Thanks Kelly- yes the very one. Not very patient am I? Ready for this to quit sitting around and doing nothing.

Where are you keeping it. Is it outside. It should have grown much more.

Steve

No Steve, due to dark grey weather and high winds I grow year round indoors under T5HO lights. All my other citrus, also year round indoors, are big and lush growing well. This one is the outlier. Just seems like it's in a time warp.

Nancy, I have a tree like that...does not die, nor does it prosper. Mine is a bouquet de fleurs orange...I think the graft sometimes is just not good. The tree lives, but does not get enough of what it needs from the rootstock to flourish - but that’s just my hypothesis. I’d get another one. My experience with blood orange trees (and I have two Moros, a sangunelli, and a tarocco) is that they are strong, vigorous trees, not like your little shrimp ;). I considered leaving my BDF outside last winter because I’m so sick of it limping along lol!

Thanks Laura. My neighbor tells me to threaten it with being kicked to the curb but I can't do that. I think you are right- not a good graft. Will quit hoping for a miracle and just post another picture of it in a year, if it survives. Thank you!

SInce its potted, maybe try air layering it back onto its own roots? Or try to bud graft onto a lower point on the rootstock and see if that shoot is more vigorous.

Nancy,

Where did you order that from? Your last picture is exactly what my satsuma looked like when I got it in 2016. I surmised that they delivered me one of their scion cutting source since mine looked exactly like all the branches were cut for grafting. I no longer order from shop.

That said, two years later, it is finally perking up and pushing new buds - at that scarred top. I think all the limb amputations confused the plant seriously.

Don't give up hope.

Jaydub....thank you but I'm sort of a little old lady with not very steady fingers and hands! Don't think I'd dare attempt air layering and not grafting either. My poor try at grafting last fall was a disaster :( . Wish I could leave this little tree in your expert hands tho. Thanks for your help.

Fruity...on a whim I bought it on ebay from a small concern in Missouri. They were on ebay for about a year and had decent feedback, but perhaps from recipients who were not observing the trees for long. Encouraging that yours is doing what it's supposed to be doing finally. I guess as you say the cuts could have shocked the poor tree. I guess I'll have to cut it some slack. And maybe do as Laura said....buy a new one..