Fertilize apples, citrus lightly if late

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have an apple tree (Golden Dorsett, as I remember) which had lots of apples last year. I read I should have fertilized in December but didn't. Now it has blooms. Should I wait until June or go ahead and fertilize it now? Another query: My orange tree, which is 8 to 10 years old, really got zapped this winter. It lost all but a few leaves but I think I see some little green buds coming out from the few green limbs that are left. Should I fertilize or withhold? I was afraid it couldn't take the shock of any fertilizer right now.

A: One of the great things about gardening in this region (Zones 8 and 9) is the ability to grow apples and other cool-climate fruit trees alongside citrus and other warm-climate fruit trees. The key is to get low-chill varieties of the former, such as Golden Dorsett and Anna apples, and cold-tolerant varieties of the latter. However, even citrus varieties considered “cold tolerant” were damaged in our colder-than-usual winter.

Your orange tree should have had its first fertilizer application of the year in February, with subsequent applications in May and August. Go ahead and fertilize it lightly now; it shouldn’t shock it if you don’t overdo it. Apply as normal in May and August.

As for your apple tree, there’s not a lot of existing research on fertilizer and apples in Florida, so I consulted Leon County Horticultural Extension Agent David Marshall. He said the standard application rate is one pound of a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 for each year of tree age, up to 15 pounds total per year. That total is divided between two applications in January and June. He recommended taking half the June fertilizer amount and applying it now, then applying the other half in June.

“It's not an exact science, but generally apples will benefit from fertilization and from watering when it's dry,” he said. “Of course, the best starting place for any plant and fertilization is doing a soil test first to find out what's already available to the plant. It's worth investing $7 in a soil test before spending $20 on a bag of fertilizer.”

More on camellia pruning: Melanie Klein read last week’s column about the camellia planted so close to the house that the homeowner can’t get behind it to paint, and she wrote to offer the following suggestion:

“I was wondering if the person with the overgrown camellia might, instead of getting rid of it, consider tree-forming it. That might allow access for painting the house and create a striking accent.”

Tree-forming, or pruning the camellia into a tree shape instead of the usual rounded bush shape, could be an option, depending on the distance to the house and roof. It’s worth exploring, especially if the camellia has sentimental value.