I was just doing a root check on my calamondin, noticed a lot of leaf drop, was kinda worried. It was still in the original soil that I purchased it in... had no idea how well it truly drained or held in moisture.

Anyways, in doiing so... I noticed I had 2 trees in the pot. very visable noticable. while in pot, I thought it strange that there were 3 large main branches. anyways, when removed from the soil, one of the main trunks was almost completly seperated, just a few remaining roots tangled in. also thinking that the main 2 trunks may be 2 trees also just too entangled. It has several large thick roots (almost 1/2" in diameter) coming out in a few places so its hard to tell what comes from what

#1 Is it ok to fully remove and pot seperatly? the roots aren't *extra* tangled. on the smaller tree, its maybe 5% of the roots tangled in. would it hurt if I just snipped them off to seperate? I rather do that than ty to untangle more as the larger trunk has fruit and blooms all in various stages.. so the least damage is the best.

#2 having the multiple trunks, does this suggest my tree is more than likly a seedling that put out a couple sprouts each, resulting in a couple trees?

#3 IF seperated, would the trees grow better, as to not be 'fighting' each other for nutrients? the one tree, the smaller, has a MUCH smaller root mass and is only a few inches smaller than the other tree. whereas the other side, has triple, if not more of a root mass

I ove this calamondin, so I want to do whats best. I've had it almost 2 months, I boughtit with fruit and its been putting out blossoms like mad... its the only tree I have fruiting, blooming right now and I want to be sure that the fruit on it (large marble sized) continue to ripen. there are just a few, but zillions of tiny fruitlets.

thanks for any help and suggestions.

Your leaf drop could be due to soil pH change or perhaps drainage problem. But if you don't have smelly rotten roots, you should be okay, perhaps pH and nutrient availability.

I think it is okay to separate and repot separately. However, I would aggressively thin out the canopy of each one to compensate for any root damages from snipping off. It is good to sacrifice some blooming or fruiting branches but insure tree survival.

Most probably it was from a seedling rather than a graft. Sometimes, when the graft is planted deep, things like this could also happen with calamondins.

With regards to separation, what really counts is the area that the trees will cover. I have planted side by side 3 types of citruses, like an inch apart in a planting hole, and the three trees behave like one tree with multiple trunks, and the total yield is like that of a normal tree and not three times the normal tree. If I had planted them separately like 6 ft apart, then I would have 3 normal trees with 3 times the yield. So if you separate them and place apart from each other so that they don't compete for sunlight, you will have 2 trees with twice the yield.

I was lucky to seperate the 2 trees, VERY easily. with little to no damage between the two. did not have to snip! I lost a few of the tiny hair roots, but nothing major. I've potted up both trees, all is good for now. have to see what the next few days, weeks bring. Hopfully they grow well. double the supply... would be a great thing. those little cals are great to eat our of hand (yep, I LOVE sour fruits!)

funny thing... was just about to buy another calamondin and now.... here I am with 2!!!

That's good for you! I don't think you are going to stop at 2 calamondins.

When I started with Calamondins, they only fruit once a year for me and very few fruits, so I bought more and ended up with 8 calamondin plants. But my calamondins grew to more than 20 ft high and produced year round so I have given away 6 of them. Benny has the next biggest one.

I'm getting dizzy now and sleepy. It is 2:29 am, PST in California.

I'm in pacific time too. very sleepy. I got a new job, graveyard shift. forcing myself to stay up, re adjust my sleep pattern

My call, came with 5 or 6 fruit on it... never having tasted it before... I savored each and every bite... it was also in full bloom when I got it... 60-some fruitlets. I picked off half of them... then more fell. I am again, in full complete bloom with marble sized and new fruitlet sized... dang tree doesn't know when to stop. I guess that means I'm doing something right.

It smaller seperated tree has multiple blooms on it, hoping they stay and I set a few fruit.

I want to get a ton of calamondins eventually to try a recipe, idea of sorts. You take the cals, cut an X in them, 1/4 the way through and freeze. use them as ice cubes in drinks. as they thaw release juice into teh drink. I just think its a great way to serve drinks... not that I'll have enough for a long time to do that.

On average, how long from bloom to being ripe enough to eat?

Honestly, I could have 10 cals and be more than happy... esspecially since mine grow in containers... but room is highly limited so... I rather opt for more varieties than maxing out on one type

well, over 24 hours of being seperated now and both trees seem quite happy. on the smaller one, the few flower buds have officially opened up, mmmm I love the smell of citrus flowers!
several of the leaves have perked up on both. so... definatly did the right thing in seperating