I do know they look bare as if they have been loosing leaves for a while but that's actually how they came off the mother tree when I removed them...... But they were very yellow, and thanks to all of you and especially MeyerMike they are now nice and green.

I would guess, from the size of the trees and the size of the pots, and your descriptions... that you are not watering often enough. With such a porous, quick draining soil, letting the trees get "drooping" is not smart. If you let a Meyer get too dry and then water it, it will drop leaves; I have seen some container Meyers lose every leaf in 2 days for that.

I would agree with John, and that your pots are much too small. Pot up, keep well watered. Consider adding more fines to your mix - I do not use the traditional 511 mix, as it is just too dry for me here in S. California, with our temps, radiant heat from all our sunshine, lower humidity and no rain.

Patty S.

I agree with John and Patty, as well.

Don't bother waiting for signs of wilt - start watering your trees on a schedule. That's why you're using the 5-1-1 - it really allows for a greater margin of error when it comes to over-watering. When you water, saturate that mix....wait 15 minutes, and then saturate it again. You must get it fully hydrated, no dry pockets.

Josh

Thanks guys, really appreciate all of your help. Hoosierquilt, and greenman28, sorry I didn't add you to the topic list of "pro's". I most deff consider you two as part of that group.

Yes the parts are small, I put the air layers in those pots because the root ball was quite small and didn't want to "over do it". I did plan on reporting them this spring in 15 gal Air Pots, using a slightly denser 5-1-1 mix. When should I repot? Should I wait for April, or may? My nighttime temps are still dropping to 45f or so, and days are averaging 70f.

Next month or April. Try to time your re-pot between flushes of growth.

I'm in a just slightly cooler area of northern California (I think), and I re-potted a Pomelo tree yesterday. Granted, the Pomelo wasn't flowering or fruiting, so I wasn't concerned about interrupting the bloom-cycle.

My other Citrus will be re-potted once the weather is a little more consistent.

Josh

Thanks josh, I am in Sonoma County west side of the county to be exact. I appreciate the advice. I will repot next month or early April.

Sounds good.

I'm in the foothills above Auburn (40 miles northeast of Sacramento).
So I'm further north, but only at 1,500 feet elevation.

Josh

Oh cool, I will actually be near you this afternoon, as I will be taking my family to Lake Tahoe for the weekend.

Thanks again for all your help

Very cool! Are you driving up 50 to get to Tahoe?
As the crow flies, I'm about 60 miles West of Tahoe, same latitude.

The weather is excellent, but the nights will be chilly. Enjoy!

Josh

Yes, we do take 50. South Lake Tahoe is where our Cabin is.

Take some pics! I'm sure we'd all love to see them :-)
Share the natural beauty of California!

Josh

Just a few.... I will post up some more when I get some time. These three pictures were taken just outside Lake Tahoe at a place called fallen leaf lake. Beautiful place

Fallen Leaf Lake is where a good friend of mine was married last year!

At least there's a dusting of snow up there....

Josh

my daughter woke up in excitment this morning to find some fresh snow fall overnight.

Hi everyone and I love the pics Josh..Been a bit sick but much better. I see you have already got some good help Stickstring...O was also going to tell you to never let your citrus wilt...I hope to see some nice pics and Josh, very nice...I hear your temps are starting to lower...Big deal..lol

Looking at the pictures you posted of your trees I see they are currently flowering. The flowering and flushing cycles of a citrus tree, is also the highest time that a citrus tree drops leaves. It is very common during this period. Many of the discarded leaves are indeed older yellow leaves, but certainly not always. Healthy green leaves are frequently also discarded.

Ok guys, I'm back from tahoe and to my suprise one of my meyer's had turned just about every single "older" leave from green to yellow. I was shocked and slightly panicked. All of the newer leaves are still nice and green. I moved the tree over to the wall to get a picture and just about every single leaf that had turned yellow had fallen off. No joke. I watched about 15-20 leaves hit the ground. My jaw dropped. Before I left for tahoe on Friday, I soaked the pots with water to flush them out, let them sit for 10 min and then watered with foilage pro. Today, the pots were suprisingly dry. Not bone dry, slightly moist. But not enough. I believe my bark in the 5-1-1 mix I made is slightly too big even though I did strain through a 1/2" screen. I have attached a picture of the tree that has dropped all of the older leaves.

Btw, I picked up three 15 gallon Air Pots on my way home from Tahoe. So I'll i need to do now is just make a batch of 5-1-1

Josh,

I had a question in regards to your 511 mix. Since our climates are very close if not identical. I was wondering what you use and what your ratio's are.

Thanks

I used screened Greenall Micro Bark, Perlite, and Ocean Forest potting mix (instead of peat). Then, of course, I add Dolomitic Garden Lime and Osmocote slow-release.

5 bark, 1 perlite, 1 potting mix; 1 tablespoon Lime per gallon of mix; 1 - 2 tablespoons Osmocote per container (3.5 gallon/#5 nursery container).

Josh

Thanks josh, so it's basically the exact recipe I used with peat instead of potting mix. I screened my bark through a 1/2" screen but the majority of the bark was very long splinter peice's that I left assuming it was ok due to the fact it made it through the screen. I will make up a new batch and be a little more careful.

Also, can I be loosing as many leaves as I have been due to letting it dry out too much in the past? I may try watering every 2-3 days and hopefully that takes care of my problem

Sure, dry roots will cause leaf-drop....

but when I look at those yellow leaves, I immediately think nutrition.
Meyers are hungry feeders, and producing flowers requires a lot of energy.

I would saturate the container completely, let it drain a few minutes, then I'd
hit it with some high nitrogen fertilizer.

Josh

I fertilize with foilage pro at every watering. Soak the pot first, let sit for 10 min and then fertilize

How much Foliage Pro are you using? And how often are you watering?

You might try 1.5 teaspoons in a gallon of water, once a week. That's what I'm doing now.

The other thing, which has been mentioned, is the small container size. *If* the tree is severely root-bound, the leaves will yellow and drop no matter how much you fertilize. That's a big *if* though.

Josh

On average, I am watering once a week, sometimes week and half. I am using about 2 tsp of foliage pro per gallon of water. I do believe my mix may be wrong due to bark size. The pieces to look fairly large compared to others I have seen and I have noticed the first two or three inch's of the potting mix is purely bark and perlite. so I am assuming the peat has migrated to the bottom which may be why its being "under watered"? not 100% sure.

When I potted them in those pots last September, the root zones were very small. I don't know if you recall my posts on the air layers back then, but I would be surprised if the roots have grown to the point they were chocking themselves out. but I guess you never know?

Ah, I see. If the peat has migrated to the lower inches, it could be holding too much moisture.....Can you slip the rootball out of the container to inspect it?

Josh

Yes I suppose I could. I would be a little nervous to expose the roots like that. Would it be best to just try and make a big batch of new mix and as soon as its ready re-pot into the 15 gallon Air Pots. I suppose I could inspect the roots at that time?

I was thinking about those Air Pots, and being that they will definitely promote faster drying with all the holes in the side, should I modify the 5-1-1 mix slightly?

Maybe 5 parts bark, 2 parts peat / ocean forest, and 1 part perlite? Do you feel that ratio may hold too much moisture?

Actuality, it is really not about the amount of moisture, but about the amount of oxygen available to the root system. It is the lack of oxygen that actually damages the roots. If a citrus tree's root system has a continual ample oxygen supply available to it you could water a tree every day with out any concern - even twice a day.

Absolutely correct! Oxygen!

Josh,

Thanks. I am really crossing my fingers for optimum root and foilage growth this year so (hopefully) next year I can allow them to produce fruit. So I have really been stressing on making sure everything is perfect.

If you think using two parts ocean forest would work good in the air pots then I will go that route and hopefully the tree's really perk up and put on some growth this year. My ultimate goal is to plant both trees into the ground, but will not be able to do so for a few years (buying our first home). So want them to be as strong and healthy as possible for when that time comes.

Greenman28, actually it is the other way around. It is oxygen in the rhizosphere that makes it possible for a citrus tree to "drink" water. Without rhizosphere oxygen a citrus tree is incapable of taking in water.

If that's what you took away from my comments in this Thread, then you've missed the point entirely, Imelda.

Stickstring, this rain ought to be great for your tree! I hope it's falling hard in your neck of the woods. It's coming down in fat drops here.Josh

Josh,

Sorry, I never introduced myself. Name is Nick. Thank you again for all of your help.

No rain yet. I just checked the weather and its calling for rain tomorrow afternoon. So hopefully I will get some tomorrow around 3 pm!

Hey, Nick, nice to have a name.

There's going to be some lake-level snow in Tahoe, I hear...you visited just in time!

Josh

Josh, that is also what I've heard. I've got a few good friends who are up there now hoping to catch the fresh powder on the slopes. I myself have never been to fond of the "ice" sports. Too cold for my liking, but I did get the pleasure of taking my 3 yr old daughter ice skating for the first time last weekend in tahoe which was fun to witness. She loved it.

I am killing myself waiting to re-pot these Meyers! I've got everything ready to roll, just taking your advice and waiting for March/April. I made a thread in the container forum but might as well ask you as well here....

When repoting Into the air pots, if any roots are longer then the pots, do I prune them to size or do I just stuff them into the pot? I bought the 15 gal air pots so I don't think I will have any crazy long roots but just want to be sure of what to do so I don't make a last minute drastic decision.

Btw, when I said "longer then pot", I mean from center of pot to the inside edge where the holes are.

Thanks,

Nick

You know, with the weather so warm....you could probably re-pot now, even if it's a bit earlier than general wisdom would suggest. After all, I did just re-pot a Pomelo.

If there are some long roots, yes, I would trim them off rather than stuff them into the pot. They'll have to be dealt with sooner or later, so you'd might as well address them now.

Josh