"The reason to remove the soil was so that the drainage and moisture retention would be consistant throughout the medium. The concern was that a mass of dense potting soil would not get wet enough (or would possibly stay too wet), as the water rushed through the faster draining CHCs or bark mix surrounding the old root ball/soil mass. But, with all the repotting I've done, I've seen that the roots naturally reach out, grow through and surround all the CHCs/bark with astounding speed. So the possible watering problem (by not removing old soil) has *not* manifested itself. The plant fills the new pot rapidly with healthy roots and gets nourishment and moisture easily. " Lisa: we are in sync of the reasoning why I have not done so removing the soil of the old pot. I believe that the citrus roots will seek out the moisture/water for survival so if the water is in the new sorrounding CHC mixture the plant will send out new roots to seek where the water is in a hurry. So in no time you have a tremendous new roots going everywhere for water search. I believe the plant can sense where the water is. A case in point- roots imbedded in the sewer joints inside the pipe. Also I've seen roots that travel 5 to 8 times its height.

I read through a lot of Al's post's on the matter and took about 1/3rd of the roots off with sterilized garden shears focusing on the large, twisted, j hooked roots leaving as many feeders as possible focusing mostly on roots growing directly under the plant. I didn't need a rake as many of my trees are still young and don't have really dense root systems and I was able to wash all the soil away with my hose sprayer and get them untangled. I did take 1-4 larger roots off of the majority of the plants, some didn't have any that were causing any congestion so I didn't prune. I am mostly hoping that by starting while they are young will help set them up for a better root structure down the road. They all took it pretty well except for the limes that wilted after a few days but one had the start of root rot and the other had horribly large congested roots that were starting to fuse. The others showed no signs of decline until the heat wave and lack of watering a few weeks later, even so some that where pruned sailed right on through and others that weren't dried out. But I know root pruning them put some in a more delicate state that made it harder for them to handle the extreme temperatures. If I was going to do it again I would certainly do it in the early spring before the flush of new growth to promote an easier recovery and not have as high of chance of a heat wave rolling through. I was waiting on some back ordered reptibark and had to wait for the delivery which is why I did it so late this year. I used this a guide Al's Post on Root Pruning and made some decisions as I went along. I figure if he does it with good results (on a huge scale) that I should give it a shot.

Your soils looks very dense. And that might be the problem. Not enough oxygen at the root area. How warm/cold is the floor area? Any cold draft?

Wow! That tree looks great! Way better than my puny little thing! These pictures of everyone’s trees make me want to go out and get more to experiment with! I’m starting to second guess an LED as I was just told any good quality one will be expensive which makes me think any reasonably priced ones on amazon are just a waste of money, even if I spend 50$ on a bulb. Leaning towards a CFL now. I am still new at this too but if I were you, had a light, wanted to continue active growth throughout the Chicago winter.... I would repot in the 5-1-1. Which I just did! With the poor growing conditions inside a condo, that soil isn’t going to allow the plant to hold up over the winter, even with the lights. If you are needing to water so much to keep it from wilting or drying out you may just be making the problem worse because that water might be sitting at the bottom still and I’ve read that root rot with over watering can look like a dehydrated tree that wilts because the roots can’t take up any of that extra water. Those roots you are seeing surface may be because they are looking for better air and drainage so they can actually take in the water they need. Or it may just be time for a bigger pot. Either way the answer would be to totally repot in new soil. I’d at least check the roots, mix in some 5-1-1 if you don’t want to ”totally re-pot” but it seems like you need way better draining soil for it to survive. if I were you, again...I’d just want to start fresh and not worry, I think it was worth it to take the risk. that’s just me though. I also have a humidifier running about 90% of the day right next to it. Indoor air is way too dry. I know others say it’s not needed but so far, id say it’s a huge help. I don’t know about pruning or if you should fertilize or not but I’d def change that soil at least 50% to the 5-1-1 and get a humidifier. I just totally repotted but in the same size pot, all I did was take out the “self watering“ component and add a lot more holes in the bottom and 4 on the side about an inch or 2 up the pot all across each other so there is a small hole on every side. I did the 5-1-1 with a tiny amount of slow release fertilizer and watered with half the recommended dose for indoors which is already half for outside of dyno gro. So far so good! I also wanted to add the fertilizer because it was lacking in something already and I have new buds and little lemons which I know takes up a lot of the nutrients which is maybe why the rest of the tree was suffering and getting chlorosis and yellowing leaves. Your leaves look good though so idk. very long explanation and answer short... just repot it. I know a lot of people here say not to do this in the winter but if it needs it now, it can’t wait all winter!