Need help with my new Clementine Tree!

10 years ago

I was given a clementine tree for valentine's day!! (I had been talking about getting one- not just a random surprise) But I live in Wisconsin- the weather is currently about 10 degrees F and snowy. The plant was shipped from S. Carolina and when it showed up it was in pretty rough shape. All of the leaves are tightly curled in and are fairly dry and very light green/yellow. The dirt in the shipping container was soaking wet (maybe part of the problem?). I transplanted the tree last night, following a few basic steps that I had seen on many sites. I used a mix of Vigoro organic potting mix: for fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs and cedar shavings. [I looked for a citrus soil mix- but hey its wisconsin]. I got a 15" pot (my Nule clementine tree is ~3 feet), added some gravely stones to the bottom, then my soil/cedar shaving mixture and put the tree in- packed it down etc... I first tried to separate most of the old dirt from the roots.

Any tips on nursing my new baby back to health?!?!

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Comments (6)

citrusweekendwarrior
10 years ago
Congrats!

The first tree I bought had a very ruff time starting off as well. The leave curl could be just from the shock of the uprooting, not only the cold and water. I would place it in a window that gets very strong indirect sun light. Just until the leaves flatten out some. Also let the soil dry out before watering. I know it's hard to do this when the tree looks like it needs help. It'll be hard to tell what the tree really wants because of the repotting and shock from the cold.
It would be best if you provided pics. It'll gives a better idea of what's going on and encourage others to chime in.
Chelsea7
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks CitrusWeekendWarrior! I bet you're right. It's probably in shock. It's just so hard to see it like this. I included a picture, I will try to add another if I can. Right now I have the plant near a window, but I am mostly just giving it light from a grow bulb because I only have a western facing window :( I will try putting it in the window during the day and giving it supplemental light when it gets dark. Thanks again for the tips, I will keep you (or whoever cares) posted.
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so did you do anything about the media.. or is that project for next summer outdoors??? in MI ... indoors... in a miserable winter.. i would probably NOT do further repotting .... ask the citrus peeps for timing on that ... i am thinking.. winging it here ... that a late winter .. very early spring timing.. would get its feet in some proper media.. just before it starts its next root growth phase ... such will probably be triggered by lengthening of sunlight hours... and i will yell... OR I HAVE IT ALL BACKWARDS BECAUSE THERE ARE SPECIAL RULES FOR CITRUS ... this is left to your research ... my good friend rhiz said: Excess moisture is not a requirement for the fungus gnats....but a high percentage of peat and compost is. ==>> the wording just seems hard to me .... peeps who dont know how to manipulate their media... often make peaty media.. to wet .. thru.. excessive moisture.. so though i fully understand what she is trying to say.. and understand how she would handle it.... i am not sure her message is clear ... and understand.. the important roots... are sitting near the bottom of the pot.. not the top of the media.. which dries from the furnace.. not the first inch or two where your finger is... but the bottom third.. which even thought all the former are reasonably dry ... is sopping wet ... you really should not water.. until the whole pot is dry-ish ... not a sip of water.. every time the surface appears/feels dry .... that isnt really where teh roots are.. is it???? when we talk of media and drainage ... we are talking about a consistency of the media from top to bottom ... i learned about this.. when i learned to tip plants out of pots.. to LOOK at how it all works ... i dont recall the size of yours and if that could be done .. and for sure..not on a recent repotted plant ... BTW... late next august.. presuming you will be putting this outdoors in full shade next summer... late in august.. you treat the pot outdoors... so it is ready to bring it in the house in late Sept or so ... so all your bug juice is used out in fresh air.. safe is safe.. but treating stuff indoors.. even organically is not high on my list... unless.. as in your case.. the marauding hordes force your hand ... [in my experience.. no pot smaller than a bushel basket ever goes in full sun ... its all about baking the root mass in a small gob of heat retaining media... see.. we are right back to media ... and that is the lesson .... when dealing with pots] report back often.. your clem is now my friend... lol ken
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All trees that need to put on some size appreciate large pots, but no trees appreciate a combination of large pots and a poor soil. If you use a soil that doesn't hold perched water, you could plant your new charges in a 10 gallon nursery can if you like - you'll get great growth and vitality. Hoffman's Bonsai Soil has too many fines and holds too much water to use for small plants in large pots - so don't be tempted - and who can afford it? ;-) Do you know of any plants that use nutrients (NPK) in a 1:1:1 ratio? Me either. I know a whole bunch of plants (almost ALL) that use NPK in a 3:1:2 ratio, though. Ratios are different than NPK %s, and a much more important consideration. Plants use about 6X as much N as P, and about 3/5 as much K as N. After the calculations are done for how P and K are reported on the fertilizer box, 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers supply nutrients at almost exactly that 10:1.5:6 ratio that plants actually USE. Also, your 10-10-10 fertilizer gets its N from urea, which tends to make plants leggy. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is a 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer that supplies most of its N in nitrate form (helps keep plants compact). It has ALL the essential nutrients plants take from the soil (including Ca & Mg, usually missing from soluble fertilizers), including all the micronutrients, and supplies nutrients in the right ratio - hard to improve on that. Al
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Well, it kind of depends on what you want out of the tree. Are you going to be planting it outside eventually? How do you want it to look? Do you want a thick amount of leaves? How big do you want it to be? If it was my tree, and it would be staying in that spot for all of eternity (you know what I mean), then I would cut back those four largest branches, because if you don't cut those, they will keep extending out, with little foliage in between them. I would cut those four branches down to encourage thicker growth toward the center of the tree. In the first picture, you can see those little shoots waiting to become branches. If you cut off the top of that branch, that is what will be growing outward. You will also be wanting to pinch some of those off anyway, as it strengthens the tree and gives the tree a more tidy look. Good Luck! ~palmsandsnow
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citrusweekendwarrior
10 years ago
You may want to brace yourself.
Your tree looks like it's going to lose almost all of of its leaves. This wouldn't be caused by water logged roots, or the repotting.
I suspect its from the cold.
The best advice I can give you now is to keep it in the west facing window so the branches don't get burned. The roots may not be able to supply the tree what it needs at the moment.
Just water it as you would if it were healthy, by letting it dry out mostly before watering again.
Any branch that is green is still alive, but any branch that has turned yellow will harden and be dead (or turn black... and be dead)

I had mentioned my first tree. I had brought it back from Florida in 2005. It had only 5 leaves on it when I potted it. Not long after, it dropped all its leaves and as was literally a stick in mud for about 2 months before it showed any sign of life.
Now its taller then me.

This post was edited by CitrusWeekendWarrior on Fri, Feb 14, 14 at 22:54
Beach_bums
10 years ago
Those leaves look just like the ones on my satsuma after the temps here dropped to 6 degrees. Maybe the grower would replace it if you asked. It's their bad for shipping to Wisconsin in February.
Chelsea7
Original Author
10 years ago
I will brace myself! The good news is that all of the branches and the 'trunk' are all green so it still has a chance, right?! A few of the leaves have already fallen so I will prepare myself to see a naked tree. Thanks again for the help. One more question: I know that once you see new growth that you are supposed to use a more specific fertilizer, should I hold off for a while then?
Thanks!

This post was edited by Chelsea7 on Sat, Feb 15, 14 at 11:37
Saorise_2013
10 years ago
Hi Chelsea,

Honestly, if it were me I would contact the seller and ask for a replacement. They should not have shipped your tree this early. My fiance has a few citrus trees at his house and the greenhouse door got blown open and they all got fried. Even though there was a heater in there it got down to 4F outside so the next day they all looked like your tree.

It still may make it so I wouldn't give up but the seller should replace it. Usually with replacements for trees you need to contact them ASAP so they know the damage is from shipping. If your tree does make it you will have two trees but if not, you will still have the replacement tree and hopefully will not have any hassle with the sellers, like you may have if you wait too long to let them know what happened. Good luck! :-) Growing citrus is a lot of funQ

Need help with my new Clementine Tree!

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citrusweekendwarrior

Chelsea7
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Need help with my new Clementine Tree!

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