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Trees & Shrubs - Australia

Dying Lemon/Lime and Olive Tree and Pittosporum General Questions

Lina Mendez Posterino

11 years ago

Hi. I'm a novice gardener, just trying to landscape my first home in Melbourne's Nth Suburbs (clay soil). Probably committed a few schoolboy errors here but it's the only way to learn. I bought a couple of olive trees that I dug out of another person's front yard then transplanted in pots (using sandy commercial soil and some commercial compost) until I decided whether to plant them in the ground. One is looking pretty sad and it can't be for lack of water. The other has a few brown leaves but looks like it will make it. What should/can I do to revive it/them? Secondly, bought a lemon and lime tree and they were going fairly well, watered regularly, planted in the ground with a sandy commercial soil. Then they lost all their leaves, suspiciously after I added an Aldi citrus fertiliser to them; the lemon looks dead and the lime looks pretty critical. What can I do? Finally, I have put in pittosporum for privacy/hedging. Should I have planted these closer together for the sake of a thicker hedge? Is there any chance of transplanting them closer together and adding more or will that shock them too much? How should I prune them to encourage better growth? I have looked on youtube but can't find any good advice on pruning pittosporum. I want it thick and about 8 feet high.

Lime with lemon in background

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Comments (2)

alisonoz_gw
11 years ago
Hi, it's all learning. Don't give up.

I don't know anything about olives, but it's reasonable to think some transplant shock there. Don't know how long they had been already in the ground, how much rootball you took etc. It might be the case, that they were always going to lose some leaves (as I say, dunno about olives). Some people "top" plants when they relocate them, some don't. for now I'd just let them be. I WOULD however move them into a shadier spot. No matter how much water, you've got heat on those pots and reflected heat from the fence. Give them a little time up a side path somewhere and see how they go. You might later decide to prune them back a bit if the tops die off.

The citrus, if your sub-soil is clay, just won't like it too much. And fertilizing straight away might have been too much. What they HATE is root competition esp grass, so you need to decide whether you want a lawn there or citrus. You would be much better raising them up into mounds or make a little edging to keep that grass out. Give them time to settle, no more fertilizer for a while.
Zephyr
10 years ago
Hi Lina,

I live and work atViverplanta, plant nursery
in Olhão, Algarve, Portugal. Looking at Mebourne's average temperatures I wouldn't think this to be a problem for either the lemon or the olive. From the picture your olive tree is dying. Olive trees are normally easy to grow and grow well in most soil including clay. Over watering can be a problem. Easy back on the watering of your olive and get your man to piss on the lemon tree. Failing this any other urine will do but apparently male urine works wonders for citrus types, I jest not! :) My lemon, lime and oranges sprung back up after a regular dosing. All the best! Below: Olives growing at Viverplanta
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