Hi Jean, Thanks for the watering tips. When I bought the tree, the garden gave watering instructions: daily for a certain number of weeks, twice weekly for a certain number of weeks, then once a week after that. They said to have the hose on a very slow drip for about half an hour. Because of kids and dogs messing with the hose, I have instead stood there and held the hose while I water with a rapid stream of water, but still did it once a week. If you think it needs more water,I can definitely do that (the soil is very sandy so it doesn't hold much moisture) but the tree doesn't look the way I would it expect it to if underwatered. My other three citrus trees receive the same watering treatment and are doing okay. Just the last few days, I have seen black spots of the leaves- they're almost fuzzy like a fungus is growing on the leaf. I was guessing that it is greasy spot as that seems to be a problem in this area. However, I treated the tree with a neem-based product last weekend, and I think that ought to cover greasy spot, too, although I haven't seen any change yet. I'll try your watering suggestions today! Thanks!

the kumquat was fine before i repotted it, so i'm thinking it must have been something i did (nothing happened to the mandarin tree though, and they were potted exactly the same way). i repotted it again yesterday, but left out the fertilizer. today i ended up cutting off the rest of the dead/dying twigs, and i'm left with 2 branches that haven't turned brown *knock on wood* though a couple of leaves have fallen off. i never noticed bugs or anything on it. will the twigs grow back eventually, or will i be left with practically a trunk? i did find a few egg cases (i think) on the lemon tree and i cut off the twig (they were all on the same one). there was a little sticky substance near where the twig meets the trunk. there was one more on a leaf further up, so i just plucked it off. there are only a couple more yellowing leaves right now, on the inside. the leaves towards the ends of the branches are dark green.

I am not in AZ so can only offer anecdotal info and perhaps a guess or two for you... perhaps others in your area can chime in and help. Heat (alone) - probably not. Heat and lack of water during the heat wave - possibly. Intense sun on bare limbs - possibly. A friend of mine in Scottsdale lost his mature lemon tree rather suddenly years ago. It was not heat, but stress from early season pruning (evidently the landscaper just did not know citrus too well). The shock of a significant trimming killed it. In my areas, lemons facing south and west all seem to do just fine, they love the intense sun... but must get enough water. My lemon leaves never show any sun scorch... unlike other cultivars. If you want to save the tree, paint the (sun exposed) trunk and limbs asap with a 50/50 solution of latex paint/water. I'd avoid pruning right now,,, some branches may come back in a surprising way. Mulch and cool the roots as Susanne suggests. And, make sure those light strings aren't strangling it anywhere. Let us know how things progress... we love updates and pictures .... good luck - George

You could just leave them in the clay pot and place those clay pots into decorative plastic containers with holes as I do. John's right, I found that many of my trees did not perform well when nights got too cold in clay. They never rotted because I use a porous mix but they most certainly had growth issues during all the months but summer unless they were kept in a very warm room which I do not when they came in. Root rot is not caused from too much moisture, but from a lack of oxygen to the root zone which most heavy compacted mixes will prevent. If you are growing that tree in a very good mix that allows oxygen exchange and helps keep the roots warmer on cold nights it should recover..If you want to see an even faster recovery during the shorter days, provide extra lights and warm conditions...) Root rot can not be caused by just cold, but poorly oxygenated roots combined with cold which is why many use use a porous mix or a small pot just big enough for the root ball when using a high quality bagged mix..