Good morning, Mike!

So these are the trees that you mentioned. I think you're up to the task! ;-)

The tops of the trees don't look too terrible yet....but that soil is haggard.
Will your first step be to slide them out of their containers to get rid
of that plastic layer?

Josh

Thanks Josh!

I am wondering if I should wait to disturb the roots until spring and just open the drain holes at the bottom of the pots by pushing holes through the plastic blocking the holes?

What do you think? What would you do?

I have already plucked all the weeds and boy were some of their roots long which was probably the saving grace on too much water for them. I guess they shared the excess moisture with these trees?

The top of the pots already looks better. Now of course knowing me, I have never had much success growing in this type of mix, but the wooden dowels should do the the trick until I decide when to change the mix. The dowels came out almost dry but moist just a tiny bit.

Mike

Yeah, I spotted that Oxalis weed in the containers ;-)

I would remove the root-ball to inspect it. And I would remove the plastic completely.
It won't hurt to pull these out of their pots for a few minutes of inspection.

Josh

Josh, thanks!

I will as soon as I get a chance and take some pics while I am at it. I will post them so we can all see what they look like.

Oxallis it is man. Boy, can some of their roots be VERY long and hard to pull.

Appreciate it:-)

Mike

As I said over in the citrus forum, those trees look better than a couple that I try to do everything right on :( Maybe neglecting them will perk them up. LOL

Im sure once they hit your door they knew things would be better!

Any Idea what kind they are?

Mike

As a precaution, I'd flush the soil thoroughly, too; then, fertilize with a half strength dose of a soluble fertilizer - FP or MG in a 3:1:2 ratio. I'd prolly repot in March, around the equinox.

Al

Al, that's a great point since it not only is the soil horrible, but it seems that she was watering in sips too.

This Saturday it will be 55 degrees outside and I will definitely use the hose to do that. Then I will hold off on transplanting until March as you say. For now I will have to use wooden dowels to make sure I don't over water.

Mike: You made my day! lol. You are much better than you think.

Well, I appreciate all the excitement around here and the support!

Al, I was going to flush the mix out with fresh water yesterday while temps were in the 60's, but the mix to both of these plants is still too moist to bother. I can't understand how anything can survive, except for water loving plants/swap plants, in mixes that can take DAYS to dry out? I just hope I havn't compromised good root health by the time spring comes.
Just as soon as the pots dry out, into the shower they will go then for a good flush.

As for the weeds, they are all gone and boy were they really grown into the pots. I was pulling up weeds with roots at least a foot long.

I also cut back all the dead branches with Bonsai clippers and they look well shaped thus far.

Now, the wait begins for the mix to dry so I can feed and as I already explained, flush the mix out.

Thanks again for your help and good wishes Josh, Al,and Mike, although I am disappointed there is not much more than that with the years I have been here and all the ones I have known and supported.

Heck, half the people here I have helped don't even notice when your missing in action. Too bad the interaction here, except for the same minute few, is anything but best lately.

Thanks to the minute few that care enough to make this an informative and friendly place to be anyhow. Thanks for not only looking for help, but for being balanced with your encouraging words and kind comments too.

Mike

No worries, Mike!

I think most folks, even those whom you've helped, feel out of their depth
when advising a course of action for citrus. Trees in containers can seem daunting.
Just be sure to bookmark this Thread for updates later...and when you show the
trees' recovery, no doubt a whole new crop of container enthusiasts will appear.

Josh

Ok everyone! Here is what I found when I lifted the plant after finally drying out.

The roots were wrapped in a plastic bag blocking the drainage holes and I have a feeling this plant has been watered in sips.

The roots held together which helped me in not having to repot. I just stuck the plant back in the pot without disturbing the roots and flushed just like Al said to do. I also fertilized.

I will show you the finished product after I am done tonight, but I wanted to show you the first stage. The mix looks like garbage, but I will change it out in the spring.

I had made a batch of the 5.1.1 mix incase I needed it, but only top dressed with it for now.

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Here is the nice fresh batch of the mix I will use for a complete transplant come the spring. I did use a bit for top dressing that ugly looking mix on top.

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I will be back after the job is done. Thanks for looking:-)

Citrus # 1

These are Washington Navel Seedless.

Ok, I am done for now with this one. Now I need to work on the second one soon. I will post that one too:-)

Here it is cleaned of all weeds, dead branches pruned off, cleared of plastic bag around the roots, fed fertilizer, flushed with fresh water, and a bit of top dressing until I repot.

Is it me, or does it look like it is coloring up nicely already?:-)))))

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Mike

Looks great Mike! Big improvement. I am one of those you have encouraged in the past, and also one who was timid about advising you on what to do. I've been following this thread with interest. But, I've killed a couple lemon trees, so I'm not sure I have anything helpful to offer.

FWIW, I would be chomping at the bit to repot. I have rescued houseplants with potting mix that looked that bad. With a peace lily I found in the trash at work, I discovered that the soil at the center was dry and hard as cement while the soil on the outside was like mud. I soaked the whole root ball until it was thoroughly wet, then used a skewer to poke holes through the soil. I felt that would allow some oxygen and fertilizer to get to where it was needed. Then I potted up hoping the "good" media would draw some of the excess moisture from
the bad. When spring came, I did a full repot.

Hey, Mike! I think they look a little better already! And I echo Josh's sentiments... you are definitely up to the task! This should be a walk in the park for you... you have all the necessary information, the tools, and you know what you need to do... I expect that by late spring of this year, those trees will look fabulously healthy!

You go, Mike! :-)

Hey Jodi! So nice of you to stop by! Thank you. I am really looking forward to these trees coming around. I can see a difference already! I will have three if they do.

Ohio, I had no idea:-). Glad to be of help although you too have been an important part of these forums lately and a big help to others.
You have been missed. In fact both you and Jodi should come around more often! Watch for more updates, please.

Here are trees no#1 and......2

On tree 2,I had a hard time getting this one out of the pot. It had two plastic bags and somehow the roots had grown right into and entangled one of them, and that bag was wrapped around the other bag stuck to the bottom of the pot. The bag severed HALF the roots while trying to take the tree out of the pot.

So I definitly sprayed the old soil off down to bare roots and carefully extracted the bag. I was able to dig deep into the root mass and clear all the old soil away spreading the roots out.
I also had a bunch of mix prepared ahead of time just in case which proved useful. Ready at the helm sort of speak.

I had fun with this one.
I have always wanted to try a root pruning pot that supposedly encouarges LOTS of air to the root mass.I would like to commpare teh two eventually.
I also used the 5.1.1 mix.
I kept the roots wet at all times while preparing the pot.
I made a dome of the fresh mix in the pot, then filled in all around the roots with my fingers and a blunt stick wiggling the new mix into and between all the roots.
I used a strong stream of water to do the rest.
I also trimmed back a few branches to try and encourage it to reshape itself and compensate for root loss.

I then gave it a nice shower and set it aside into my plant room. Now, we wait and see how both these plants fare.

By the way, In order for me not to be so concerned about the one I had to leave in the mix that I felt was staying wet far too long, I used a wicking method which seems to be doing a lot already. Here it is a day later, and those wicks are still very wet!

Tree # 1.........with the wicks and still in the old soil mix......

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Tree # 2........... The old soil mix that I replaced, severed roots and pruned pieces.

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Now the new pot and new look for tree #2.......

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Now I have 3 Navel Orange trees. This is mine I have had for more than a few years.

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Thanks

Mike