hey fish!

Any chance it was exposed to freezing temps? I would cut below the dead part and just above a bud. Hopefully by doing that you will get a new branch or two at the bud. Good thing is the branch you have now is above the graft so not all is lost with the meyer scion. Give it plenty of sun, water appropriately and a little bit of food. Sit back and wait.

mike

HI, I wish I knew your first name.:-0)

To me, without looking at the picture since I don't have access to it, it sounds like it was hit by the cold somehow. Maybe frostbite that froze the young tender growth at the top?

I would cut that rotted part back a little at a time until you see the very green part of your tree.
You can seal it with waterproof wood glue, or even clear nail polish, but I never do on these trees unless you a severly pruning huge trees with huge cut wounds.

As far as the soil mix goes and anything else, I will let someone take it from here. Sorry I couldn't of been of much help with the brown, but based on my experience with frost damage, it sounds just like this.

Good luck and welcome

Mike;-)

I'll bet that is it! We just experienced seriously extreme weather for East Texas. My little tree sits directly in front of a large window. When the temp got to 8 below that could have done it. I feel stupid but we just do not get that sort of weather here.

My first name is Velvet.

Thank you both! I shall do and watch. ;)

Woody plants often die from the top down, but I fail to see the cause for this particular problem with the information given. I'll typically look to the root system, however, on both containerized plants and those planted in situ. Lots and lots of things can go wrong down there with the soil system, the root system, and the soil/root system.

Die back is one of the first signs of soil compaction, poor oxygen content, flooding, root damage, etc. in soil planted trees, by the way. I'm not saying that your tree hasn't suffered from cold damage, but that it could be almost anything. We just haven't heard enough information. Hey, it could even be that the tree came to you with dead tissue, and it's just taken this long for it to turn black.

The reptile bark is a good option for the bark fines so often talked about on this forum and others. Usually made from fir, I believe, and a good size for this purpose. Bagged potting mixes almost always need to be amended with something to make them decent (ALMOST) and that bark is a good choice.

By the, just do you know...the sealing of any woody plant after pruning is not recommended on large or small shrubs or trees.. Such a practice can actually impede the natural 'healing' going on within the tissues. It was thought at one time that gunk needed to be applied to a pruning cut in order to prevent the tree from leaking all over the place (ha) and also to prevent disease organisms from entering the tree.

We apply dressings to people, not trees. We leak when we are cut and our wounds need to be covered with something in order to keep the good stuff in and the bad stuff out. Trees simply don't work that way...and it's a good thing. Best to know where to make a proper cut and to allow it to heal in a natural manner.

We know better now. There ARE exceptions, but they are unusual and specific. And don't EVER expect good advice from the folks at Home Depot or Lowes'. ;-(

(Here's an old bad saying: "I wanted to be a tree surgeon but I couldn't stand the sight of sap.")

P.S. I'll bet that if you return to the Home Depot in spring that you can find some nice looking Meyer Lemon trees there. Just in case you want to add to your collection.

Rhizzo! I did not know that is was sealing a cut of branch was a bad prcatice.

I will be e-mailing you privately to chat about this.

Thank you for your insight as usual for me.;-0)

Mike