvested November through March. And it's not a true lemon, but a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. The Meyer is hardier than the true lemon so it may be better adapted to local landscapes.

First year a navel orange tree didn't grow much but produced a few fruits. Following year the tree has grown a lot but without any fruit.
Young citrus trees often give a false impression they are ready to produce only to begin what could be years of fruit free growth. Transplants usually from containers had restricted root growth which forced early fruit production. When planted in the landscape they begin new root and shoot growth and seem to forget about flowering and fruiting for a while. It's not abnormal for gardeners to get a few fruits the first year and then wait 2-3 years for the next crop. Just give your tree normal care and you should reap the rewards in due time.

There is black soot on the leaves.
That black stuff, known as sooty mold, is a fungus growing on the excreta of insects. Aphid, whitefly or scale insects are normally the culprits. Natural insecticidal soap or horticultural oil sprays usually give good control of theses pests plus the sooty mold. It’s best to apply a spray when the insects are noted or the mold is starting to form during the growing season.

What can be done to get a tangelo to bear fruit?
Controlling the pests is easy but getting the tangelo to bloom and fruit is another matter. The tree needs time to mature or build up food reserves needed to begin production. Young trees may take 5 to 7 years to be consistent fruit producers and older trees may take a year or two break from time to time.

My limes are developing sunken brown spots that only affect the peel.
Your limes have what is known as stylar end rot. It is a physiological problem that occurs during the hot weather. The tree cannot absorb the needed moisture to keep the fruits peel from drying and breaking down. Making sure the lime tree has adequate moisture and using the fruits when ripe is about all you can do.

My tangerine tree has small overlapping clamshell-like looking eggs around the edge of some of the leaves.
A katydid laid the eggs along the edge of the leaves. These are green grasshopper relatives that can grow to two inches in length and about an inch in height. After hatching the young begin feeding on plants by chewing leaves and fruits. They are seldom very numerous and the damage to citrus trees is minimal. You can hand pick leaves with egg masses from trees for some control. Pesticides are normally not used with this minor pest.

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