I agree with poncirus guy. A wick would do little good.

One note, the deficiency symptom for a Magnesium deficiency is not yellow veins. It is a green delta (triangle) shape at the bottom center of the leave blade with the rest of the leaf yellow.

Can you post pics? Either way, I’d do what’s been recommended above. If you do nothing, it’s going to die. Good luck and keep us updated! I’d also highly recommend the 5-1-1 mix.

Thanks so much for the encouragement, to all!

Scouring local garden centers and pet shops turned up with just 1 bag of Reptibark, Pearlite, a half-gallon bag of orchid moss, and a few bags of BetterGro Orchid Potting Mix. I tried measure out said ingredients in a way approximated 5-1-1, and soaked the mix through the evening.

In baring the root ball, it was amazing how dense some of the dirt clods were, around the roots. The soil from the original nursery, left on during up-potting back in July, was some mix of sand and wood chips, and was very dense around the root core. I'm not a great judge of roots, but I couldn't immediately see flagrant signs of rot. I built a mound with the ersatz 5-1-1, put the roots around it, filled in and tried to jiggle some chips between the roots, then watered with room-temperature drizzle from the sink for a while.

Here's to hoping I did OK. The pessimist in me fears some phrase in this very post describes the straw that breaks the camel's back. But I was optimistic that only one leaf fell off the tree during the whole operation, not all.

@Silica: thanks for the clarification. I was wrong with the diagnosis. I hope that my spraying with Southern AG Citrus Nutritional Spray in reaction didn't make the situation worse.

Link to Photos of the Repotted Plant with its fittonia and schlumbergera friends.

If it is overwatered, I would repot it and make sure the container has lots of holes in the bottom.

I see no reason why spraying with Southern AG Citrus Nutritional Spray would have an adverse affect.

Small update, though it has only been two days. Leaves have continued to drop. The leaf cluster on the left-hand side of the above photo has one leaf remaining, so there is only one branch with multiple leaves.

The newer leaves at the end of that branch have begun to turn grey and slightly wilted at the tips. See photos below: the first photo is from right after the repotting, the second photo is from today. While a few of the leaves in that cluster did have greyed tips, for others it is new as of today.

The 5-1-1 mix is still moist at 1" below the surface and no water has been added since the repotting, soil temp 63degF.

Wednesday:

Today:

Don't expect an immediate recovery. It may continue to drop leaves. Repotting is a shock to a plant from which it needs to recover. Be patient.

| agree...give it time. It should recover with time. Fingers crossed for your tree!

Oh boy! The same here, Arthur, I had to repot five trees rescued recently and patiently waiting for what comes next. Three of them lost all their leaves, but no twig dieback. Hopefully they come back :(

The final leaf fell off last night. Officially down to only sticks and twigs. Some are still green. Is it worth it to keep the grow light on every day?

Yes, they need light.

Update, six weeks later. The tree doesn't want to go on the cart...

Red arrows point to one sucker branch and one sucker bud(?). Purple dashed line is what I believe to be the graft scar. Green arrows point to what I hope are new growth above the graft. These appeared all within the last week; maybe due to the days getting longer, maybe due to a few degrees rise in temperature inside as some other inhabitants were running fevers.

I have read on this forum that sucker branches are usually not desirable. Are they worth letting grow for a while, if they are the only source of active chloroplasts on the tree? My hunch is yes, but I admit knowing very little about the regrowth tendencies of Meyer lemons.

My next question is whether the old branches are actually dead,or whether they have some hope of rejuvenation:

Most of these branches used to be green, but are now brown or near black. Some show hints of green near the branch collar. Is it worthwhile to prune back branches which look brown, if that might encourage growth from the same collar? Or do brown branches ever return to green, and it's worthwhile to wait?

Thanks, all!

I would be inclined to brake off the suckers below the rootstock

It's never too late! Best done at the peak of growing season, but never too late.

Mike

I would leave those bare branches, I have an in ground Satsuma that took a freeze hit last year, lost all its leaves on the northern half of the tree. I kept putting off cutting away the "dead" wood over the summer. Then finally at the end of August about 2/3 of the wood that had looked dead for the last six months, started sprouting new growth.

Another update, four weeks after the last.

Following my last post above, I did end up breaking off the sucker branch close to the trunk. This may have been a bad idea, in hindsight. Back in late February, there was notable greenish bark extending about an inch above the graft line. Now that bark has turned brown, down to just below the graft line. There were a few instances of buds as pointed out in the photo, but they have since darkened and withered. The tree does not appear to be getting a sustainable amount of energy from the chloroplasts in the bark alone.

I am still hopeful that the tree may decide to try making some new branches now that the sun is staying out longer, but am getting increasingly worried that it is running out of reserves to do so, and that they budstock part of the plant may be a lost cause. I have been keeping the grow light on a timer, just as an extra measure, and managing soil moisture.

Anyone know whether it's possible to re-graft new budstock, if the suckers return and the rootstock gets healthy on its own, or too futile?

Thanks!

If the rootstock lives and grows you can graft to it.

Steve

The tree didn't make it. Will re-use the 511 mix for a new tree, and consider these lessons-learned.

Arthur, if it were my tree and it was in that kind of decline, just for future reference, I would not of bare rooted it. I would of either used a wick until it showed signs of improvement or only re potted it knocking as much of the older mix away without disturbing the roots until peak growing season, then I would of done what you did and put in into the 5.1.1 mix.

Just know that there is a stark difference between the 5.1.1 mix made with 'non composted bark/repti-bark' verses made with 'composted ' bark.

I like the composted one because it's less stressful on any tree in decline and stays evenly moist longer without the fear of the top always drying out.

Sorry you lost that tree.

Mike