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Potted Myers lemon not growing

zwoydziak9bsunset13

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I have a potted Myers lemon tree which seems to be stuck in mode where it doesn't want to put foilage on but doesn't seem to be declining either (no dieback on the branches). It has been about this way for a year now. It puts on loads of sickly looking flowers which bloom then fall off. It is potted in a 5:1:1 soil variant which seems to be working for all my other citrus and is being fertilized with Foilagepro and Osmocote. I had a few other citrus (kumquats) that declined a bit but grew back once I figured out good soil conditions. I can't quite seem to figure out this plant though. Any suggestions?

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Comments (5)

eshieh1
9 years ago
have you checked the PH of the mix? Also looks to be dry. Maybe a double (or triple) dose of the foliage pro to give it a kick? Ive done that in the past with my meyer that seemed stuck and it worked. (It didnt look this frail, but wasnt growing.
zwoydziak9bsunset13
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks eshieh. I haven't checked the pH of the soil. The top inch of the soil is dry but underneath is moist though not wet. It was one of three plants that I originally acquired before I knew about soil conditions, fertilization, and etc. I overwatered and the tree lost most of its leaves (as did my other two kumquat trees). Eventually, the kumquats snapped back, but my poor lemon never really did. I suspect it's roots may have been infected with phytophthora at some point. I treated with mono and dibasic salts of phosphoric acid (agriphos) but no luck so far. It maybe a target for "atomic grow" :), or perhaps a whole new tree is in order.
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myermike_1micha
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Graet suggestion with the pH thing..The pH of your watering solution will make all the difference on your tree if it is acidic enough to release the nutrients every time you water..
But I have a question?/ Did you lime the soil mix when you prepared it?
Eshie is right, a good kick in the pants with extra Foliage Pro should work although it is concerning that you live in a warm area and did use a slow release..That should of done the trick for your lack of Foliage Pro..
Where do you live?
If you live in a very warm area, I would make it a concern to make sure the nutrients are readily available and not held up in your mix..)
Have you checked for bugs??
zwoydziak9bsunset13
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Mike. I live in Las Vegas area which is plenty warm. No lime was added to the soil when prepared and I haven't checked the pH of the soil. I could try giving a triple shot of FP and watering with acetic acid to see if that will kick the plant. Has anyone ever used Gibberillic acid? Seems like that reduces flower production so that the plant maybe forced to expend its energy for foilage rather than flowers?
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
9 years ago
If it's in an unlimed 5-1-1 mix, then it should be plenty acidic enough, or so one would think. A pH test will confirm.

Josh

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