hi everyone-
i'm a new meyer lemon tree owner/grower in southern maine. i bought my first tree this year from four winds. it's the improved dwarf meyer lemon tree and it's just one years old. i'm a little worried about my little tree. i've had it for two months now and it's developed a number of yellow leaves and some even have dropped off. i'm not sure this is okay, so i would like to show it to the group and get feedback. i'm also not thrilled with my soil, and i want to run that by the group as well. it's a 50/50 mix of hyponex potting soil/generic wood shavings. four winds was insistant about not using anything with a watering agent, and the hyponex was the best i could come up with around here that didn't cost me a ton of money. and altho the water drains out almost immediately after watering, i think the bottom of the pot *might* stay a bit water-logged. cause i noticed the next day once, after watering, when i picked up the pot, more water started to drip out! hard to say if we had rain the night before, i suppose it's possible but i'm just not sure. and i've never been thrilled with my soil anyway! so i'm concerned. Please note we've been experiencing some damn hot temps the past week, i'd say. mid 90's and humid. i've been leaving the tree out in the full sun during all this. however, i don't think it's getting alot of sun. it's been more cloudy than anything. anyway, here's the pics (tell me what you think):







THANKS!

Citrus container media must have sufficient pore spaces to allow free movement of gases. Citrus roots constantly undergo a process called respiration.. Respiration consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide (CO2) as a byproduct. There must be sufficient pore spaces in the media for plant roots to acquire oxygen and expel CO2. After containers are COMPLETELY saturated with water and allowed to drain, 30% of the container volume should still be empty air space for gas exchange. Don't worry about the wet area at the bottom of your container. No matter what type of potting mix you use this high moisture area, called the Perched Water Table, will ALWAYS be present. It is in the bottom of every container. It is caused by the loss of gravitational potential toward the bottom of the container acting against the forces of adhesion and cohesion. All in all your tree looks to be healthy enough. However, I can see in the bottom picture that the containers potting soil has already begun to degrade and has compacted down 2 or 3 inches. The compaction has caused a loss of the pore spaces that was originally present in the potting soil when it was first planted. If this situation is not correct the tree will certainly begin to have problems. Compaction, results in tight container soil, poor gas exchange, low available oxygen to the root system, high soil CO2 toxicity, slow drainage, over watering, and a crowded root system. Your plant probably needs repotting if roots are growing out of the drainage holes, or the bottom leaves turn yellow and drop off, or the plant wilts between normal waterings. - Millet

thanks millet. i'm not sure the soil has degraded as you say. when i first put the tree in the pot, i didn't really put enough soil in. the soil level was always low to begin with. however, this hyponex stuff does not have a good rep as one of the better potting mixes. and for the very reason you state.....it's rather dense soil (& it weighs a ton!) and doesn't allow alot of air flow.

I believe your tree is in a 12 inch nursery pot, which gives an are of 11 inches for the growth medium. In your tree's case, the top three or four inches of the container is empty, and the bottom two inches of the container is the area called the Perched Water Table. The Perched Water Table is an area not conducive to growth, so therefore, your tree's root system is only utilizing 6 or 7 inches of the container. Not much room. When you repot the tree, be sure not to use too much filler ingredients along with the CHC or bark. It is the filler that fills all the pore space . - Millet

I agree with Millet that it looks like the tree needs more of a root zone to work with. I would repot with a light mix, mixing in additional wood shavings such as cedar hamster bedding to make a well draining mix then repot in the same pot so the tree sits much higher in the pot. It looks like you could add several inches of soil volume depth. Leaf drop will likely stop when the tree settles into the proper soil mix. Also, after repotting I would water in with some Vitamin B-1 root tonic to offset any shock and help fine feeder roots recover quickly.

I have two old (I have had them 5 years) Eureka Lemon trees growing in heavy duty 5 gallon plastic pots. I grew mine from bare root stock and have no trouble with them growing. I used a mixture of 25% sand and 1/2 and 1/2 potting mix and compost. It will hold enough water so you do not have to water them everyday. I have found the soil you get with these trees is horrible. I would remove it from that pot (the pot looks weak for long term use and put it in a 5 gallon pot. I also have found a new fertilizer Bandini Citrus Fertilizer that I got from my local ACE hardware store. I read about it on the internet and it is Great. I only use about a teaspoon full on my large (bigger than yours) plant. Maybe a 1/2 teaspoon full would be about right every 4 months.

thanks everyone for the tips!! i really appeciate it. i'm gonna try millets suggestion of a new potting mix with CHC. and ya a better pot would be nice, i agree, but we'll see. i will definitely make sure to fill whatever pot i use with more potting mix. thanks!

What is CHC?


Susan

Oh, is it coconut husk chips?

yup. i didn't know either when i first heard of it. had to ask millet. btw, millet or anyone.......i just did battle with my local hardware store about getting the hyponex replaced with something more suitable. i discussed the CHC. the store said they carried it at one time but stopped because they experienced clumping of both the powder and the chip forms of it. they felt it wasn't a good growing medium. what do you guys say to that?

How many citrus trees has your hardware store grown,, probably none? As far as mixing CHC with coir (powdered coconut husk) I can't say, as I have never mixed the two. However, I would think it would be fine. - Millet

lol. well, i was sure to let them know i knew of some growers who liked it. and they did admit they were no experts at growing citrus trees. lol