Transplant shock, possibly aggravated by moving to a new light condition??? It should recover soon enough; but those yellowing leaves will probably fall.

How old is the tree? They just look like old leaves. Especially as they are at the very bottom of the tree.

I believe the tree was 3 years old when we got it from the nursery. I repotted it within a week, and that would have been mid-June I think.

Is the saucer attached to the pot? Those pots don't have the right amount of holes for the water to drain out, there is always water standing at the very bottom of the pot. It is overwatered.

@Sunshine, That was my initial concern. I knew the pot is glazed, with only one drain hole so before repotting I added 3" or so of gravel and styrofoam, covered it with mesh screen, then repotted it with cactus soil, some steer manure, a bit of epsom salt, and citrus & avocado fertilizer. When I was concerned about over watering I gently loosened the soil with a hand cultivator, and mixed in some oven dried cactus soil and perlite.

@Silica, thank you for the response and peace of mind. I'll keep pampering it and hope for the best.

I picked up a grow light that I'm hoping will help it out.

oh! and I have it raised on castors, with nothing covering the hole. When I water I put something under it to collect any water, then remove it to let air flow

I think it will be fine. Make sure to not let it dry out too long. It's a new mix that should be hard to over water in for now like Silica said and probably dropping older leaves or just going through an adjustment as John said. It was the perfect time of year to re pot, so hopefully it will be just fine.

Did you remove all the older mix or just up pot? Why did you re pot? Is the mix different from that of the root ball? Just curious)

Why organic fertilizer if that is what it is? Why Epsom salts? Why not a good water soluble fertilizer with all the nutrients your tree need to help prevent future deficiencies?

Mike

Firstly, I'd like to thank John. I didn't notice you had replied before Silica. After some online reading it seems exactly like transplant shock.

Mike,

I repotted the tree, because I moved it from the small, black, plastic pot it came in, to the pot we are hoping to keep it in for a few years. The nursery I went to before repotting it didn't have citrus fertilizer. The employee recommended steer manure and sea kelp fertilizer. I added 3-4" of styrofoam and gravel to the pot, then a piece of mesh screen. I added cactus soil and about a cup of steer manure. I put the root ball mostly undisturbed, with the original nursery soil, into the new pot. Then I filled the gaps with more cactus soil and another half cup of steer manure.

About a week or so later I went to a different nursery and bought Lilly Miller citrus & avocado fertilizer. I can't recall if it's organic, it's the only kind the nursery had.

After the tree started experiencing leaf drop, I gently used a 3 prong hand cultivator to aerate the soil, and mix a combination of perlite and oven dried cactus soil, around the root ball. Again, in hindsight, that was probably a mistake. Had I realized the tree was experiencing transplant shock, I wouldn't have disturbed the roots. Hopefully I was gentle enough to increase oxygen flow, and assist the roots in adjusting to the new soil without making the transplant shock worse.

The tree is still outside on our balcony. We are in a high rise in Vancouver, BC. The tree is getting plenty of sunshine, but does anyone think it would be best to start acclimating the tree indoors to shield it from wind, and nighttime temperature drop? At least until it has recovered fully from the shock? I can shine a grow bulb on it to ensure it doesn't miss out on the summer sun.

Apologies for the long winded reply. I hope I've answered any questions, and provided enough details for someone experienced to recognize what I did wrong, and recommend the best thing(s) for the tree going forward.

- Myles

Looking at the pictures I fully agree wituh silica that the leaves of concern are just old leaves that have lived out their usefull life and will be soon removed by the tree.

Hey OJ,

Thanks for your input. I was hopeful that was the case, however not just the larger older leaves were yellowing. Some of the new growth yellowed and fell off too. I'm almost certain it is transplant shock. I think my concern of over watering may have dried out the roots near the top of the soil. Some of them were exposed to direct sunlight for a number of hours, which wouldn't have helped. I picked up some root booster today. I may have lost a fruiting year, however the tree is still alive and I'm optimistic I'll be able to nurse it back to full health

Some roots showing on top of the soil line is certainly not a problem at all.

That's a relief! There is a section of roots that grows up higher than the bottom of the tree stem/trunk. I didn't want any moisture to cause trunk rot, but i also didn't want the roots to dry out, so there is one lump a little higher than the rest of the soil around the base of the tree. Everything I've read about transplant shock says not to let the roots dry out. Wouldn't they dry out in the hot sun all day?

I was under the impression I had overwatered it, so I wanted the soil to dry out, and I think that contributed to the shock.

"Everything I've read about transplant shock says not to let the roots dry out."

The above sentence that you red has nothing to do about any roots above the soil line of a planted tree. It has to do with the trees entire root structure that is out in the open air when taken out of a pervious container and before being placed in either the ground or a larger container. Be careful not to read your tree to death.

Silica, have mercy on us, novices :))

We first read them to death, then we love them to death, after some are dead and some not so dead, we settle down, learn from the mistakes and discover, that quite a few years are lost in the process :)

Sunshine, well said.

Sunshine that is an awesome comment. Love it :) Sometimes I think I'm still in the reading to death. certainly have lost some years though neglect (health reason) but all get better with maybe one or two hick ups but correctable because learned to read ;)

Thank you Susanne, I fall sometimes in to poetic mood ;)) Looking at your trees, I think you have already passed the " reading to death" and "loving to death" stages :))

Sunshine I wish. But nope, still reading them every day, sometimes twice a day. I even talk to them. And believe it or not, sometimes I can hear them answering.

I talk to my plants also :)) I think they feel my presence. In the morning I greet them as I do greet my kids :))

I talk to mine also but they do not answer me. Not yet, anyway.

Quick update! Last time I mentioned I picked up some root booster. A week later the tree is looking much better. The tree stopped dropping leaves, and all of the remaining leaves have returned to a deep green colour. I appreciate everyone's input. Thank you!

Happy for you, Myles :)) Keep it up!

Thank you! Though it seems I may have spoke too soon. Some of the remaining leaves were blown off, by the breeze, before I had a chance to bring it inside. A few of them have also curled.

Question: If the tree loses all or most of its leaves, is it possible to revive it? The tree is still green below the bark.

I believe it's possible! An example would be cuttings that start out with no roots and almost no leaves. Yet they can still successfully regrow if cared for in ideal conditions and then become trees. The Meyer lemon I purchased was grown from a cutting instead of a graft.

It may help to write a list of the conditions required for healthy growth and put your tree into that ideal condition. Then list the factors that may negatively affect those conditions and the tree with it. Last would be keeping a handy list of solutions that might remedy/reverse what caused the growing conditions to become bad in the first place. There's a lot that come into play and listing them out could be helpful to narrow things down. But definitely don't make any drastic changes until you know for sure you've eliminated all other possible reasons!

It would also help to do a bit of research on the soil needs of citrus and recommended planting methods. You added quite a lot of steer manure to the cactus soil but was the steer manure fully composted? Sometimes manure is still in the process of composting and using too much of it can actually hurt the plant instead of helping it because it will tie up nutrients as it is still composting.

What was the soil of the root ball like? Was it a soil good for citrus? (I.e. Loose, fluffy, draining). It's possible the water is being held in the rootball soil longer than it needs to be or that water isn't penetrating the rootball soil at all. Cactus soil is great for aerating roots but only if it's mixed well into the existing root ball throughout the entire container.

Citrus are sensitive to wind and its usually advised to protect them from wind because their leaves will lose a lot of their moisture and curl. But it depends on the way it's curling, upwards? Downwards? I think posting some more photos or detailed descriptions of the tree's condition will help people narrow it down a bit better.

Your tree was probably dropping leaves initially to redirect food reserves and energy into establishing its roots into the new pot/soil mix. That's probably why the root booster worked but if it dropped the remaining leaves due to the breeze being on a high patio, you might actually have an under watering problem! Lol breezy high patio combined with very well draining cactus soil, your tree may be losing too much moisture from both the root zone bc of the soil and from the leaves (wind). Your leaves would try to replenish moisture by bringing

up water from the roots but if the soil drains very well and doesn't hold much moisture then it won't be able to keep its leaves plump and functioning. Keep it protected from wind as much as possible while getting full sunlight as see if that changes anything! Maybe even bring it indoors near the sunniest window and supplement with extra light. This may help you notice if your tree was drying out too fast being outside.

I'm by no means an expert and you don't have to do anything I've brainstormed either! I just wanted to share my perspective on what the problem might be. Which could be completely wrong for all I know. Good luck with your tree!

I'm embarrassed to post photos of the current state of the tree. Let's just say it has one leaf left, but it's definitely a dead leaf. Most of the tree itself is still very green though. The leaves curled upwards. I was certain transplant shock was the cause of the issues, but upon further reading I believe the fertilizer actually caused the tree to drop leaves. It's a granular fertilizer. Not only did I put it on after only a couple weeks of being repotted, but I gave it more fertilizer after only a month. The root booster probably worked initially, but the added fertilizers in the root booster must have caused it to get worse.

The steer manure was composted. The root ball was not root bound, however I do believe the cactus soil is too compacted right now. Two days ago I flushed the soil with water to eliminate fertilizers. I'm going to repot the tree in a terra cotta pot, with oven dried cactus soil mixed with perlite and vermiculite. I'll avoid packing the soil.

Since I've now lost the first year of this tree, I've also planted seeds to grow new trees. I know they might not produce fruit, but at this rate it doesn't hurt to try.

Myles, my trees are up on the 11 floor balcony all this season, yes windy location, but they lost only the 2 year or more old leaves ( well, one of the trees). Do NOT put manure in your containers with soil, soak manure overnight, then give the plant only the "composted manure tea". I do that with sheep manure for my plants. You have the wrong container housing your tree, get a plastic container with LOTS of holes, the size of the container should be the right proportion to the rootball of your tree. Use a container that your tree will be happy living in, not a container that matches with your decor. Here is picture of one of my container that is a kids' sandbox pail but it is larger size, I made lots of holes in the bottom, potted my citrus tree and it is very happily growing there. I used that pail because it was deep so the roots could grow more.

Can you post the picture of your whole tree with the container?

If you decide to repot the tree with new soil and pot, take pictures of the rootball and post them so we can see. Once repotted, keep it away from wind, in partial sun and remember to not fertilize the tree in the new soil. You don't have to be embarrassed that the tree is not doing ok, we are here to help. I have lost many plants when I was just starting, all of us did in the beginning. I am writing this because I don't want you to give up.

I'm glad you found out the kinks in the routine you started with Myles. I didn't even remember posting here lol! I've learned a lot reading the information on this forum and from the very knowledgeable growers here. Sunshine gives great advice! I think your tree will bounce back after you repot if the branches and roots still look healthy. It'll probably go dormant when it becomes winter since you won't have too many leaves so putting it under some CFL or grow lights for the winter months may be a good idea to give it a head start for next spring

Kvetch, I give people advice here only from my own experience, not claiming that I am an expert. The other thing that people are mislead is, when they are told to put rocks, brick bits, styrofoam or other things for "drainage" in the bottom of their containers. I do none of that, just plain soil, sometimes I mix my soil with some long range fertilizer ( if I think my soil doesn't have nutrients in it) and l add worm castings some time. I cannot give advice to people who grow citrus in the ground, I do not have that experience. I have the knowledge of growing trees in the ground, but it's the experience that counts for me. Hopefully, Myles will not give up on growing things or get discouraged, it is the dream of enjoying citrus fruit one day from our own trees pushes us to buy and nurture them. Don't give up on the dreams that can be a reality! Personally, raising trees and plants ( and kids) teaches me to be patient, tolerant, caring and whole other good human qualities and for the last one year I get to share my knowledge and gain knowledge on this forum with my citrus friends:))

Here is the Friendship tree in the container mentioned above just after repotting in mid June this year:

Here is the same tree this month:

That looks beautiful

Full of new lush growth! I agree sunshine with gardening and sharing the experiences we've had while doing it. We all live in different environments and also have different lifestyles that will most definitely affect the tree's growth. Taking that into account, I think everyone's experience is a valuable perspective to hear from. His trees may not grow in the same way or pace but seeing everyone's growth on this forum will give him a great idea of what to look forward to and the journey it takes to get there! If not for everyone sharing with each other then I too would be so much more blind to the signs I should watch out for to make sure the tree is happy and healthy. As a fellow newbie citrus grower, I'm grateful that you and the others on this forum are kind and open enough to share with us the journey you've had with your trees. Makes it more worth it knowing I can have the same if I'm patient and attentive enough with my tree and the future trees waiting for me to cash them out of their nurseries

Hey Everyone!

Thanks so much for all of your advice, and input. Apologies for my lack of activity recently.

Shortly after I realized the fertilizer is what was killing the tree, I repotted it back to the container it came in, with fresh soil. I continued providing love (grow light, root booster, etc) for a couple more weeks until the entire fre tree was brown.

Determined to have a lemon tree, I started 10 seedlings from an organic lemon.

A couple weeks later I was at the nursery, and I mentioned my situation to an employee. She said I can bring the tree in and they'll exchange it for a new one. They get their next shipment of citrus trees in November, so I'll swap it then.

I'm determined not to make the same mistakes with the new free as I did with the first one. I am going to keep a couple of the new lemon trees, and give the others away once they've matured a bit more.

@Sunshine: Thanks for the advice regarding manure. I followed the advice of an employee at a local nursery. I should mention it was composted manure. The pot we chose was not only for decor, but also the size. Advice online suggests a white or light colour pot to keep the roots cool during summer. The pot has a 1" hole in the bottom (similar to terra cotta pots). The only reason I added styrofoam and gravel was to prevent the soil from sitting in water before any extra was able to drain. In hindsight, I realize it was unnecessary. I don't think the pot was a contributing factor to the issues the tree was suffering though.

I definitely haven't given up. I'm not discouraged by my learning experience. In the end I'll have even more tree, because if not for this experience I wouldn't have started the seedlings.

P.s. Sunshine, your citrus tree is beautiful!

Thanks Myles:) I am so happy for you that you are going to get a replacement tree. In couple of years you will have harvest of your own fruit tree. Keep us updated :) Help is always available in this community of citrus lovers!