I read in a few threads on this forum that when transplanting lemon trees it's essential to make sure to get rid of as much of existing soil as possible so that there aren't two different layers of soil which would restrict the root growing. Maybe they were only referring to repotting after a few years, not fresh out of the nursery? But also like Josh said, even before I was about to seriously meddle with the root, the soil kinda just fell off and a part of the root ball fell with it. After that I didn't dare to touch it much. I noticed that this plant doesn't really have a distinct trunk above the rootball. The tree starts branching off immediately on top of the rootball, giving me almost no space to pile soil on top of the rootball. I did my best to sprinkle soil on the root ball but they rolled off after a few days. As a result the top of the rootball is pretty much exposed. My soil is also mostly barks with perlite, but the rootball is too shallow to support the tree, especially when there's no soil on top of the rootball. I don't know if staking helps much because the tree is pretty straight after I put the brick on the rootball. So if I were to replace this tree, I should just repot (I need to repot it to a bigger pot or else it's really ugly) the new tree without losing any nursery soil into my new mix?

I really want a lemon tree and no one sells them in this area. I might try Four Winds. Anyone else ever successfully order a lemon tree from the internet? Yes, from Raintree Nursery who gets their [Citrus] stuff from Four Winds. I wouldn't hesitate to do business with either. Just this year I got 4 3 year old blueberries from Raintree to replace what my dogs ate last year and I was blown away how well branched and rooted they were. I also ordered two orange trees from Raintree which drop ship from Four Winds and they came very healthy and well rooted as well. It's slightly cheaper to order citrus from 4winds than Raintree, but as far as I am concerned both provide accurate descriptions of what you are paying for and deliver a quality product. The Meyer Lemon I got from them I allowed to produce a few lemons in year one and this year it was covered in blooms that were beautiful. Time will tell how well it fruits, but the point is it's very healthy.

It's in a 14" pot. Soil is dry enough to need water (less than half a gallon) 1- 2 times a week. The plant has filled out nicely and has grown a little since I planted it. (New thorns are also growing.) I know it will bloom through out the year. Sorry if i wasn't very clear. I just meant I didn't want to stress it into bloom for the instant gratification. Thanks for the advice. I'm watching the temps very closely, I keep it inside on cloudy days in a bright window. The south facing corner, outside, stays way too cool when the sun isn't shining, but can easily reach 72 on a 52 deg day. The building and stony ground cover surrounding it, both radiate a lot of heat. The normal highs for my area are around 62 deg this time of year. We've been unusually cool. I'm in southern RI. Right on the Atlantic shore (where it often snows on one side of the highway and rains on the other; at the same time. Makes for some interesting U-turns) I think the azalea mistake comes from all the leaves around here that have either turned color or fallen already. I think the person who asked thinks azaleas are semi evergreen like rhoderdendrum. I was out for a few hours the other day and when I came home, the tray under the lemon had water in it. This same person came and told me my tree was wilting, but denied watering it. (Only the new growth was wilting - because it got too warm.) He also said it would do a lot better if I planted it in the ground like his sister's tree in Florida. A New England native should know better. The little old lady next door gave me some Lemon Christmas ornaments to hang on it today, so no one will make that mistake again... funny lady.

5 days in a box would be pushing it..All that time in the total darkness..I would be careful about putting it in sunlight. Just light in a shady area or in a bright room is all I would give it for a good 5 days..You might loose a leaf or two, but I think it will be fine)