My new Meiwa Kumquat tree is sick.. not sure what the problem is..
I would say root rot.. but I have only had it two weeks and have watered it once.. well twice counting initial planting and it was NOT left in water..
The branches are going brown and it has chronic leaf drop.. I pulled it out of the pot and checked the roots and they look bad.. I have kept the pots wrapped in Christmas Lights to keep the root zone warm..
I watered over a week ago and when I checked the roots the soil was still damp/moist. I did nothing different with this tree than the others when I got it.. The other trees have had some leaf drop but I expected that as they have had a sudden climate change.. but all the other trees are already putting on new growth.. The Meiwa Kumquat has no new growth.. it does have 3 bloom buds but that is probably due to what ever is the matter with it stressing it out.. the brown is rapidly taking the tree over.. the roots are real bad looking.. I'm afraid to do any thing with it after my last knee jerk reaction.. I will upload pictures to image shack and get them posted here..
Advice needed.....
Gina *BabyBlue*

roots...

Tree...

Brown limb...


I would also linke ot add.. the soil is NEW as is the POT that the tree is planted in...
Gina *BabyBlue8

Interesting. I bought a number of citrus trees earlier this year that included a Meiwa kumquat. All the trees came from the same grower. All were rooted cuttings in 1-gal pots. All were repotted and given the same treatment. The Meiwa was the only one that died. It started to drop leaves after a few days ending with stem dieback in its final days. I am sure it suffered from low humidity. The others dropped some lower leaves too but slowed after awhile and finally stopped when I moved them to a room with higher humidity.

It could be that the Meiwa had more trouble adjusting because it experiences deeper dormancy than the others. However, to be fair, I should note that the Meiwa was the least established of all the trees. I have since bought two replacements and they have showed no signs of decline. This time I decided to leave them in their original containers until they begin to show signs of new growth at which time I will repotted them.

I lost a grafted Nagami last year that showed the same symptoms as yours. Based on my very limited experience I'd say kumquats are more finicky than other citrus.

Hi Gina. That does look like root rot. Were the roots in this condition when you replanted the tree ? I would trim the roots back quite a bit & trim the branches back below the browning. I would also remove about 50 % of the foliage to compensate for the root loss. Also do not keep unpotting the tree, doing so keeps the roots from growing and getting established. What I have done in the past for trees recovering from root rot, is fill the bottom quarter of the pot with medium to large pine chips to allow for better drainage. The summer before last we had tropical storms come through three weeks in a row. I was out of town one of the weeks & my potted Key Limes got saturated & lost most of the roots... I used the method above and they are now two years old from seed & loaded with flower buds.

Do not cut any of the roots that have white tips growing on them. They are healthy. Millet

I treated it for root rot last night.. cut off the black and brown roots.. and dipped it in solution of 1/2 c bleach to 2 gal of tap water for about 5 min..
Thanks!!
Gina *BabyBlue*

I have never used bleach & don't plan on starting. Bleach can do more damage than good if your not careful

unfortunatly I know all too well about the more damage than good..
Gina *BabyBlue*

Have you guys tried using copper sulfate to spray on the roots and let it dry out a little bit, but keep the canopy wrapped in plastic.

I have tried it once, was quite successful, using concentration recommended for controlling fireblight, and literally sprayed on the roots after removing the infected parts, let it dry out just a little bit in the shade before planting. It was successful, the idea was to kill off lingering fungi and some bacteria that would otherwise go inside the surgical cuts you made. Although bleach might be more effective, but copper sulfate at that concentration is far less toxic to plants and to human beings. But just a thought, not really endorse it unless it has been tried more.

My Meiwa is cranky right now too. My Myer was looking bad until I flushed it thoroughly, and my Meiwa is in CHCs with some cocoa peat and Osmacote. Seems like the CHCs are still too wet, and I stirred them a bit down to let somdry a bit underneath.

I havent been running the humidifier every day, and none of my seedlings seem to care. Both the Meiwa and HB Pummelo are dropping older leaves (but lots of them).... is it humidity or root rot?

Citrus have a tendency to drop old leaves just prior to the spring growth flush.

Well.. in the past two days it has only lost two more leaves and looks like the branch die back has stopped!!! Now to wait for new growth..
Gina *BabyBlue*

Mine have slowed down dropping, and the HB and the Meiwa still have the older, further out on the limb leaves left. Im running the humidifier more hoping that will save them. Probably another month till its safe to get them outside. (please let me make it through this firsst winter!)

Like Laaz said, at this time of the year, at least in the greenhouse, it is normal to have a lot of leaf drop, mostly the old leaves but occasionally a few of the newer leaves also. Citrus has the highest leaf drop during the spring bloom. The tree's loss is the compost piles gain. - Millet

Hey Gina, hows it going? My Meiwa has finally stopped losing leaves. Well, one or two occasionally, but its slowed considerably. now its more poodle like (all leaves on the ends of the branches).