bizarre behaviour of citrus trees

[languidlady49]

I have an orange tree and a lemon tree in close proximity about 20 years old. Every year they've yielded lots of lumpy misshapen (but very tasty) lemons from May to October and a few sour oranges in summer. This year they are bewitched, I picked 2 kilos of oranges this week with heaps left almost ripe and also quite a few unripe what appear to be mandarins. The lemon tree is almost bare of ripe lemons but there is heaps of green fruit that should be ready around November to December. I'm in Perth WA, any ideas?

[mugssy65]

I've had a bumper year this year with oranges the size of large grape fruits weighing about 300grams each!!
Can't explain it but I'm in Perth too.

[imastawka]

Have you had regular rain?  Lots of rain?

Citrus like to have regular water

[j*oono]

I think we have had really good rain this year Stawka.  I'm not sure the BOM would say the same.  Bucketing down this afternoon.

[imastawka]

Then everybody in WA should have very happy citrus trees

I certainly wouldn't be complaining about the size of those     oranges

[mtnlane]

Have you changed your watering regime at all (if you even had one)?

Despite reports, the rain this year came at the right time for citrus I think ....... fantastic Washington navels, lemon tree branches weighed down, not only with huge ripe lemons but also green ones still coming through and a mandarin tree whose cropping has never been better.

What sort of soil do you have - that could provide an explanation.

Have you fed them at all through the year?

[languidlady49]

thanks for all your replies. We have limestone rock and sand, I never ever water or feed them as we are very low lying almost in the wetlands and yes we have had heaps of rain this year so that may well be the answer. Now how to explain the apparent mandarins on the orange tree

[mtnlane]

Are the oranges and the suspected mandarins on the same branches?

Could it possibly be a graft you were unaware of that has produced 'out of the blue'?

Are the oranges navels and if so, have you cut open one of the suspect fruit to see if it has any pips?

Edited to add that the seasons have been all over the place the past year and that could account for the differing cropping at least

[punch*drunk]

I'm in vic and we also have more oranges on our trees than ever. Our grapefruit on the other hand has gone a bit yellowish (the foliage not the fruit) but it does have a lot of grapefruits ripening up.

[kopenhagen5]

I would also suspect the tree to be grafted and the fruits of the roots are coming out as the tree ages.