My Kishu mandarin never looked that great, I decided to repot it in 3:1 CHC and citrus mix. The reason I used citrus. Ix instead of peat mainly because I had an opened bag I needed to use up and there is peat in it. I took great care (3 hours!) Soaking the root ball, removing the old medium and keeping most of it intact. The past 2 days it has started dropping leaves and alot of small fruits. I have been deep watering nearly everyday as it has been warm and the pot has been light when I've lifted it. I used a moisture meter this morning, just in case and it did register dry, along with the pot again feeling light... what to do now? This was my trial tree before I reported others in CHC mix. The others, I believe, are in too heavy soils (I obtained and planted them prior to my joining this great forum). I'm getting frustrated, but am grateful for all I'm learning... I just hope its not at the expense of an innocent Kishu!

The only reason the tree would drop leaves and fruit, is because it is stressed. When a tree drops its leaves after transplanting,it is normally due to an imbalance between the root system and the foliage. Meaning, before the transplant the foliage had enough root system to supply the foliage with all the water it needed. After the transplant the foliage evidently did not have enough operating root system to supply the amount of water that the leaves required. Therefore, for the tree to get the foliage back in balance with the roots, it had no other option but to drop enough leaves so that the two systems once again matched. A moisture meter will never give a correct reading when it is inserted into an open porous arable medium. I sorry, but I don't know what 1x is, so I cannot comment on how much it slows the water pass through, or how much moisture it holds with each watering. Anyway, to insure that the potting medium is completely wet, you can place the container into a larger container and soak it for 10 or so minutes. - Millet (524-)

Thanks Millet! I didnt write to you directly because i thought you might be getting sick of me by now!

The 1x was a typo... I was just writing why I had used the cactus mix (Uni Grow). Should I trim the canopy? If so, can you please provide some guidelines?

Thank you

There is no need to trim the top, as the tree has already dropped its leaves. The addition of straight peat poss is for two reasons. First to slow down the water pass through, and second, because of the amount of water it holds. I am not familiar with Uni Grow Cactus Mix, but normally , a cactus mix is formulated to have good drainage and not hold too much water. The combination of CHC and cactus mix might not hold enough water for your tree. However, it should be very easy to re-pot using pure peat moss. The tree should be able to be withdrawn from the present mix very easily, with no additional damage, then replanted using peat moss with the existing CHC. I would think a transplant taking 3 hours to accomplish, any root damage would be minimal, but who knows. The tree just might not have received enough water. Did you presoak the CHC ? - Millet (524-)

From my experience when you remove all the soil and transplant into a large medium like CHC you run the risk of creating large air pockets inside the root ball, which it sounds like you have done. Next transplant you may want to leave some of the rootball interior soil intact to prevent this.

Also , when transplanting a tree , beside the broken roots , and maybe as Ryan says - air pockets , I would go also for a lack of the famous Mykorrhiza which provide enough food to the tree

As Dr. Manners has pointed out on this forum several times, mycorrhia is absolutely everywhere, even floating in the air. There really is no need to purchase, and pay money for packs of mycorrhia .- Millet (524-)

same thing happened here, i think next time when i buy a citrus tree that's fruiting already, i'll leave it in the original pot until the fruit are harvested, then repot.

Generally I agree with the previous advice.
How much fertilizer was in your mix? How much did you add, and what was in the citrus mix/cactus mix. If it had a full complement of fert, you may have overdosed your plant. If it contained slow release fert exposed to moisture or heat, the fert may be releasing without leaching in the open bag?
If you plant recovers and reflushes, you may want to cut it back, and not let every bud try to regrow. You may want to knock some of the tops off and let lower buds grow stronger?

I did soak the CHC overnight and only added gro power to the minx as I didn't want to harm the roots. I will re re pot in the morning...ugh

Here is the uni-gro cactus mix ingredient list:
pumice, forest products, peat moss, sand, earthworm castings, bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, and alfalfa meal.

This is what every local nursery pushes as to what you should grow citrus in...when I asked about CHC, they look at me like I'm nuts... It is difficult not to second guess as I do live in THE citrus belt and these nurseries are in the middle of what used to be sprawling citrus orchards... Granted, those orchards were all in ground, of course!

Uploaded with ImageShack.usWhen I set out this morning to re repot my Kishu, I do think, in all his wisdom, Millet nailed it again. Although I was careful to leave (apparently what was left of) the root ball (this, and my lane late were purchased from the same place and NOT in great shape!) in tact, it does appear to be fairly lopsided vs the canopy, no?

I feel badly for gotro and her tree. Unfortunately, when a tree drops most of it foliage only day or two after being bear rooted and transplanted, it is almost always due to damage to the root system. Citrus absorbs most of it water through its new young root tips. Little water is taken into the tree from the tough older sections of the root system. These tender end tips are extremely easy to damage. When bear rooting many times one can see multiple tips of roots that were riped off, laying in the waste of media that was removed. Trees that are originally sold as bear root trees, like the trees from Four Winds Growers, have always been my choice to purchase. In gotro's predicament, I would keep the new medium very moist until the tree heals. The high level of water will not offer any problem, as the medium has a high oxygen level, in fact it will be a benefit. Saying a prayer to Saint Fiacre (patron Saint of those who like to garden). - Millet (523-)

Thank you for your prayers and compassion for the little kishu, Millet... We appreciate it! So, is it your recommendation, at this point, to deep water daily until leaf drop stops and/or new growth is evident