Hi Christy,
Yes, that MG citrus soil is toxic!! I have no idea why they sell that soil as citurs soil when it is so far from being citrus soil. Here is my experience with MG citrus soil. I used it last spring when I bought my dwarf keylime and my dwarf moro blood orange. A year later, and the dwarf moro blood orange is no more, and lucky for me dwarf key lime has thrived. I would urge you to repot the Meyer lemon ASAP. If the Meyer's roots stay moist for more than 2 days, you run the risk of having root rot and a whole slew of problems. I was turned on to Al's gritty mix. You might be able to make a version of the gritty mix but PLEASE don't use the vermiculite! That is also moisture renentive and therefore will keep your mix moist. From what I have learned from Mike, the point of the gritty mix is to have a mix that drains frelly and dries out completely in 1-2 days. I had a hard time deciding on using this or not. I was concerned about how well my citrus trees would do when I go on vacation since I really don't have anyone to water for me. However, I have seen a rapid big change in the 3 trees that I have this mix in. We should get together and write a complaint to Miracle Grow. They really need to change the name of the mix to just cactus soil!! Good luck with your tree. Once you change the soil to Al's gritty mix, your tree should improve greatly and yes it is extemely important that you remove every last bit of the soil mix before you repot it into the gritty mix. I would take the tree to the sink after you remove the majority of the crappy MG citrus soil. I would have the water at luke warm and rinse all the soil off those roots. I would not wait another minute to repot this tree. I don't remember who said it here, but someone had said that the average life expectancy of a potted citrus is two years because they normally die from root rot. The thing that is really bad is that us newbies don't think that we are doing anything wrong in using the MG soil since it is MG. I have been growing tropicals and other plants since for quite a while now and the biggest lesson that I have learned is that a prepackaged soil is not necessarily a good soil to use. For the past 4 years or so, I have been mixing up diffrent soils based on the needs of the plant. Citrus and mango were the last two fruit trees that I had problems with making a mix for.
Andrew

Hi Christy! I transplanted my trees into MG cactus soil a few months ago. It was draining poorly. Rather than replace it, I tried to amend it. No good. I developed gnats, which are apparently a sign of poor drainage. The trees looked OK but eventually there would have been trouble.

I'm in the process of transplanting everything (again) right now, with lots of help from the kind people on this Forum. You can add me to the list of people who would like to put a note in the MG suggestion box.

I third that motion! A complaint into the MG suggestion box!

Do you know how many trees that I have lost in previous years in that junk? Thousands of dollars of plants. Not anymore..:-)
. Mike

Thanks so much for the support! I am learning more and more everyday, that items sold for a specific reason,are actually worse for it. I have hermit crabs, and what they sell labeled for actual hermit crabs is the most deadly of the bunch. Funny, because coco-husks are best for hermit crabs, and just happens to be what is in one of the citrus recipes! LOL!

So I cannot stand companies making money on stuff that makes you worse off than when you started. I just do not get it. But I guess that is how the world is today. Pay $$$$ for things that wind up breaking or stop working right after you buy it.

Anyway, sorry for the rant! LOL!

I do have a question, when using sand as an ingredient, which I saw on one of the recipes, ( I have to go find the recipe page again) can you use play sand that you buy at your local hardware store? Or does it have to be sand from a beach?

I am going to go look up the recipes and will be able to comment more when I know what I am talking about :)

Thanks!!! CHristy

You definately do not want to use play sand or beach sand...

You want to use a coarse washed sand, that allows good drainage and does not fill in pore spaces...

As for the coconut husk chips, we'll leave that alone..:-)

Mike

HI Mike!

I did go out and find some bark. So I can do a mix with that also. I have many citrus I need to replant now, so I have plenty of room to experiment.

Yeah, when looking for recipes for the coco-husks, there were more negative posts about them then positive I see, so I assume Pine Bark vs. Coco Husks must be a long time debate here???? I guess if I spend more time here, I would get the hang of it all!

So, I have the following at my disposal

Western Fir Bark
Coco Husks
Perilite
Dolimite Lime
Peat
Epsoms Salt

If I could make a great recipe just out of those ingredients, that would be great. I could not come across any gypsum which I saw was an ingredient in one recipe.

Can you suggest a good recipe with those ingredients that I have?>

Thanks again so much for the help!

PS, by the way, I saw an Orchid mix, that was just Fir Bark, Coarse Perilite ( which I cannot find anywhere) and Charcoal. COuld that be a good mix for citrus? Would charcoal hurt citrus at all?

My lemon tree was thriving in decent soil for a couple of years with decent fruit but this year the leaves are yellow between the veins. I have tried fertilizing, extra iron and nothing has worked. We live in a fairly cold climate and bring it in when it gets really cold. Maybe that hurt it? Any help would be appreciated. We live at about 2400 in northern california foothills.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch142

when was the last time you repotted?

What is the decent soil?

If your temps are running below 55 on a daily basis, that will affect nutrient uptake.

How cold are we talking and how often? what are your consistent temps at?

Mike:-)