Isn't it so nice to be able to revive a goner? Good for you, your little tree looks to be in full recovery. And, that's saying a lot, as this cultivar is rather finicky, and not the most hardy of citrus cultivars. But, it is one of the prettier ones. Very well done.

Patty S.

I have a really hard time saying no to plants in distress. Many of them never recover, but it is the ones that do that make it worth the trouble.
Thank you for the compliment. Hopefully this winter is kinder.

Nice recovery! What's the one behind it in the first pic?

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this "problem". Last time at Armstrong's 70% discount section they were surprised when I didn't take all of them.

That would be the 'Shasta Gold' mandarin, veggie girl.
Holy cow! 70% is quite a bargain. Were they mostly salvageable?

Northbay,

So far, they have all recovered. That is balanced by managing to make some plants look bad that were perfectly fine when I bought them. I haven't killed one yet but a few came close.

This Cocktail Grapefruit was bought at Armstrong for $7. I was almost as sad as your Lemonade when you bought it. I think it had 5-6 leaves on it. You can see a couple leaves I managed to burn with too strong foliar fertilizer. It is a learning experience.

The green reflection in the pool is the original Valencia that was almost dead from ivy covering it. After 12 years of recovery, it is finally making good oranges.

Isn't this fun? So different from administering business computer systems. At least the plants don't work at destroying themselves like my customers do with their computer systems.

Lol. I would say very different from administering business computer systems. Plants do have a very strong will to survive.
For me it is almost an extension of where I work: a nursery.
You did an amazing job with that 'Cocktail'! I'm ashamed to say that not all of my rescues look so good. I have a 'Vainiglia Sanguigno' that was just starting to recover from rotting in its nursery container when I decided it had to be moved to a different spot, after having planted it. Now it's just starting to put out some healthy growth and flowers.
I think here in sunny California, our limiting factor for plants on the edge is water, forget even a single watering and they're crispy critters. I've learned the hard way.

Nice recuperation!
As Patty says, this is the not the easiest variety to keep happy, but with proper care it does respond well. Now that you have it in good form, feel free to prune it for shape and structure. Mine is very apically dominant, always trying to grow "up" instead of "out."

Josh