While there is not a whole lot of blooming going on in other parts of your garden, January and February are the months to tend to your citrus trees. A tiny bit of pruning, a whole lot of feeding, and the requisite check for fast drainage are key to healthy and abundant trees and crops.

Like children, citrus is an investment in the future. You tend to your young trees, and harvest the early but not necessarily favorable crops, and in five to 10 years have a tree loaded with fruit that tastes the way nature intended it to.

It’s called “raising” fruit as opposed to “growing” fruit. It takes time.

Let citrus trees develop in a natural form. First, they grow up for a year or so, then bend over in broad, weeping forms. Your job as the keeper of your tree is to make sure the weeping branches stay at least a foot off the ground. Branches that touch bottom are bridges for snails, fungus and other problems.

Because a weeping form shades the inside of the tree, get inside there and prune away branches that have died out. Any dead wood or branches that cross and create friction scars should be pruned away. Be careful not to expose the trunk of your tree to too much sunlight. Citrus trunks are susceptible to sunburn. Newly exposed parts of the tree should be painted with trunk protectors (available at nursery centers.)

Next, check for drainage. A tree that is watered by a sprinkler system that also waters your lawn is being watered too much. Over-watering causes leaves to turn yellow, leads to root fungus, and will eventually kill your tree. On the other hand, a tree that gets water only during the rainy season suffers from drought in the form of lousy fruit.

You did it in the beginning, so do it again. Create a watering basin around your tree. Use a rake to hill up the soil and fashion a doughnut-like watering basin below the drip line (the leafy perimeter.) Then use a slow hose or drip system to water at least once a month.

Yellow leaves with green veins also indicate an iron deficiency. This is most noticeable in the winter months when the soil is cold. Iron chlorosis severely stunts plant growth, and if left to go on too long, is irreversible.

Apply a dry, chelated iron product like Ironite, according to package directions. Sometimes a second and third application is needed before the tree recovers.

The feeding roots of a citrus tree sit in the top 2 feet of soil, 3 to 4 feet out from the trunk all the way to the drip line.

Apply citrus fertilizers in this area, according to package instructions.

People with lots of citrus trees on their property might want to become acquainted with Orange County Farm Supply in Orange. It’s a fun place to prowl around for bulk Farmer John-size fertilizers and other ranch-related products. Call (714) 978-6500.

Citrus life cycle

The life cycle of a citrus tree is unlike any other kind of plant. In Southern California, these trees truly use each and every month to develop. In other words, there is no down time in the orange grove.

Winter is spent stocking up on nutrients. All parts of the tree, not just the leaves, but also the trunk and branches, get in the act and store food.

February and March are the months when citrus store the most, preparing for their bloom in early spring. (What would spring smell like in Southern California without the familiar scent of citrus?)

The sex life of a citrus is complex. Some are self-pollinating, and others, such as some grapefruits and mandarins, require a pollinating tree.

I won’t explain birds and bees here, and I have no way of knowing what type of tree you have — just know that sometime after each bloom period, new fruit will begin to develop.

Blooms typically appear on new (this year’s) growth, not on the older parts of the tree. In our region, where the trees grow year-round, there may be new growth spurts in winter, summer and again in fall.

In May, June and July expect “June drop” — a process during which the tree naturally sheds fruit it does not have the stored energy to ripen.

When the remaining fruit finally changes from green to orange, opinions are then formulated about the quality. Don’t be too hasty.

Fully formed oranges that look ripe enough to pick do not actually turn sweet until they are chilled. That means that they may have to hang on the tree for a while.

Very often, the longer you leave citrus on the tree the sweeter it will be. Let your taste buds be the guide, not the calendar.

Related article: A to Z plant guide: How to grow everything in Southern California

Contact the writer: cmcnatt@ocregister.com