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am i over or underwatering this meyer?

12 years ago

Hi Everyone,

So I've had my dwarf meyer for about a month now and I transplanted it to a much bigger pot about a week or so ago and it had been doing fine. With the 2 gallon pot it was in i was letting the soil almost dry out before watering it again.

When I transplanted it, I took all the soil from the 2 gallon pot (in its "pot shape") and put it in with some run of the mill Miracle Gro outdoor potting soil. (which I kinda of regret now since I keep reading that Cactus Mix would have been better?)

In the new pot, theres much more soil so I've been checking the soil level with my finger, the outer edges of the pot has stayed moist all week so I've been leaving it be, however today I noticed that the leaves are looking "sad" they are still green but they are pointing down. So I put my finger closer to the center of tree where the original soil would be and that soil was pretty hard where I couldn't stick my finger in more than half an inch. So now I'm not sure if the soil on the outer edge is staying too moist (been about a week since I watered, its been in the mid 70's al week).

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

Jon

picture of sad leaves:

{{gwi:558012}}

Comment (1)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
12 years ago
Well, Jon, everything you've written here would indicate over-watering...
but there's also the plant's reaction to potting up that must be considered.

I can easily tell you that Miracle Grow potting soil holds too much moisture for most
container applications. And a larger amount of that same soil will hold even more moisture.

Plants will need a period of adjustment when the roots are disturbed, even if only potted up
or slip-potted into a larger container. If the tree was moved directly into sunny or windy
conditions, the leaves will probably droop because the roots can't draw enough moisture to
keep up with the moisture loss from the leaves. Plants should be protected for at least a
few days after root-work, in order to hasten their recovery.

Where do you live? What is your weather like?

Josh
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