Orange Blossoms

They may be a little later than usual, but that's OK---my navel orange tree is starting to bloom! My tangerine and Valencia orange trees are still holding back. Normally, all of my citrus is blooming by April 1st. As long as they are healthy and producing, I guess I can wait a couple of extra weeks to pick fruit!

Last week I went on a 6-hour clean-up spree in my back yard. I ended up under my navel orange tree and saw that there was a great need to remove several large branches, which I did. I didn't know if it would set the tree back or not, I guess time will tell. There were a couple of water sprouts, branches that shoot straight up and don't produce fruit, that were about 2 1/2-3 inches thick, that I removed; plus, another two branches that were too low or pushing against our fence. I needed to do this before the sun gets too hot this summer, so the tree can produce enough leaves to cover the more exposed parts of the tree. Citrus trunks and interior areas can get sun-scald, like a bad sun-burn, which can kill the tree.