Xtremehorticulture

No Fruit on Dwarf Orange

Q. I have a dwarf orange tree planted a little over a year ago. There have been no oranges on the tree. I have fertilized and I think I’ve been watering it correctly. The tree appears to be healthy, just no fruit. Any suggestions? A. Dwarf orange is not much help to me. The subject of oranges is huge. I need to know what type of orange it is, whether it has produced flowers or not or if the flowers formed but failed to produce fruit. Varieties vary from early ripening – about 8 months from bloom – to late – up to 16 months from bloom. There are three main groups: The normal fruited, without navels and with light orange colored flesh; the navel oranges, with a distinct navel development at the end; and blood oranges, with red flesh and juice. There are about 73 varieties but US production focuses on Valencia, Washington Navel, Hamlin, Parson Brown, Pineapple and Temple.  For home gardening there are many more than these six available from nurseries. Here is a publication from Arizona on citrus varieties. extension.arizona.edu/pubs/az1001.pdf

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No Reason to Remove Female Inflorescence from Sago Palm

Q. It is my understanding that the ball growing in the middle of my Sago palm is part of its reproductive system. However, since I do not plan on pollinating the plant, how and when can I remove the growth?  Also, can you tell from the images if it is male or female Sago? A. Sago palms come as male or female. The flower or inflorescence of the male is long and cone shaped while the female is flat and disc shaped. That should be easy to remember. Yours looks like a female. Female sago palm or cycad.             Normally this inflorescence is not removed and you let it run its course. I am not sure why you would want to remove it anyway. It is a part of its natural appearance. Here is a nice little bulletin on it from Texas A&M on cycads or sago palm biology. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/Gardening-Handbook/PDF-files/GH-051–male-&-female-sago-palm.pdf

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