Someone once did a study where they showed of 50,000 flower buds only 500 fruit matured. There can be different flower formations on citrus trees. Sometimes following a cold or dry winter flowers form on new vegetative growth that comes from dormant buds on older leafy stems. This dormant vegetative bud begins growing as a vegetative shoot. It is then transformed into a terminal flower bud.
Leaves then develop on the shoot.
Axillary flower buds develop later than terminal flower buds. From a study comes the information that about 50 percent of fruit forms from terminal flowers and 50 per cent from axillary flowers. Get your citrus trees ready to bloom by fertilizing them about one month prior to flowering. Late January or early February is the ideal time. The following guide will help you know how much fertilizer to use.