This is one of our two orange trees. As you can see, there's lots of fruit this year! And the oranges are enormous. Most are the size of softballs. I notice that these oranges have a really thick peel, though. So even though they might look gigantic, the actual fruit part is closer to average. They're delicious and sweet, though. We've had lots of fresh squeezed juice, and oranges to snack on. And, as you can see from the photo, there's still plenty of oranges to enjoy!
But my tree is suffering. We still have problems with white fly. I have some insecticidal soap to use, but I'm hesitant to bother with it now since we've (gasp!) actually had some rain around here lately. I don't want to spray the whole tree only to have the wonders of nature rinse it all off. So I'm waiting until we've harvested the fruit. Then I'll prune the tree, and I'll spray it to help with bugs. White fly isn't the only thing "bugging" this tree, though. In the photo to the left you can see how the leaves are curling and brown, and have kind of a squiggly pattern on some of them. These, according to The Internet, are classic signs of citrus tree miners. It's a moth larvae that burrow between the layers of the leaves. Stupid moths! Go have your babies somewhere else! I'm pretty sure the same insecticidal soap I need to use for the white fly will also take care of the citrus miners.I guess I should get a book on caring for citrus trees. I bought some special citrus fertilizer, and I'm hoping that with a little extra TLC and maintenance, our two orange trees (and one lemon tree) will flourish. I guess the late winter & early spring are a good time to do maintenance on trees, because it's after the harvest and just before the new buds appear. Here's hoping I get the timing right. I'd hate to further injure or harm the poor thing.
As I start down this gardening path, I'm saying silent prayers that I will have inherited my dad's green thumb. My dad really was pretty amazing with plants - though he never really exercised that talent until the later years of his life. It was when he became a grandfather that he really took an interest in landscaping. He wanted to make the yard and beautiful and safe place where his grandchild could play. He reshaped the whole yard. But the one thing that stands out in my mind the most was how he took little clippings of geranium ivy from a neighbor's plant, and somehow managed to grow them into dozens of plants. He only got a few leaves from the neighbor, and within a year or so, the entire side bank was covered with gorgeous lavender geraniums. There are only a couple patches left, since my mom hasn't really had the time or patience to maintain the flowers since Dad's been gone. Maybe I should take a clipping or two and see if I have a little bit of the same magic within me.
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