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The pots in the op look a bit small, but they need to be enlarged in stages, to have a decent amount of fruit you need something like a 50L pot but not increasing in one go to that, 2 inch wider or so at a time every couple of years, on repotting , chop the ends of the roots off all over the bottom and sides of the root ball and they will rapidly grow to fill he new pot.
These pictures are not very good...on there side..and taken quickly
The first is a washingon navel orange ( with mums head in the bottom corner and a fig tree behind on one side so not very clear), it was in a 15L pot 3 years ago and now in a 45L pot, is a bit big and needed a few more jumps in between pots really ( i can get away a bit as its so hot here but in the UK you need to be carefull ) , its now over a meter wide and was bought at the same time on the same rootstock as the last photo just it was was potted up, it was the same size 3 years ago
The second is a lemon and in a 45L pot, gets about 100 lemons a year or more, 7.5 foot tall, been in the 45l pot 10 years, before that a 20L, 15 years ago was the same size as the washington orange is now
the last is a 5 year old variegated sweet orange , 5 years old came in a 1l pot so is now in a 15 litre pot 4 years ago but its only filled 6 inch deep, its wide but still dries out, the plant is just a foot wide and may hold an orange this year , it did have one a few years ago
They do need bigger pots for more fruit , but they need to grow to do it and flower less until established in the pot they grow instead, but always chop he ends of all he roots sides and bottom by about a cm on a small plant more on a big one , dont mess with the rootball just take out of the pot, chop the sides and botom off the rootball and put back in the pot with compost around , when you prune roots they spout like branches and grow many root shoots rapidly.
These pictures are not very good...on there side..and taken quickly
The first is a washingon navel orange ( with mums head in the bottom corner and a fig tree behind on one side so not very clear), it was in a 15L pot 3 years ago and now in a 45L pot, is a bit big and needed a few more jumps in between pots really ( i can get away a bit as its so hot here but in the UK you need to be carefull ) , its now over a meter wide and was bought at the same time on the same rootstock as the last photo just it was was potted up, it was the same size 3 years ago
The second is a lemon and in a 45L pot, gets about 100 lemons a year or more, 7.5 foot tall, been in the 45l pot 10 years, before that a 20L, 15 years ago was the same size as the washington orange is now
the last is a 5 year old variegated sweet orange , 5 years old came in a 1l pot so is now in a 15 litre pot 4 years ago but its only filled 6 inch deep, its wide but still dries out, the plant is just a foot wide and may hold an orange this year , it did have one a few years ago
They do need bigger pots for more fruit , but they need to grow to do it and flower less until established in the pot they grow instead, but always chop he ends of all he roots sides and bottom by about a cm on a small plant more on a big one , dont mess with the rootball just take out of the pot, chop the sides and botom off the rootball and put back in the pot with compost around , when you prune roots they spout like branches and grow many root shoots rapidly.
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