here's a pic

Your tree is alive and save able. REMOVE The fruit now. Next, while very unconventional, remove the excess water from the soil and add air. See picture.

What you see are buckets with a side hole the size of my vaccuum cleaners hose. Only one of my tree,s pot is visable to the right. I use my vacuum cleaner to pull ari through the roots and draw the excess water out and aerate the roots. This has worked beyond my best expectations. next picture is my 2 year old tree from when its seed sprouted.

seed grown sweetlee tangerine tree # 3 above

seed grown sweetlee tangerine tree # 4 below

One empty coffee can with a hole in its will do the job

steve

Wouldnt it be easier to use the right soil first instead of vacuuming the water out of it?

Brauns pot looks like ceramic or painted terra cotta. wouldnt suggest drilling a hole in it. That leaves repotting which the state that this tree is in doesnt give it much of chance to survive. Maybe but slim.

I currently have it in just miracle grow soil... Didn't know better when I repotted it originally. And yes the pot is painted terra cotta. I also fear that the vaccuum method is probably too advanced for me. *sigh*

I actually feel that my tea/cinnamon treatment may have worked slightly... I see a little bit of new growth on it for the first time in weeks... It stopped dying and actually has two new buds.

I realize it's probably toast, but until the spring rolls around I want to keep my hopes up. These new little green bits on a very brown plant were a pleasant surprise when I went in for my inspection today. It's still Buggy, but I think if it holds out another couple weeks I will try and change the soil.. What should I use that's better?

In the meantime, should I keep watering it with the chamomile? What else kills these buggers? I am absolutely petrified to water it now and make things worse! Lol

Thank you guys so much for your help with this. I figured you would probably tell me it's toast. Next time I have an issue I'll ask for help sooner...

where is it pushing the new growth. Most of the branches look dead. I suspect it is the lowest one. Steve was right that if you want to try and revive it you need to remove the fruit.

I would do this if you want to revive it.

First stop worrying about treating the fungus gnats they wont hurt anything. maybe add a sticky trap to catch them.

Water and fertilize now with a balanced fert. Then get that guy in a nice warm sunny spot. if it wants to live it will respond to that. It wont need a lot of water until it leafs back out. After it has re-flushed leaves we can address the soil but until then I would take a dowel rod or something and poke holes all the way to the bottom of the pot to aerate the soil.

A re-pot now would surely end its life.

transplanting would be better if you wait until spring warmth and then transplant Meanwhile use my techniques. All of my citrus and fig trees are in a mix of 50% back yard dirt and 50% potting soil equivalent. My soil is VERY heavy and can not be used with out my vacuum drain and aeration system. You can save the tree until good transplant weather comes. Don't use potting soil unless you will be setting up an aeration system like mine.

It is not possible to buy a citrus/cactus soil mix. You must make your own.

1 part pearlite

1 part potting soil

5 parts pine fines

Steve. No one is going to go around sucking air through their pots with a vacuum. Advice like yours is why this forum is dying.

Hi Mike

You stated the vacuum idea very accurately. I am just suggesting one plant, one month, one vacuuming.

Then in spring time lets transplant the tree to gritty mix or 5-1-1 so we go very well from this point on with a tree that otherwise had NO chance.

Braun

Mike is correct in that you do not want a system that needs the vacuum idea. When I planted my trees I to had way to heavy of mix. My trees suffered and I came up with this vacuum system to pull the trees though the winter to spring when I re planted them. If I had used 5-1-1 or gritty mix my tree would have done very well with no vacuum.

My trees grew so well because of the light box and heat It was not the vacuum that worked. The vacuum pulled my trees through what was probably a terminal jam.

Mike The only 2 things wrong with my light buckets and hot box is

1) The electric does not pass IBI inspection codes.

2) The garden forum consist almost entirely of people that are flush with money.

I work in communities that have residents who work 2 jobs and still rely on soup kitchens to keep from starving. One 5 gallon bucket in a lawn with kale can produce enough greens for one person all year that he/she could NEVER EVER afford at a grocery store $$$$$$$$$$$$.

Mike it appears to me that you have NEVER EVER had a REAL problem in your life that amounted to more than an insecure feeling in high school because Joe Sluck's girl friend was prettier than yours.

I do greatly respect your tremendous knowledge of growing of plants and citrus trees You trees are admirable. I fear I am Preaching to the wrong group of people in this forum. If there is a few People that I have help with my outside of the bucket thinking then it was worth it to me. There are other forces that are diminishing the citrus forum and it to will come back as we figure out how to correct them.

STEVE HAS SPOKEN

You know what this has gone away from what the op came here for and I apologize.

Steve. Dont act like you know me or my life. Its clear you have a chip on your shoulder towards anyone who speaks the truth to the inaccuracies of your methods.

My post was accurate. You spam EVERY thread with your silly contraptions and its exhausting for everyone.

Good luck to you and your trees. I'm moving on from this forum and going back to my mansion in the hills.

Mike I have reworded my original reply to point out that the vacuum is just a stopgap measure to save the tree. I am not recommending a vacuum set up. Mine was a hassle, but did save my trees.

Steve