I am posting so I get notices of other responses. I to would like to know.

Steve

You can tell by the color of your soil mix too if you remember what it looks like when it’s dry. Since you just put it into a new pot, it will be stressed out and being overwatered is an extra stress for the plant to deal with. For now it’s best to leave it as is and don’t water it at all. Once the surface starts looking like a dry brown, stick your finger down 1-2” to check. If it feels cool and damp, don’t water. Only water when it feels more crackly and dry.

I’m not sure what those spots are and if it’s related to the water issues. You should take a close up photo of the leaves and post it here

Looks like maybe a chemical burn. Did you spray it with something when the temperatures were a little too high?

I would repot it into plastic. That fabric pot will wick away moisture too quickly, depending on what your humidity level is.

photo one does indeed look like chemical burn, possibly fertilizer or even chemically treated city water. generally not a major issue the plant normally gets over that. make sure when using fertilizer the dust doesn't get on the leaves. Photo two, looking at the larger top left leave I see what looks like trace element shortage on a couple of the leaves. what is the pH of the potting material? citrus prefers between 6.5 and low 7s but can go more alkaline. If your pH is off too much the plant has trouble absorbing nutrients. some commercial potting soils tend to be acidic and can burn the roots. or it could just be transplant shock I would just watch it for a while to see if it doesn't recover on it's own.

Mesophyll collapse
Identification tip: Soft tissue between leaf veins becomes sunken and translucent or pale due to moisture stress when trees are unable to provide leaves with enough water; affected leaf tissue then becomes tan-colored or necrotic.

It could be sun burn or cold shock or even chemical burn. If our plants stay in a partial shaded area for weeks or months then suddenly bring them to direct sunlight it might get sun burn severely.

One thing for absolutely sure. Your tree is NOT suffering from over watering. Water has never ever killed a single citrus tree. The problem is not water, it is always always always insufficient oxygen in the root zone. Citrus can be grown in a pure water solution if enough aeration is given to the tree's root system. Even fish cannot survive in water when their is not enough oxygen. With a medium having sufficient porosity, so that the water cannot completely fill up all of the porous spaces, then you can water a tree time and time again without problems. Plant your tree in a proper POROUS medium that does not allow complete water saturation. Don't blame the water, it is not the water's fault, it is always and forever the lack of oxygen that deserves the blame.

Reality check...I agree with Silica's point about oxygen but more or less water is a moot point if the tree's metabolism is too fast during winter because the temperature is too high and the light is insufficient, it metabolizes more substances than it can generate through photosynthesis - it consumes itself, leaves drop and the plant dies. More or less water is a moot point if other variables are not correct.

You can pull air through the roots. I have saved several trees this way.

Steve

New Zealand lemonade on US897 rootstock. · More Info

Too frequent watering (over watering) does not allow the water between the soil particles to drain away and prevents oxygen from getting at the roots. So Silica is correct in saying that the (proximate) cause is insufficient oxygen but the oxygen insufficiency is caused by over watering, which I still believe is the problem in this case - the dead tissue possibly having been caused by a chemical burn.

A burn would typically show up on the tips of the leaves or would brown the entire leaf and or the entire plant. I see this tan tissue condition from time to time in my orangery room and it is always on the plants or leaves closest to the overhead light source or window. It is called Mesophyll collapse Identification tip: Soft tissue between leaf veins becomes sunken and translucent or pale due to moisture stress when trees are unable to provide leaves with enough water; affected leaf tissue then becomes tan-colored or necrotic. Citrus can adjust to poor growing conditions indoors for a while. They can put out new shoots, flowers, and fruit but over time indoor deficiencies catch up and the plant will consume itself. Certainly oxygen stress can trigger water stress but indoors humidity stress, heat stress, and sunlight stress contribute to water stress in an equal or greater way and can't be fixed by changing the water schedule or media. Growing citrus is like an orchestra, if one musician is out of key the other ensemble can't play harder to fix the problem.

Vladimir, your again blaming the water for a tree's problem, and not blaming the porosity of the medium. When a tree is planted in the proper medium, over watering is of little concern. A medium with the proper porosity has to come first, before the tree is planted, rather than first purchasing a poor medium, then wrongly restricting the amount of water, due to an insufficient medium being used. A good medium should have 75% water holding consistency and 25 percent aeration. With the exception of light and CO2, everything a tree requires must be delivered in a liquid solution. Start with selecting a good medium, and you will save the tree from struggling through a life filled with problems.

Lemon lime, I have much difficulty going along with your point that "due to the plant's indoor metabolism the plant will consume itself".

Most common cause for indoor plants is they are too close to the window; so the plant gets warm; but the roots are cold....moving it a little further from the window, or putting the container on a heating pad usually solves the problem.

Can the plant go into a proper container now, with proper more porous medium and maybe the owner can then take a picture of your light source and we can all see how it does

Silica, you are correct when you say: When a tree is planted in the proper medium, over watering is of little concern. However, the medium in the photo looks like it is very water retentive and in that case, one should water less frequently.

Lemon, looks to me like a liquid chemical pooled at the edges of the leaf and caused necrosis.

Silica, read the paragraph in the below article "understanding the tree."

"If the tree's metabolism is too fast during winter because the temperature is too high (e.g. if the plant is in a living room, in particular behind a curtain) and if it does not have sufficient light, it metabolises more substances than it can generate through photosynthesis - it consumes itself."

This article does not talk about it but you also have to look at a Greenhouse vapor-pressure deficit vs. relative humidity.

https://www.gardena.com/uk/garden-life/garden-magazine/everything-you-have-always-wanted-to-know-about-citrus-trees-and-overwintering-them/

Vladimir, I would not advise watering a very water retentive medium less frequently in a effort to correct the problem. Rather I would discard the very water retentive medium, and plant the tree properly, Keeping the tree in the wrong medium and trying to water less is not a good option. At least in my estimation. Although I personally do not use the 5-1-1 medium, the 5-1-1 medium would be a good option for HU532689440.

Silica, I agree. There is a wider margin of error with the 5-1-1 than with the current mix.