Hi everyone,
I just potted a Gold Nugget that arrived directly from Four Winds as a "bare root" bagged in cedar chips. I had never done that before and I think I did something wrong since the tree appears to be suffering.

I potted it as soon as it arrived on Tuesday. Wednesday, the tender new growth leaves on top were all wilty and floppy. Today, Thursday, the tips of those floppy leaves are all turning black.

Is this normal, after the shock of being shipped UPS across the state and then plopped into a lovely new home. But then again, I hope I haven't killed it.

I mostly followed their instructions, but instead of using a commercial mix I used a composted redwood bark/potting mix/perlite---a variation of the option recommended widely on GW by "Al" and others.

I also mixed into the soil a small amount of EB Stone's organic fertilizer.

I didn't do the Vitamin B stuff their flyer talks about because I didn't have it and wanted to get it planted asap.

I gave it a thorough soak as their instructions said, and I put it into direct sun so that it could start drying out.

Do I just wait and see what it does? Or have I done something really wrong.

THANKS!

I am not familiar with the composted redwood bark media, but as long as it is fast draining and has lots of air spaces, it should be fine. The tender shoots that died may have been due to the stress of bare root shipping and repotting. If that is the case, your tree will replace that growth fairly quickly.

Just be careful not to overwater--if you have the pot sitting in a saucer, put some feet under the pot or be sure to empty any water that ends up in the saucer. Overwatering is the main killer of potted citrus. Do not re-water until the soil is dry at least a coulple inches deep.

Just yesterday 4-09-08 I received a shipment of four (4) bare root trees from Four Winds Growers. Two Page Mandarins, one Seedless Kishu Mandarin, and one Valencia Orange. I have also received orders of bare root trees from Four Winds in the past. Four Winds Grower's trees are always shipped in shredded cedar chips. I also potted my trees immediately, plus I pruned the trees foliage back to match the root's volume. All four trees are doing great. All previous bare root trees that I have received from them also were fine after re-potting as above. The growth medium that you used plus any amount of water that you applied to the trees cannot count for the problems that your trees are now suffering. Even the absolute worst medium and all the water in the world will not damage a citrus tree's roots in one day. It takes 2 days for citrus roots to just begin showing damage even when citrus roots are totally under water in a flood. It is never wise to place a newly plotted bare root tree immediately in direct sunshine. I put my trees in shaded/filtered light for the first 2-3 days. You did not list your location, on your profile so we do not know your location. However, because your trees were shipped from Four Winds Growers, they were probably sent via UPS Second Day Air, which is very adequate. A couple weeks ago I received three bare root trees from Mr. Texas, and potted them as above with no after problems at all. Upon opening a carton containing bare root tree, one should water the roots in the very first second, then keep the roots out of direct sun light at all times. It only takes a couple minutes for the sun's ray's to damage the fine root hairs. My guess is that you inadvertently either let the fine root hairs dry or in some manner damaged the roots to some extent while potting. Any way, you need to take the tree out of the direct sun for a couple days. Best of luck to this tree. - Millet

Hey Millet,
I haven't figured out how to put my loation in my profile... but I'm in the SF Bay Area.

They actually shipped on Monay and arrived Tuesday UPS ground. I wasn't expecting it until Thursday.

So the cedar chips were actually still sopping wet, and I moved FAST to get it potted once UPS arrived. I had all my soil mixed, read to go, and only opened the bag of cedar chips when it was ready to set into the pot. It was only exposed to the air and some dappled light for a minute, max. The cedar was so wet that they fell away from the bare root in chunks without having to even touch them.

But I truly had no idea how rough or gentle to be on the roots, so I suppose there's a chance I harmed the fine hairs. Hopefully that's not a fatal injury.

Anyway, your idea to keep it out of the sunlight seems to be working today. The limp branches have perked back up. The brown edges on the leaves have NOT continued to spread which I was afraid of this morning.

And just for clarity's sake, it's the outside edges of a few leaves that have turned dark brown... they look a little like when the edges of lettuce leaves that have sat in the fridge too long. But at least they're not spreading.

Hopefully I'm past the worst of it.

THANKS!

4/10/2008


Hi....


Sorry to hear about your plant...I ordered a Dancy
Mandarin from Clfton's Nursery , they ship their citrus
in it's original pot with soil by Fed Ex , believe it or
not it does arrive in great condition and their is no
stress on the plant , for the first few days I don't put it
in direct sun , shaded in my livingroom , do water as soon
as the plant arrives and spray mist. Clifton's web address
is : http://www.buyplantsonline.com






Cheers...Joe...

Most water and minerals, enters a root in the young portion of the root close to the growing tip, notably in the root hair zone. When these are damaged the tree reacts quickly to repair any destruction by developing branch roots. The branching of the roots occurs a short distance behind the root tip. When damage occurs to the root's tip (apical meristem), an area in the inner root called the pericycle is quickly stimulated to replace the tip (apex) with several branch roots. The plant carries out this procedure rather quickly. Thus, if a gardener breaks a few root tips while transplanting, the tree soon recovers -- but with more that the original number of roots. This is one reason for keeping the tree out of the direct sun for a couple days, to allow the tree time to complete some healing. - Millet

Thanks, Millet. YOU should be writing their marketing materials and instructions.

I'll be curious to see how it does tomorrow.

I received two trees (Clementine & Kaffer Lime) from 4-Winds about two weeks ago. Both arrived in great shape (I live in South Carolina) I potted them ASAP and put them in my screened porch for a few days before setting out in full sun. They have done great, both look very healthy and have shown no signs of stress.

I think Millet is correct about the direct sunlight so quickly being the problem. Yours should recover.

John

Hey everyone,
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. I quickly got it out of the sun and it seems to have bounced back fine. No more wilting, and the black hasn't spread.
I'm just about ready to put it back into the full sun, but before I do....

Should go ahead and prune back the new growth that got damaged?

Thanks,
Kristin

You can prune damaged wood back, but it is always wise to wait for a month then do your pruning evaluation. - Millet