Hallo,

I purchased a 1 year old Meyer lemon grown from a cutting taken from a mature tree.

It is currently in a 4-inch pot and is about 11-inches tall: should i transplant it to a larger container, and if so, what size would be appropriate? Quite a few roots were exposed on the surface when i first bought it, which i've now covered.

Many thanks

So is the cutting one year old? If so slip it out of the pot to peak at the roots. I am more than sure after taking a look you will see the roots encircling around the pot. If I am correct it does need repotting. I usually go from 1 gl to 3 gl to 5 gl to 7 gl

Thanks for answering, David.

Sorry, yes, the cutting was described as being a year old. I'll have a gander at the roots when i have a chance. Should there be little evidence of the roots having reached the limits of their present container, would it be inadvisable to nevertheless go ahead and transplant? The orange buckets visible in the photo are, incidentally, 3 gallons in capacity...

Also, would a mixture of 1/3 perlite and 2/3 ericaceous compost be ok?

Thanks!

There will be large evidence if it has reached it's limits in your pot. Like roots circling around in the bottom of the pot and around the sides. If they haven't reached the sides of the pot and are nit circling at the bottom leave the plant in it's pot. If it shows a few roots hitting the outside of thr pot more than halfway in the pot you can repot. The thing is you want the plants to have enough roots to fill the next pot nicely and have enough roots to take in water and no just let it sit there.

On your question about soil there are alot of opinions here either laaz or millet uses chc and skeet uses pine bark and I like using dirt from the bottom of ebano trees and mix in some mg from wal mart. So either of these ways will do. The thing is you need good draining soil for citrus in containers.
There are alot of container growers here do they might chime in on that soil combo you gave.

Welcome to The Citrus Growers Forum. We are please that you have become a member. Looking at your tree, I can say that it should have been transplanted into a larger container some time ago. I would transplant it into a 1 or 2 gallon container (4 - 8 liter). I am not familiar with John Innes Ericaceous Compost, as John Innes products are not sold in the USA, also the word "compost" in the UK has a different meaning than it has in the USA. If John Innes Ericaceous Compost is mainly peat moss, it would not be a good medium to plant your tree into. A good planting medium is made from small sized chunky materials such as pine bark chips, or CHC, blended with peat moss. There are MANY post on this forum concerning this, and other formulas for making an excellent growth mediums for the planting of citrus trees. Use the search function on this forum. Whatever medium you plant your tree in, be SURE it has excellent drainage. It is normal for a small amount of the root system to show above the top of the potting soil. In fact, the proper method of planting a citrus tree is to have the tree placed in the container so that a small amount of the root system is slightly above the surface. Good luck with your tree, and again welcome. - Millet (942-)

Thanks for the kind welcome Millet!

I've checked the roots and it does indeed appear to need repotting.

I've just acquired a young key lime and am awaiting a four seasons lemon, so there'll be more from me yet

Thanks once more!