Why is my Valencia orange plant not growing?

[Ngnra]

Please find attached photos of my orange plant potted. I planted it a couple of years ago.

It hasn’t fruited at all. 

[EricL · Accepted solution]

Hello @Ngnra 

There are a few reasons why your orange plant is not growing and bearing fruit. 

Here are some of the possible reasons:

• The tree has not reached the proper age to produce fruit
   
• The tree is not receiving enough sunlight 
   
• The flowers are not being pollinated 
   
• Not enough soil fertilization.

One of the other limiting factors for growth aside from poor soil health is the size of the pot. If the tree does not have room to grow it will get stunted and the roots will begin to turn inside the pot and get tangled. However, looking at your photo it seems the tree has produced some fruit. When the tree produces flowers again, I suggest getting a cotton bud and manually pollinating the flowers. 

It's important to keep your soil healthy and full of minerals. This will help the tree grow bigger and hopefully produce more fruit. I suggest having a look at Richgro Plus 2.5kg Fruit and Citrus Fertiliser. This has high nitrogen content to help with growth.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[mich1972]

@Ngnra  The tree is still quite young so you may only get a couple of fruits. You actually want to concentrate on the growth of the tree first. The tree will put too much energy into producing flowers and fruits and then it will weaken itself. Let it grow bigger before you let it flower, if you see any remove them. A larger, stronger tree will be more productive than a small weak one. I zoomed in on your photos and some of the branches look swollen, looks like they have Citrus Gall Wasp which will need to be removed. When you get a chance, have a look at your tree branches. 😊