Desperately needing help with dwarf citrus
I am a newbie citrus fan and in need of some serious help. I have 2 dwarf Yuzu I bought from Four Winds Grower a year and a half ago (they were 3 year old trees). They were doing fine until about 6 months when many of the leaves suddenly turned yellow and dropped and some branches died completely. I also have a dwarf Kaffir lime tree and a dwarf Rangpur lime tree I bought at the same time. The Kaffir is doing great. The Rangpur would not stop flowering and did not have much vegetative growth since purchase evem though I pinch off most of the flowers.
Here is some relevant info on the plants:
- They are container plants, and have not been repotted since arrival.
2. They are indoor only, and I have two 250w equivalent CFL, 6500K Full Spectrum bulbs in floodlight reflectors on stands. They are on from 6am to 8pm. This picture shows the setup. I just added the LED panel from Aero garden a few days ago.
3. For the first 8 months, I didn't fertilize them. But for past 6 months or so since they weren't doing well, I fertilized them about once a month with Jobe's Organic Fruit & Citrus Fertilizer (3-5-5). This initally stopped some leaf dropping and there were a little spurt of new leaf growth on the top of the Yuzus, but the fertilizer seemed to have made all the trees flower, and I am afraid they are too weak to flower right now, so I have not applied any fertilizer in a little over a month.
4. I water the trees only when the top two inches of soil feel dry, then I water deeply and don't let them stand in any water on the trays. About 3-4 times a year, I bring them to the bathroom and give them a good rinse with the shower head with gentle pressure.
5. In the winter, I have a humidifier that keeps the room humidity at about 35-40%.
6. The soil pH is 7 and the soil temperature is 75F.
Here are my questions:
1. Is the lack of light an issue for the trees, causing the leaves to drop and the branches to die off? I have replaced the old CFL with new ones and added another LED panel a few days ago, will this help?
- I read that the way the leaves are yellowing (see picture), it could be Magnesium deficiency? Does this look like Mg deficiency? Or is something else going on?
3. The branches that died off on the bottom, will new leaves or branches grow from that area? Or will my plants forever look leggy and misshapen? Anything that can be done to help?
4. Is the amount of time I leave the lights on ok? Should I vary it by season? Will changing the amount of time the light is on affect vegetative growth vs. flowering?
- Should I use a different fertilizer to promote leaves and root health? If so, what should I use? Is the fertilizer that I'm using right now pushing these weak plants to flower?
6. I want to repot all the trees. When is it a good time to do it? My concerns are:
A. The Yuzus are so weak right now, and one of them has some new growth on the long leggy area where leaves had dropped before and they are still yellowing and dropping leaves. Is it ok to repot them in this conditon?
B. The Kaffir is bearing fruits right now, should I wait until after harvest to repot? That will probably be in the fall, is that an ok time to repot or does timing not matter as much if they are indoor only? Should I pinch off all the fruits now and just repot it right away?
C. The Rangpur flowers all year long, and it's currently bearing fruit. I'm not sure when it is a good time to repot it. It is also looking a little weak right now, have not had much growth since it arrived and there were a lot of fruit drops. There are currently about 4 decent sized limes on it but the tree is small, should I remove the fruits and give it time to grow bigger?
I am newbie, so any additional tips and recommendations will be very much appreciated.
Comments (12)
funkyhat
6 years ago
Vladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Can anyone help me find Dwarf citrus trees?
Comments (18)I live in NW MN and have sucessfully ordered nice dwarf citrus from EdibleLandscaping for years. Mine have all fruited in pots in my windows with never moving outdoors. FourWinds is very reputable and is actually the original "improved" Meyer stock producer, but the are pricey and most larger than quart container sized trees are shipped bare root. Both EdibleLandcaping and Cliftons Nurseries ship potted in their orig soil. I just ordered a Meyer, Bearrs and Limequat today after losing some of my mature trees to spider mites....See MoreDying dwarf citrus trees!
Comments (24)My dwarf orange tree is coming back. In 2 months, all leaves have curled, turned yellow/brown, and fallen off. At what I thought was the end, green curled leaves fell off, smaller branches have all turned brown and died. Thought the small dwarf orange was a goner. First, my mistake was I left the soil that was from the original pot around the roots. For some reason, the stuff they used clumped hard, and would just soak all the water in, so in a week it still felt moist. I didn't check till all the leaves have fallen off, and I thought it was too late. I later made my new soil with plenty of rocks at the bottom and used potting soil with the little Styrofoam looking beads mixed well in and moved the tree to a larger pot. I used about 10 drops of miracle grow plant food, and just let the tree sit there for a week, 2nd week I just very lightly watered, barely sprinkled it. 3rd week, small buds and leaves are forming all around again, small flowers seem to be jutting out of branches that I thought were almost dead. So now, i'm limiting my watering down to 1 to 2 times a week and this is just a basic light sprinkle till it re-establishes itself. Then I will start watering it once a week fully as before when the roots start growing more. But so far so good. My lesson? Even in the heat here in LA, these small dwarf trees do not need extra water, if you see leaf curling or browning tips and leaves falling off. Cut back on the watering. this picture is from my cell phone, so not the greatest, but I hope hope you can see the little buds of leaves and flowers starting to jut out. This post was edited by Marky350z on Fri, Aug 16, 13 at 17:24...See MoreDwarf Citrus Tree Help
Comments (1)First, it looks like your bud union is at the right side of your photo at about where the tree intersects the line of the pot. Second, if it is dwarfing rootstock, the leaves of any "suckers" will be notably different than those of the main tree Last, I would lose the stake and ties; citrus are self supporting and the stake will cause it to grow taller and more spindly. If you think the stake is "necessary" try lowering the ties from the top down about 3 inches every couple of months, until there are no more ties. Allowing the tree to bend with the breeze will strengthen the trunk....See MoreDesperate about dwarf variegated Eureka Lemon tree
Comments (6)I dug down with my bare hand about 12" and it was very moist, almost muddy. On top, it was completely dry and the leaves were burnt as we had 104-107 weather. It hit for 2-3 days in June and now it is the same temperature again. I just watched a video and a biologist promoted IV Organics, a white wash that evidently you can paint on the trunk of any tree or bush, and diluted, you can put in a spray bottle and spray the leaves too. It also has some natural pest deterrent in it too and it lasts 6 months. I can buy it at Home Depot. I only recently put the spikes. Before I just gave Miracle Grow or fish meal to the plant. It looks healthy, but the fruit just doesn't stay. Grhhh......See MoreCorinna
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI don't think it's WLD. These trees are indoor at all times and we keep the apartment at around 71-72 degrees year round. We also use a humidifier to keep the humidity at 35-40% in the winter. There is no draft where the trees are located. They get only minimal natural light and almost all the light is from the CFLs. And I rotate the trees periodically so all the sides get more even lighting.
I used a soil pH meter that I calibrated with distill water and vinegar. I know it's not very accurate but just wanted to make sure it's not wildly off.
I don't know what the soil mix is - I have not repotted since I purchased them from Four Winds Grower.
Here's a close up of one of the leaves
Vladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)
6 years agofunkyhat
6 years agoVladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)
6 years agoCorinna
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
myermike_1micha
6 years agoCorinna
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoMike, the wood chips were already in the pot when they came.
Silica, the Rangpur is kind of small, has a few leaves that are yellowing but much less than the Yuzu, and it has a few fruits right now, is it safe to repot now even though it has fruits? Should I remove the fruits and give it a week, then repot? Can I wait until the fruits mature in a few months to repot? In general, is it safe to repot while citrus is flowering or bearing fruits? Attaching photo of the Rangpur.
Silica