Thank you for your input Johnmerr. So I will go ahead with Epsom salts (they were fine and it happened pretty quickly and I was worried it's some kind of a disease). In regards to cow manure and fish pellets, how much is a lot? The guys at the nursery always say to use little and not in the summer. I still use more than suggested and I guess that's still not enough (I am now convinced they don't know what they are talking about). Considering we are practically in the desert how often should I fertilize? In regards to lemon I will probably protect it for next summer. We have extreme heat here in summers, and many plants stress out. Things are cooling down now. And it actually does receive water everyday, the soil is moist all the time, I check it occasionally and never let it dry out (except on a couple of occasions when I couldn't water for a few days).

Sounds like they're suffering from being under fertilized to me. Photos are always helpful, much easier to tell you what's going on without guessing :-) But, it is possible that the potting medium you used is to heavy and your trees are getting water logged at the bottom of the pot. For me in S. California, I find that clay is not a good option. Way too drying for our very dry weather. You're better off using a well draining mix - I use about 2 parts of EB Stone Cactus Mix, 1 part small bark chips (like a reptile bark or small orchid bark), and 1/2 to 1 part perlite. And, I use either a fiberglass, glazed ceramic or acrylic pot. I fertilize with DynaGro Foliage Pro with every watering, and I also use a time-release fertilizer that has an NPK as close to 5-1-3 as I can get, along with a full compliment of micronutrients (Dynamite makes a couple of good options). Limes are coming ripe about now. My Bearss Lime is just starting to havea little bit of yellow showing on a few limes, which makes them ready to pick. Rangpur Limes are usually ripe from about November through late winter. Kumquats will ripen all around the season here, sort of like lemons, with the main crop ripening in late winter (Jan/Feb for us here in S. Calif). Patty S.

I have been calling around/visiting several plant nurseries near where I live in search for pine bark fines for the 5-1-1 mix. So far, no luck. The nurseries all tell me that they have pine bark mulch and/or a potting bark mixture. Would an alternative for pine bark fines work with the 5-1-1 mix, and if so, what should I look for? From what I have read, I need to let the mix sit for roughly 2 weeks prior to planting my tree to let the lime do its thing. I have obviously been able to fine pine bark fines online around $10 per quart, but wanted to find something and make my mix right away before the season changes. Would this just be the better option? Also, how long should I keep my tree barerooted for?

It needs water asap imo. And Vladimir has a good question. Check the soil moisture by digging down with a small trowel. If it's only damp the first few inches, but the trees roots go down over a foot then it's not getting enough water. Depending on your soil it could take a slow soak for up to an hour to properly water the root zone. If it's clay it will take a long time to soak but won't need watering again for a week or more. If it's more sandy, it will soak quickly but need watering again in a few days. Painting the trunk white will help with the temps but it still will need more water at those times. You can also put a patio umbrella over it when you have a heat wave. As far as watering "not helping", the damage has been done and it will take a while, like several months, before it recovers from this. So be patient. Citrus grow in flushes, one to several times a year, depending on the variety. It doesn't grow continuously like a tomato plant does. I would not fertilize at all while it recovers. Instead wait until it starts to grow new leaves, then feed with a dilute liquid food right after watering. The roots were damaged first by the heat and drought, then they could not support the leaves. And also the tree would have drawn water out of those leaves back into the tree to try and survive until it got more water.