And this is the current. You can see it is dropping leaves pretty quickly.... was I given bad advice? Did she prune it incorrectly? Was this drop inevitable, and most importantly, can I still save it? Thanks.

I would re-pot with better draining potting mix. Search this forum for Gritty mix or 511 mix. You can then water frequently and also water with a liquid fertilizer and not have the fear of root root. If you have spider mites, you must treat, treat, treat, treat. They are stubborn and difficult to get rid of. And after your treat multiple times, you must be vigilant in watching for the inevitable reappearance, and treat, again. I would recommend using Dyna Gro Foliage Pro for your fertilizer. This is the fertilizer of choice for most of this forum's successful container citrus growers. It has the proper NPK ratio plus all the micros. Full strength during the summer months, when you can take your tree outside, then 1/2 strength during the slower growing winter months. Apply with every watering. Many container folks will also supplement with a slow release fertilizer as well, using Osmocote Plus (must be the "Plus" formulation, to give your the proper NPK ratio and all the micros). Lastly, be sure your tree is getting as much light as possible. A south or very bright west window. You may need to provide additional full spectrum lighting as well. Let us know how your tree fares after re-potting and better fertilizing and mite treatment.

Patty S.

I would say that your tree definitely has an Iron and maybe even a nitrogen deficiency but the problem may not be your fertilizer. You say your soil is dense and citrus do not like dense soil. your roots are probably suffocating and possibly rotting, preventing them from taking in nutrients from the soil.

Your best bet is to re-pot your tree using either the 1:1:1 or 5:1:1 gritty mix which you can read about on this forum. after you re-pot give it a good dose of fertilizer that contains micro-nutrients such as foliage-pro 9-3-6 and it should green up.

I personal use a mix of:
-1 part crushed granite (home depot)
-1 part pine/spruce bark fines (pet land)
-1 part aquarium soil (pet land)

you want a mix with excellent drainage and you never want a dense mix that is always wet

It needs sun and iron chelate. And a potting soil/mix called cactus mix. I would dig out as much of that dark soil as you can without repotting or disturbing the roots and refill with cactus mix. And open those curtains !

Thank you all for the advice.

Soil: I should mention I did "repot" on the same day it got a haircut. I loosened up the compact potting soil and put it back in the same pot with new loose potting soil. do we think this is OK? I did disturb the roots some to accomplish this, the usual landscaper rough-up before planting. the roots did not look like they were in any state of rot, in fact they looked pretty healthy, a lot healthier than the top end, so I'm hoping I didn't do too much damage below the soil. I have never ever mixed my own soils or anything, it seems a little daunting, but I will attempt if we think its a good choice. is it too soon to try it if so? I mean it's already been through a lot lately.

About sunlight: when the plant first started getting pale leaves I immediately thought sunlight too and introduced it (slowly) to full outdoor sun throughout the summer. I've had to take it in now because it's too cold for it. that is a massive south facing window and the brightest spot in the house. if we would could get a sunny day sometime this month it would be shining directly on the grapefruit. I did, however, bring it in rather suddenly, and it wouldn't matter how big my window is it will never get the kind of light it was getting outside. is it maybe unhappy with the move? keep in mind it has progressively been getting more paler leaves for at least the last 6 months. the only thing new here is the rapid drop of leaves after it was treated and re-potted and pruned and fertilized.

Fertilizer: can I get a breakdown of the proportions I'm supposed to be feeding this thing? I originally started with Miracle grow shake & feed (19-6-12 slow release and apparently no micro nutrients), again about 6 months ago when I first started to notice the leaves being pale and veiny. this made the plant grow more, but the leaves were even more pale than before (see smaller light green leaves in the picture) it sent out a bunch of new shoots. so I gave it more thinking it might need more to make the leaves darker, but I am now pretty sure that I overdid it. I took all the granules out when I repotted and switched to the nursery lady's recommended all purpose plant food (20-20-20 with boron 0.02, copper 0.05, iron 0.1, magnese 0.05, molybdenum 0.0005, zinc 0.05, edta chelating agent 1%) this is water soluble and I've fed it just twice so far. is this appropriate to continue with?

Pests: it did have spider mites! I could see the teeny tiny beige bugs just barely. I sprayed them with the nursery lady's recommended safer's end-all. I had no idea you had to treat more than once. how often should I spray down the plant? and how many more times? I can't see any spider mites on it anymore, but they were VERY tiny, so I might just not be seeing them! do the spider mites pose a serious threat to the tree? they seem so tiny, and unlikely to actually do damage.

I appreciate all the advice greatly! I had no idea citrus were so particular about their likes. I've already learned a lot about how to properly care for one (I didn't know what a micro nutrient was just 3 weeks ago!)

Silver, I would recommend following our instructions regarding re-potting with Gritty or 511 mix. I would recommend using Dyna Gro's Foliage Pro as well as supplement with Osmocote Plus. Your tree is not in any shape for negotiation. We know these methods are exceptionally successful. That, and give it more light. And yes, spider mites can kill even the healthiest trees. So, treat, treat, treat, treat. Then, do that all over, again. Treat all your indoor plants, as the mites will use their webs to travel to other plants (they simply spin a tiny web and allow air currents to take them to other plants), All indoor plants need to be treated or you'll just perpetuate the infection.

Patty S.

I've had spider mites a few times and it needs spraying every 2-3 days for a few weeks and then probably a bit more on top. I also tried to keep them in a humid atmosphere as much as possible.

I've got one now that I'm currently dis-infecting.

Thank you again, thats some pretty professional advice. I'm not sure how to accomplish most of it lol! for example the closest dyna gro retailer is 3 hours away, and I'm not setup financially or space-wise to invest in a plant light, but I will certainly do the best I can to tick as many boxes as possible. at the very least I can work on the soil, treat more for mites, and find a closer supplement to the recommended. thanks!

Silver, order Foliage Pro online. No sense in wasting gasoline trying to drive around, finding it. I bought mine on amazon.com Much more reasonable than wasting time and money trying to drive around to find it :-) Plant lights are pretty inexpensive. Until then, put your tree in a south window. If you don't have a south facing window, select a west-facing window. If you don't have that, then you really are going to need supplemental light, as a north or east window just will not produce enough light to keep your tree healthy. And, citrus do not need excessive humidity. If that were the case, they'd never survive in S. California (where today, my relative humidity if about 12%). What they do benefit from, is a trip to the shower to be hosed or sprayed off, removing house dust ( and mites).

Patty S.