Hi. I'm hoping someone will be so kind as to help me revive my meyer lemon tree. I'm assuming that I have been overwatering it, but I laid off the watering about a week ago and the soil still feels pretty damp and the tree isn't looking any better.

I got the tree less than two months ago and it had healthy-looking dark-green leaves and lots of green fruit on it. It's already looking pitiful. The leaves are turning yellow, curling up and dropping off. The yellowing begins with the veins.

When I got the tree I repotted it in generic potting soil in a big (maybe too big?) red glazed pot. The tree sits on a patio that faces south so it gets good sun. I live in California in San Diego County in an area that's known for its avocado and citrus groves.

Just a few days after I got the tree we had a heat wave. I was worried about the tree getting too parched and I think I got carried away with the watering. Later, I also fertilized the tree with something called Grow More Citrus Grower Blend.

I'm wondering if I need to re-pot the tree in different soil? Or in a different container? Or just continue to leave it alone?

If somebody who knows their stuff could take a look at the pictures of my tree and make some suggestions, I would really appreciate it. Thanks much.




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Welcome to the Citrus Growers Forum. We are glad you joined. First, this tree is in desperate need of some nitrogen. The symptoms of nitrogen deficiency are leaves with yellow /orange veins with some green out on the sides. As the deficiency becomes worse the leaves will begin to turn totally yellow with no variation of color. Second generic potting soil is not a good medium for citrus, it contains way to much peat moss. The problem with a high content of peat moss in a container mix, is that the peat moss holds too much water, and compacts with each watering. After two months of watering your tree, the compaction reaches a point where the soil oxygen is driven from the medium, replaced by a higher and higher level of carbon dioxide generated by the roots. As the oxygen level decreases, and the carbon dioxide concentration rises toward toxic levels, root damage begins to appear. The amount of compaction, in your container shows by the reduced level of the potting mix, from the day you first planted the tree. Third, the tree was planted into to large of a container (especially for the type of potting soil used). The most common COMMERICAL potting mixture is 3 parts conifer bark, one part peat moss, and one part COARSE (builders) sand. I use 4 parts Coconut Husk Chips and one part peat moss. You can see by the two above formulations, that each mix will promote fast drainage, and good soil aeration. As a containerized tree you need to fertilize the tree a MINIMUM of once a month. Twice a month would be much better. Looking at the way the leaves are just hanging, this tree already has root damage, from the root zone containing a constant over supply of water. Good luck to this tree. - Millet

Thanks for the diagnosis. Although it may be too little too late, I'll try to repot, etc. Maybe that will assuage my guilty conscience! Unfortunately, I embarked on citrus growing without reading up on the topic ahead of time. I thought these trees were tougher. I'll let you know if by some miracle my poor tree rebounds.

When you re-pot do not be in a hurry. Take all the time needed to do a carefule job. Use the search forum on this forum to look up threads on "re-potting" and "transplanting" before you start.. From looking at your picture, I believe you tree will come out OK. - Millet