I recently ordered my first (of probably many to come) citrus trees. I'm a techy, and try to do my homework up front. Regretfully, I found out after the fact that the place I ordered from had just recently opened back up after being shut down due to so many customer complaints. The first tree (Bearss Lime) arrived as promised still in it's original #5 pot of dirt. I mixed 2 parts Miracle Grow African Violet soil to 1 part regular potting soil and 1 part coarse sand. It appears to be healthy and vigorous after repotting and placing in a south facing window of my home. Average temp 70 degrees. BTW, I'm in zone 8. The Lisbon came from the same place and was also "supposed" to come in it's own #5 original pot. Instead, it looks like a much larger tree that was severly pruned. It came bare root with nothing special done to keep the roots moist. I soaked the root ball for 2 hours and immediatly potted in the above mentioned mixture and re-watered. Leaves and blooms have been steadily dropping. Leaves are pale green, slightly curled ... with a few dried and brittle on the ends of the leaves.

What else do I need to do ?

Call /email the place that shipped it. Ask them to replace it or give your money back. Was it from Growquest?

Yep ! I emailed them and got an auto-reply saying they were closed until 1/2/07. I doubt I get any satisfaction based on what I've read (albeit too late after the fact) When I got home today, seven more leaves on the floor. This crowd really screwed up. The order was supposed to go FedEx to my workplace with a tracking number (like the Bearss did). Instead, the lemon suddenly showed up at my house via USPS .... totally unprofessional.

That guy has been ripping ppl off for too long! Somehow, he managed to have an ad on here (above) not too long ago!!! I go to Dave's Garden Watchdog & read up on places. He changed it from Growguest to something else, & then changed it back again I guess. Anyway, read this link all the way down. I think Chris (owner) paid people to make the "positive" comments. Stay on his BUTT 'till you get your $$$ back. Good luck. Maybe you should post your experience there.

http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/3143/

Here's more about this guy if you care to read. It's from a very bad citrus forum ( I call them the citrus Nazi's), but it shows how crazy this guy is. His X wife even posted on this thread LOL. Citrus Nazi's deleted the 2nd posting, prolly cuz Chris complained.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/citrus/msg0815225026992.html?77

It is the fine root hair in the root system of citrus trees that absorb most of the water and nutrients. Unfortunately, the root hairs surely died from desiccation when the supplier shipped your bare root tree without any wrapping to protect the root hairs from drying out. Therefore the root system is now unable to give the support that the foliage requires. The chances that the tree will live are poor, but there is a possibility. One comment about the potting mixture that you describe in your above post. Your mix of 2 parts Miracle Grow African Violet Soil, 1 part Regular Potting Soil and 1 part Coarse Sand contains a large amount of peat moss. This medium, as all newly formulated growth mediums, work well for a while. However, growth mixes that contain too much peat moss compact with each watering, reducing the soil's oxygen content, plus the drainage becomes restricted. Keep a watch on the medium especially 6-8 months after you planted the tree. - Millet

I'll keep an eye of the medium. I just hope 6 months down the road the tree is still kicking. Thanks !

just a thought- if its too near a window, it could be trying to supply the leaves with moisture and not able due to the damage- it should probably be in diffuse light for now to reduce stress. Hope it works out for you!

It gets probably 2 hours of direct sunlight .... the rest of the day it's pretty diffused. One thing I noticed is that the leaves always drop during the night.

Of course the leaves drop during the night. A very good example of this phenomenon, is what happens to a Citrus tree's foliage due to the stress of WLD (Winter Leaf Drop). The leaf drop period caused by the stress of WLD is always AFTER a bright sunny day. The morning brings a lot of leaves on the floor. In your trees case, because of the damage to the root system, the stress level to the tree is greatly increased by the sun's rays heating the surface of the leaves during the day, which advances the abscission layer's development between the leaf blade and the petiole. Garnetmoth is certainly correct about removing the tree from any direct sun light. - Millet