Hi guys,
Branches on my navel orange are dying off. I'm including pictures plus a little history:

-Bought about 6-8 weeks ago. Splurged. It was a mature tree, 1.5" thick trunk, in a 15# pot. Huge green canopy covered with hundreds and hundreds of blooms.

-I didn't have the right size terra cotta pot for it here, so I left it in the Four Winds pot it came in. It was thriving where I had it.

-About 4 weeks ago, we had a week (here in the Bay Area, SF) where we had a couple days of extreme heat at 90ish degrees, followed by a sudden cold snap and nights at 34ish degrees.

-I covered it with a sheet to protect it, and the next morning all the spent blossoms fell off with their fruitlets too. Boo hoo. I figured some of it was the sudden cold and some of it was probably self-thinning.

-But in the 2 weeks after the cold snap it started dropping its leaves. It looks scraggly to me (compared to how luscious it WAS) but it still has some good color and lots of leaves.

-2 weeks ago I transplanted it into the pot with a fast-draining potting mix made up of bark fines, perlite, and some peat. I loosened most of the soil (almost to bare root) and snipped off a few tangled roots, maybe one larger root and a lot of the hair fibers that were tangled and had been coming through one of the drain holes.

-When I repotted, I didn't see any roots that looked or smelled rotten... they all looked pretty healthy even though the plant was definitely root bound.

-In the 2 weeks SINCE I potted, branches have now started dying and turning brown/black inside the tree. (See photo)

-More spent blossoms continue to drop off and some of the blossoms with little fruitlets are dropping too.

-More leaves are turning yellow and dropping off.

-I didn't fertilize when I potted (didn't want to burn the roots) so I waited until a couple days ago, and I used a mild solution of the 3-3-3 liquid Dr. Earth fert that also has full micronutrients and chelated minerals.

Initially, I thought it was just a little shock, but the dead branches are starting to multiply and I wonder if I need to do something to ensure it survives? Or maybe just leave it alone now and let it lick its wounds. LOL

What is causing it? Can I help it? Should I just start mourning now?
Thanks,
kristi

I wouldn't be alarmed by what I see. You should thank the citrus to reduce itself as it adjusts to better cope with the changes. It's only temporary, but may take some time to stabilize.

I would not be overly concerned with the branches that have died. As you continue to grow citrus you will more or less notice that type of branch die back on citrus trees. With the warmer weather coming, your tree should produce at least three flushes of new growth this summer, provided it receives the nutrition that a citrus tree requires. The 3-3-3 formula that you are using is going to have a very hard time supplying enough nutrition to get the job done. Before your tree can even begin to use any nutrients from your fertilizer, the fertilizer is going to have to be converted over to chemical fertilizer nutrients by the soil bacteria, before the tree can use it. Keep an eye on your tree's leaves for any signs of future deficiencies. All in all they tree does not look all that bad. Good luck. - Millet

I have never had that kind of die-back on any of my trees. Joe is probably right the tree is adjusting to new conditions--not enough food.

I will say it one more time, standard commercial fertilizer does not have toxic chemicals. It has the exact chemical form of nutrients that the tree must have to take into it's roots, plus the minerals from the rock that was used to make it and the salts formed by the acid used to dissolve the rock.

I am not an anti-organic gardener, I have been gardening for 50 yrs and use the benefits of organic gardening for many of my fruits and veggies. The real benefit of organic gardening comes from avoiding chemical pesticides, which I rarely use, but having been an environmental chemist for 25 years, I know which one of the synthetic pesticides that are safer than "organic" pesticides. BTW, several of the most toxic chemicals known to man are "organic"-- botulin, aflatoxin, ricin, shelfish toxin for example.

As always, guys, THANKS! for your answers.

I don't intend to use the Dr. Earth 3-3-3 every feeding or as my sole source of nutrition. But as you already know I tend towards that persuasion... LOL... and I liked the product because it says it's chelated, with minerals AND micros, AND most of the nitrogen in it is water soluble---which I interpreted to mean immediately available. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me on that.

I figured for an organic product that also claimed to be immediately available (i.e. not through the gut of some other critter) this was my best best for now until I figure out how I'm gonna keep these lovely things fed that's gonna work for me.

Skeeter, yes I agree about the pesticides being much worse. My father in law was an organic chemist and he's always trying to curl my toes with stories of the toxic materials he handled "back in the day." He basically worked for a competitor to monsanto and holds hundreds of patents on herbicides and pesticides. Needless to say, we don't discuss organic gardening at the dinner table with them. LOL

I seriously doubt that Dr. Earth's nutrition is immediately available even though it is water soluble. Just because something is water soluble, does not mean that it is immediately available, or available at all. Many, many things are water soluble that are not available to the roots of plants. Any way bacteria do not have "guts" (Just kidding) Good luck with your tree, I know it means a lot to you. Thanks for being a member of this forum. Your posting are quite interesting. - Millet

Hi Millet,
And by interesting, I'm sure you mean "annoying." LOL


Thank you for clarifying that water soluble does not mean immediately available.

have a nice weekend!
-k

Hi
Is it possible the tree dried out a bit?

Hello Frank,
well, the guess is well done. Because I encounter this too. Usually in spring, if I switch off my electric pot heatings, and thus the plants encounter different water availability condions by root temperature and water conditions in the pots.
But, these are often not new sprout which have dried, usually this are sprouts from the last flush, which first drop their leaves and then dry and die back.
But, as it occurs only at my mandarines, most comonly at my clementine, were I have to prune those dried twigs allways in spring, and usally the new spring flush replaces all cut away twigs....

I would say THIS TYPE of twig die back is mainly a result of the young twig losing the competition battle for nutrients. If one grows citrus very long, one will see twig die back is more or less rather common. - Millet