What to Do When a Kumquat Tree Drops Its Leaves? Potted Care Methods and Precautions

Kumquat trees are very well suited to being kept at home during festive holidays, and are especially popular as a spring-welcoming flowering green plant during Chinese New Year. So what should you do when a kumquat tree drops its leaves? How do you care for it in a pot? What precautions are there?

1. What to do when a kumquat tree drops its leaves?

Kumquat trees generally drop their leaves because of insufficient nutrients, improper watering and pest damage. Leaf drop is more commonly seen with insufficient nutrients and improper watering. These are all problems of improper care. Pests and diseases are also often caused by improper care. The main reasons for kumquat trees dropping their leaves are as follows:

(1) Insufficient nutrients: Kumquat trees like to grow in slightly acidic, fertile, loose soil with good aeration and drainage. Sometimes kumquat trees lose their leaves because of insufficient nutrients. Leaf drop is mostly seen when there is a lack of nitrogen fertilizer. During the growing period of the kumquat tree we generally need to add some acidic fertilizer, and if the soil is compacted, we also need to loosen it in time or replace it with some fertile, loose soil. In winter the kumquat enters its dormant period, and we should stop fertilizing; if chemical fertilizer is applied it can easily cause root burn, and root burn also leads to leaf drop. Kumquat trees are not cold-tolerant, and if the winter temperature is too low it will also cause leaf drop.

Remedy: Do not fertilize the kumquat tree in winter; if the temperature is too low we had best take some cold-proof and warmth-keeping measures for it, or place it indoors in a spot with plenty of light for care. If it lacks nitrogen fertilizer we can appropriately add some, but do not over-fertilize. In addition, the growth of the kumquat tree requires regularly applying some ferrous sulfate solution to supplement iron, to prevent the leaves from yellowing due to iron deficiency and dropping.

(2) Improper watering: Too much or too little watering will both cause a kumquat tree to drop its leaves. Like the vast majority of plants, over-watering causes waterlogging that soaks the roots and leads to poor respiration and leaf drop. Conversely, long-term lack of water will also cause leaf drop due to insufficient moisture.

Remedy: Watering the kumquat tree by the method of watering when dry and stopping when wet is the best approach. This way the kumquat tree will neither suffer long-term lack of water nor experience waterlogging of the roots.

(3) Pest damage: Kumquat trees easily attract insects; the common pests are red spiders and yellow spiders. Once a kumquat tree is attacked by these insects it will drop its leaves, and the first sign is yellow spots appearing on the leaves.

Remedy: Insufficient light is a common factor leading to pest outbreaks, so we should usually give the kumquat tree plenty of sunlight, letting ample sunlight strengthen the kumquat tree's resistance to pests and diseases. After red spiders appear we must promptly use medication for spray control.

2. How should a potted kumquat tree be grown?

If potted oranges are improperly managed, they often only bloom without fruiting or bear little fruit, or even fail to bloom. To make potted oranges bloom and fruit every year, scientific management of water, fertilizer, pruning and other aspects is necessary to achieve the goal of abundant fruit.

1. Choosing a pot: The choice of flower pot for growing small kumquats is very important; we should try to choose an unglazed clay pot with good aeration, so as to ensure the roots of the small kumquat tree have enough oxygen. As for the shape of the pot, we should try to choose one with a large volume, which benefits root growth.

2. Choosing soil: The soil for growing small kumquats should be neutral soil, and it should be rich in humus nutrients; aeration must also be ensured, so we can mix humus soil and sandy soil to prepare the soil, which works very well.

3. Watering: Small kumquats need relatively more watering, because their growth requires a lot of water; we should choose morning or evening to water, and in summer water more to keep the soil moist, while in winter water less.

4. Pruning: Pruning small kumquats requires method; we can prune them into a round-headed shape, a three-branch cup shape or another shape we like.

5. Fertilizing: Oranges like fertilizer, and ordinarily should be given light fertilizer often; during the growing period of the orange, some cake fertilizer can be scattered on the surface of the pot, so that each watering carries some fertilizer into the soil and enhances fertility. After autumn begins, fertilizing is reduced, to avoid excessive nutrients in the plant, which promotes autumn shoots and makes them compete with the fruit for nutrients and causes fruit drop.

6. Repotting: Because potted oranges have little potting soil, the nutrient supply is very limited, and after many years the soil's fertility becomes lacking and the orange will weaken year by year, blooming little and bearing little fruit. To keep the orange blooming and fruiting every year, it must be repotted. Cut off the old roots at the ends of the root system, first put the new soil in the sun for 2 days to disinfect it, then mix in an appropriate amount of fertilizer, and transplant the pruned small kumquat into it.

7. Light: Small kumquats like to grow in places with plenty of light; we should let the small kumquat get as much sun as possible. If we cannot provide the small kumquat with enough sunlight, its blooming and fruiting will decrease.

3. Precautions for growing kumquat trees

1. Appropriate fertilizer

After each pruning of the kumquat tree, apply a decomposed organic fertilizer, such as human and livestock manure; plant fertilizer is also fine. It is best to fertilize once every ten days thereafter, and keep the temperature up to standard and the water supply ample; only this helps the normal growth of the kumquat tree. If its fruit is picked off, apply quick-acting phosphate fertilizer to promote the growth of its flower buds.

2. Watering method

During the flower bud differentiation stage, the kumquat tree should be watered less; only when the newly grown tender shoots show signs of withering may it be watered normally. This can control its over-growth, which would lead to insufficient nutrients, and can also promote flower bud differentiation. Moreover, during the flowering and fruit-setting stages it must not be watered heavily; normal watering is possible only after the fruit has set.

3. Pruning method

To make the kumquat tree's shape more beautiful and to bear more fruit, prune once every year before the sap flows, cutting off its dead branches, pest-diseased branches and branches with overly dense leaves, keeping only 3 to 4 healthy, evenly distributed branches, and keeping 2 to 3 new buds on each branch.

4. Propagation method

Kumquat trees can be propagated by grafting; the methods include bud grafting and grafting, and branch grafting. If a rootstock is used, use seedlings of trifoliate orange, bitter orange, etc. In spring, from March to April, the cut-grafting method can be used, and the bud-grafting method can be used from June to September, but ordinary kumquat trees are usually propagated by the approach grafting method, carried out from April to July.