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kpaulson_gw

Please help me save this little lemon tree!

kpaulson
9 years ago

Please help me save this little lemon tree, we bought it last Saturday, planted it Sunday and now today it is looking like it is on its deathbed. It was vibrant with pretty leaves and green, hard lemons and now the leaves are dry and brittle and the fruit is soft and turning yellow and. I watered it every day but yesterday and it looked MUCH better yesterday than today so I watered it this morning. I also used citrus and avocado fertilizer when planting it as our **soil** here in Arizona is nothing but dirt. Please advise as my thumbs are brown!! Thank you for your time!

Comments (12)

  • kpaulson
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Pic 2

  • kpaulson
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Pic 3

  • needinfo001
    9 years ago

    It might be to hot outside for it. You probably should have waited to plant it when it was cooler and there is no need to amend the soil that it will be growing in.
    Goodluck!

  • Lars
    9 years ago

    It looks to me like your soil may not be draining well enough, and the excess water could cause your tree to drown.

    Too late now, but my advice for your next tree would be to keep it in a large pot (I use wine barrel planters) for a couple of years before transplanting it. I keep all my citrus in wine/whiskey barrel planters, and they all seem to do well - except for the blood orange. I do this partly because I have bad, non-draining soil, and partly because I want to have them on my cement patio. I can give them very good soil this way, and the pots can drain. When the trees use up the soil and sink down into the pots. I take them out of the planter and add soil to the bottom. At my current house, this works better than planting in soil, but in Venice (CA), they did very well in the ground.

    Lars

  • carlaclaws
    9 years ago

    I agree with needinfo that it is much too hot for planting now. Heck, it's much too hot here in Virginia!

    It may be too late to save it, but:

    Do you have a mist setting on your nozzle? If so, go outside ASAP and mist the foliage and stems until they are wet. Find something to shade it with, and mist it several more times. If you can get to the nursery today, buy some (preferably organic) plant starter that contains vitamin B-1. Mix as directed, and pour some over the root zone. You should always use a B-1 plant starter to prevent transplant shock and encourage new root growth.

    It is very easy to use too much fertilizer, and I disagree with needinfo about amending soil. That Arizona caliche needs some well-rotted composted mixed in.

    The best time to plant woody plants in your area is late fall or early winter.

  • j0nd03
    9 years ago

    The best thing to do is pull it up, put it back in its pot, baby it in full shade until fall, and replant it - if it is still alive.

  • ltilton
    9 years ago

    Cut off all the fruits. They won't survive, and they'll stress the tree.

  • kpaulson
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you for the advice - I just figured since we bought an orange tree this past April and it was about the same temperature that it would be fine to plant this tree too. Poor thing - off to tend to it! Thank you all!

  • j0nd03
    9 years ago

    ^^^ Yes, remove the fruit asap!

  • carlaclaws
    9 years ago

    I agree that you should remove the fruit, but digging it back up will probably finish it off.

  • subtropix
    9 years ago

    Talk to gardeners, landscapers, nursery people, neighbors, etc. from your own area for advise on how they raise Citrus (amending the soil, raised beds, etc..). Your conditions in terms of soil condition, temperatures, humidity, etc. are completely different from conditions in the Southeast or East or any other areas where Citrus are grown (even if only containerized). But I would echo what other posters have said. Summer is not the time to transplant first mistake. You could next time hold off planting Summer purchased (often discounted plants) until the Fall or Winter months. (Citrus do quite well containerized or in raised beds due to improved drainage btw.) There is obviously some kind of drainage issue. Not matter how hot and dry your air temps are, Citrus are not going to tolerate muddy conditions. I would like to be optimistic, but prepare for the worst. Also, stop fertizing it! Will do nothing but aggravate the situation. On a positive note, I have had Citrus come back fully to flower and fruit from 100% defoliated trees. Good luck!

  • joeinmo 6b-7a
    9 years ago

    You shocked it by putting it in the hot sun. Stop watering!!!

    Put an umbrella over from 11-4, water once every 3 days, it should resprout leaves, pull all the lemons off now. When it starts sprouting leaves slowly let more and more sun hit, you have to acclimate it.

    It's your only hope.