How an Esrog (Etrog) Tree Grows

If you leave the esrog long enough, the seeds will start to germinate while still inside the fruit. This particular esrog was a Greek esrog from the Skverer Rebbe. 

Picture 15 of 17

The pitam has withered and fallen off. The Esrog is growing in the upright position.

14 thoughts on “How an Esrog (Etrog) Tree Grows”

  1. We’ve got our esrog tree planted and growing for six years now. We prune it fertilize it and care for any bug infestation, but we still never got any fruits.

  2. They can be extremely temperamental plants – depending on the environment and, especially, the winter temperatures, you may not get a regular fruit yield. California has the most stable climate, which is why we base most of our growing in that region.

  3. Hello. I was wondering I you can offer me advice on how to get my esrog tree to bloom. I started it from seed in August 2005 and planted it in the ground June 2009. I live in Monsey NY, but I have a south facing house which gets the full winter day’s sun. I built a greenhouse around the tree, which I erect every fall and take apart in the spring. Daytime temperatures average around 85 degrees during January!! Nighttime temperatures are kept at a steady 58 degrees. The tree grows like crazy (I have to trim it for obvious reasons); however, I have not gotten it to blossom. Can you offer some suggestions on what I can do to get the tree to flower? Perhaps I don’t prune it correctly. I also don’t know anything about fertilizer.

    Thanks

    Avrohom

  4. I germinated some seeds (7) a few weeks after succos and planted them in some small containers. I am now replanting them into larger containers and I was surprised. 2 of the plants developed very long (longer than 3 ft) “tap roots” in addition to a small ball of roots near the base of the plant. Those “trees” are only about 1 ft tall. 2 others are about the same height, but did not have any tap roots – just the small ball.

    The seeds came from 3 different esrogs – one with a pitum, 1 from kfar chabad w/o pitum and one from italy w/o pitum. Unfortunately over time, I lost track which is which.

    Is the tap root something that they will all develop? Is it species dependent? Any recommendations about care? I live in Carlsbad, California near the coast and have been keeping the trees outside in partial sun. I water only when the ground looks noticeably dry. I found some cactus/citrus tree potting soil and I am trying it out.

    Thanks

  5. I have one etrog that we have had for several years and would like to know what kind of fertilizer it needs. It once had what appeared to be a flower, but it never fully bloomed so no fruit. Can you let me know if it prefers acidic or alkaline soil?
    Thank you.

  6. Miracle Grow would work, but Miracid (or equivalent) is slightly better as they prefer acidic (or should I say chasidic) soil. Watch out for yellowing of the leaves which usually means the tree needs magnesium. Put 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salts in a gallon of water and use this to water the tree. Us once a month.
    Flowering is also a function of cold stress. In the winter they need some cold shock to get them to flower. Keep them outside for as long as you dare and bring them in if the overnight temp will go below about 35 F.

  7. Everyone here has the same trouble, yet the solution is still unclear. I have a seven year old estrogen that stands five feet high. In the spring and summer it begins to flower, yet it does not form a fruit. Can someone be specific and tell me why this is happening?

  8. You need to give it some cold shock – have in out in the cold as long as the overnight temperature does not go below 37 degs. It should flower and then fruit.

  9. I need help figuring out how to germinate the seeds of my esrog. In the past, I have never found my esrog seeds to germinate while inside the esrog, the esrog just becomes hard like wood. I have also removed the seeds from my esrog and tried planting it but nothings happened then either. Can you give specific instructions to get the seeds to sprout?

  10. Hello
    I have an Etrog from Sukkot, and i’m wondering how to get started with planting it.
    It’s still a whole fruit and i didn’t start with anything yet. thanks.

  11. I just tried planting my Esrog seeds and I still have some more seeds that I didn’t plant yet. Do I have to do anything with the seeds before I plant them?

  12. I have 4 esrog tree’s growing in my house for 2 1/2 years now. I live in Bergen County. All of a sudden, I have one tree that has a lot of flowers and it looks like esrogs are growing. The problem is, 1 of the round yellowish tips,of what I thought was an esrog, fell off on one of them. There still is a green structure. I also have another one like this. I have a lot of other flowers that will open soon. I shake the branches, thinking that the flowers need to be pollinated? If anyone has any ideas of what I should do to get the blossoms to produce esrog’s, it would be greatly appreciated! I can send pictures of whats happening.
    Thanks
    Mike

  13. i have three esrogim trees all with the same problem . I have them potted and have them outside in the summer inside in the winter, i live in monsey, they flower but do not grow fruits.
    my trees were caught in a freak snowstorm and have never really recovered .does anyone know if it is a good idea to prune it all the way back to almost just the main trunk and start again?

  14. I wanted to plant my esrog seeds from sukkos. In order that they sprout, do they need sunlight to sprout and when they are planted, or just when they are planted and not in order to have them sprout?

    Thanks a lot!

Comments are closed.