It is normal for citrus to drop both flowers and small fruit. They set far more fruit than they can support, especially young trees. And you can always test the amount of moisture in your potted citrus with a moisture meter to see if they're too wet. Below 50% will indicate they need to be watered. Above that, they're fine.

Patty S.

Thanks Patty...

what about ants??? they seem to love the flowers on the Dwarf Wash Nav...I don't blame them but is this causing a problem?

Ants won't typically cause damage by themselves, but they will usually bring in aphids or scale insects and place them on your trees. They collect and protect these bugs so they can drink they honeydew they produce as they suck the life from your tree. Scale and Aphids are very difficult to get rid of, and they can and will cause serious damage to your tree, so it's usually a good idea to get rid of ants when you see them near your trees. Terro is the most recommended brand of ant poison on these forums, and I can say from experience that it works. Because it is bait, not a systemic, there is no risk of harming your tree or anything other than the ants.

Hey Stephen, thanks for info on ants. I will get/use Terro and inspect for Scale & Aphids. I am now getting some small - medium size branches that are dying!! I have had this Dwarf Washington Navel Orange for about 3 yrs. Potted in soiless mix a year ago. This spring it was loaded with blooms, then bud fruit. PH is 6.8. I recently (past 3-4 wks) fed with Espoma Citrus Tone 5-2-6, some Epsom Salt and used a spray for elemenals...Southern Ag Citrus Nutri Spray. 1TB per gal. Life seems to be rapidly leaving the tree. It is in approx 15-20 gal clay pot. Moisture meter broke but I water at least twice a week. It gets good sun for 3/4 of the day. How often should I feed? I felt the bottom of the pot and to my surprise...felt a root coming out! Should I carefully take plant out and trim root?
Here I some pics (I hope)... don't want to lose any plant but I paid for this one!!! thanks...
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It's said only 2 to 4% of the fruit remains on citrus trees until maturity.

Stephen, do ants bring in Aphids and Scale or is it the other way around? LOL
I read, Aphids and Scale secrete honeydew which attract ants..after ants move in, they protect Aphids and Scale.

Tim, before adding more chemicals, inspect your citrus for insects.
There's no sense adding poison to the list of other stuff your citrus tree is already getting.
Do you eat the fruit?

I honestly don't know what Terro is, or if it contains poisons/chemicals. I'll have to research.
If you find Scale, why not try Fish Emulsion instead? It's organic, used as fertilizer and Insecticide.

Before FL's ban, 98% of my citrus trees were shipped from Fl. The owner of a citrus nursery told me they use Fish Emulsion as a preventative and insecticide. It works, and it's safe.
Even if your citrus is without insects, foliar spraying with FE will not harm your trees..In fact, it will benefit since it's a fertilizer. Organic fertlizers don't burn roots.
It's used in soil or sprayed on leaves.

Is the clay pot 15 or 20"?? To measure, place tape measure on the top, from one side of the pot, straight across to the other side. This number is the pot size.

Maybe you're watering too much, Tim. Notice the citrus in clay has twice as much foliage as citrus in plastic? Clay dries soil faster than plastic. Just a guess. Toni

Toni, ants can bring scale and aphids that weren't there before but pre-existing scale or aphids will also attract ants, since the pests don't NEED ants to get around. One can lead to the other, in either direction.

Terro is just a little borax in a sweet syrup. It is a liquid bait that is either sold as a plastic trap full of the liquid (I recommend this kind and have included a link below my post) or as a bottle of liquid bait that you squirt onto a bit of cardboard and set out for the ants to eat. The plastic traps cost a bit more but they last much, much longer before the liquid dries out, which is why I prefer them. It isn't applied directly to the tree or the soil, so the tree won't be damaged. I totally agree with avoiding poisons and chemicals whenever possible, but Terro is harmless unless you're an ant.

I'm sorry that I can't help much with your problem, Tim. I've only grown citrus for about a little over year now, so my hands-on experience is somewhat limited. I do know enough about gardening in general to help out a bit, though, and at the very least I can bump this topic back towards the top of the page. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Terro ant traps

I appreciate the input & interest. I got the Terro bait traps from local nursery. It already started working. I also, finally, replaced my broken Moisture Meter! It appears that I may have been OverWatering my Dwarf Wash Navel...hard to believe it's possible with the mix it's in but...the meter DO NOT lie!!
I placed the clay pot (approx 15 gallon size) on the brick terrace to help dry it out. I also treated the leaves with Insecticidal Soap just in case some mites/aphids were taking up residence.
Hopefully the "tree" will recover and continue to develop the beautiful fruit. I am checking all of the containerized citrus plants now...routinely.
I'll let you know , post pics, what happens.
Thanks for the assistance.
htp