Root rot with in-ground citrus; advice to re-plant in clay soil
SoCalMacca (El Cajon, CA; USDA Zone 10a)
7 years ago
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SoCalMacca (El Cajon, CA; USDA Zone 10a)
7 years agopip313
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Clay Soil... ready to plant in ground, but how?
Comments (3)Hi Rhizo, Thanks for replying. Actually, I'm fairly certain I know what the cause is... the construction in that spot of the yard has compacted what used to be decent soil. We used to have a very lush yard there... with a mature plum and ginormous lemon tree (now my master bath LOL) and mature perennials such as salvia and lavender and agapanthus. When the contractor finished the addition, the (jerk) building inspector insisted the topsoil they left drain away from the house so they just moved the clay soil closer to the foundation and hand stamped it down to show a slight grade. And after a winter and a spring with nothing planted in it... thus... clay. I'm also calling it "hardpan" undeneath but I'm not sure it's technically a hardpan... but it's definitely very hard clay. When I water for a couple minutes over the planting bed, there are just parts that still have puddles of water sitting on top of the clay. Does that give you enough information to help me decide whether I should add more organic at this point? Or at least whether I should go in there and hand till deeper. Your information is always so helpful to folks here. Thanks!...See MoreTransplanting peonies into clay soil--should I re-dig?
Comments (3)When did you transplant your peonies the first time? Is the amended soil in a raised bed? The only issue I could think of is a possibility of poor drainage with a clay base so close, otherwise you should be fine. Have the peonies been in place long enough to tell if the area is going to get boggy? I can tell you from experience they don't like wet roots, they'll rot! Most people do divide the larger roots, they take quite an effort to dig out once they get bigger, don't they? Better to do it once and done with moving and dividing them! That said, as long as there were enough feeder roots kept intact to support the number of eyes on your larger peony it'll probably be okay. A lot depends on how the rootball looked when you dug it up. If the middle was really woody with little or no eyes with all of the healthy looking parts on the outside of the root, I'd dig it back up and divide it to encourage new eye/root formation. Some of them get that way and will just start dying out from the middle. If the whole thing was a mass of fleshy, tuberous roots with healthy eyes then you're fine. I would think 3/4" of soil over the eyes is just about perfect for your zone....See MoreCitrus Winter Leaf Drop, Root Rot, any Hope. SOS
Comments (19)Thanks for all of your help everyone. I think I've done everything I can/will do for now. It's in the sunniest window in the house. Its been fertilized, and I think it's in a planting medium that will do. It's not Al's gritty mix, which apparently is just this side of the mix used to grow the Garden of Eden, but it's organic and seems to drain quickly. The tree has produced a few flowers. I don't know if that's good or bad or portentous, but it did. So I'm just going to enjoy the sent, and hope it survives until March. On another note, we have some warm days in the forecast mid 60s. I want to put the trees on the porch, but the temp is supposed to drop again and I'd need to bring them back in. Is it good to move them in and outdoors frequently if I'm not "hardening them off." Will that cause some sort of shock and mess up the one orange tree that appears to be flourishing?...See MoreIn-ground citrus in soggy soil
Comments (8)Here are a few photos...and thanks for the comments already contributed! Here is the meyer. I'm not a roots expert but lots of the local citrus are grafted on trifoliate orange. It was in a pot for too long and had a really thick but short trunk when I planted it. It still has a low habit but has branched out quite a bit. The youngest leaves have a yellowish tint so perhaps it is suffering some. It's also starting some buds for flowers so it's clearly not been told we are just about to begin Feburary, not June :>) Meyer, General Habit Meyer, Leaves Meyer Buds Meyer Trunk Notice the wet-loving herbs such as wild strawberries and dollar weed Here are some photos of the wettest Ponderosa. It's seed-grown so it's on its own roots. General of several trees Ponderosa with crawfish burrows in foreground Closeup of mud Satsuma orange with crawfish burrows around it. This tree is doing great but is wet enough through the winter and spring for crawfish to make burrows in the same area. Here is a blood orange planted in a much drier location but it's a little over eight feet tall and hasn't fruited since I brought it from the nursery as a three-foot tree. Not sure if my wet soil is at fault for this one but it might be part of it. Many of you may rightly point out I'm letting grass compete with the citrus roots so that could be part of the blood orange's issue but I'm reluctant to use herbicides around my trees for a variety of reasons....See Morejohnmerr
7 years agoevdesert 9B Indio, CA
7 years agoBarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoSoCalMacca (El Cajon, CA; USDA Zone 10a)
7 years agoJean
7 years ago
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evdesert 9B Indio, CA