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Three unhappy citrus in pots.
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Posted by pommiegardener Sydney (My Page) on Sat, Apr 23, 05 at 18:36
My first post - help needed! I have inherited three very unhappy citrus trees planted in pots 32 cm x 32 cm deep. Found two old tags in the garden, one Orange Lanes Late Navel, the other Lime, of some sort, tag almost unreadable. They are about 1 m tall, very spindly, with lots of dead wood, the leaves they do have however, look healthy enough, ie not yellowed or anything. One has about 6 fruit, but has its roots exposed and is propped up to prevent it falling over! Second has 3 tiny fruit, the third none. I have removed the fruit, as the poor things have enough to deal with as it is, without wasting energy on producing fruit!
My question is, are they worth saving, and if so, what should I do? Remember I am a pommie gardener, with no experience of citrus!
I do have available three much larger pots, 42 cm x 45 cm, they are huge, and I could re-pot the trees, but because the pots are so large, and we live in a city 'garden appartment', I am reluctant to waste the lovely large pots on no-hopers! But I also hate the thought of giving up on them. I do have patio beds they could be planted in, but they are not really suitable - as friends have told me that if they are happy in the beds, they will grow quite large. Could I rescue them in their current pots? Would they enjoy being repotted into the larger pots?
Help and advice would be much appreciated - thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Three unhappy citrus in pots.
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Well I guess I should be the one to answer this!!
Isn't it exciting to be able to grow citrus? Just wait till you've got enough space to grow peaches (& then suffer as they get eaten by fruit fly)
In answer to your question, yes I would try & save the trees. The new pots you have are just big enough, make sure you use a really good potting mix, I like the ones with water crystals but it needs to have all the australian standards ticks & contain fertiliser.
Finbar has given lots of advice re feeding in previous posts, the fertilizer in the potting mix should be good for 3 months then feed at least every 3 months after that. Small frequent feeds are best.
Don't bury the roots too deeply, the feeder roots are just under the surface. Water them in well with seasol & they should do well.
If they don't you can still use the pots for something else!!!
Good luck
Sarah |
RE: Three unhappy citrus in pots.
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| Are they dwarf varieties, pg? Can you see any reference to that on what remains of the labels? A lot of people put dwarf citrus varieties in pots. If they're not dwarfs, and if you put them into the ground, and look after them, and if they get plenty of sun, they will eventually grow to full size. My three year-old lemon, in the ground, is already 15 feet high. So, if you don't have that much ground space, I'd pot them up. But - if they're not dwarfs - you might eventually need even bigger pots. Make sure the pots have plenty of drainage holes. Drill some more if you need to. If the moisture can't escape, the trees will drown. Be extra careful - he says, from bitter experience - of pots with upraised domed bottoms with a single drainage hole in the crown of the dome. The moisture will congregate around the bottom of the pot, around the base of the dome, and accumulate. So, if the pots have that set up, drill holes around the edge of the bottom of the pot, around the base of the dome. If the pots are terracotta (or similar) start with a small drill bit, increasing the size of the bit to increase the size of the hole. Again, from bitter experience, starting drilling with a large bit can and will break the pot. Fill the pot with the best potting mix you can buy. I used to mix premium potting mix 50/50 with bagged cow manure. You can also add extra water-saving crystals to the mix. Traditionally, the best time to repot citrus is early in spring, just as the tree is heading into a growth cycle. That would mean waiting around four months. That would be preferable, but it depends on whether you think the trees will survive that long. If they've survived this long, they probably will make it through to spring if you apply some interim first aid - remove the existing fruit and flowers, repair the exposed root situation, give them a light feed with Dynamic Lifter (see below), and put them where they're going to get as much sun as possible. Post-repotting. I'd remove any flowers that appear in the first year after re-potting, probably in the second year, too. The trees will need all their energy rebuilding. Citrus in pots need even more fertilising than citrus in the ground. Don't use commercial citrus food, the stuff you'd use for trees in the ground. It's unsuitable for containers. Dynamic Lifter is the go, feeding about once every three or four weeks in the growing season. You can mulch to help with moisture retention, but keep the mulch away from the trunk of the tree to avoid rot. Because citrus need as much sun as they can get, summer can dry out the containers inside a day. In the height of summer, you could have to water twice a day. It's a terrific and rewarding challenge to breathe life back into plants of any kind. Good luck and go for it! :) |
RE: Three unhappy citrus in pots.
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Thank you finbar and sarah may for your swift postings, very much appreciated. finbar, I do fear that the citrus are not dwarf varieties, the one just readable tag, Orange Lanes Late Navel gives planting instructions for planting in ground, no mention of dwarf, or planting in a pot. The rootstock check boxes are not checked - so of no help.
I am very happy to follow all your kind instructions, and give them a go, but if they are not dwarf varieties, is it worth it? I may add that since I wrote my first posting, I have contacted a couple of friends, who would 'adopt the trees' and plant them in a proper garden.
Apart from my citrus problem, the whole patio garden was in a total mess, how can people buy plants to put into patio beds and just leave them unplanted? And leave the so called hedges unpruned - so sad. But I have spent a very rewarding two days planting out 10 plants that were bursting out of their horrid plastic garden center pots, planting out a few new plants - not too many, as I want to concentrate on getting what I have inherited happy and healthy first. Done lots of essential pruning and cutting back, may not be quite the right season, but something had to be done, I have not been too drastic with anything.
This evening, everything is going to get a lovely drink of seasol, then I think I will need a long soak in a radox bath (seasol for homo sapiens!)Thanks again for your postings. |
RE: Three unhappy citrus in pots.
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| Yes, it's strange how people buy plants and never get around to planting them. Still, it sounds like you're getting on top of things! If your citrus aren't dwarfs, you're probably better off, in the long run, giving them to someone who can give them a home in the ground. They would, eventually, outgrow their containers. In your patio situation, you could start afresh with dwarf citrus. Apart from a nice supply of fruit, they're very attractive decorations in their own right. One thing re containers for dwarf varieties. One of the dwarf characteristics is that they like their root system kept fairly compact, so they shouldn't live in containers too large for them. Your 45cm pots would, at this stage, be too big. Better to start smaller and repot up a size every couple of years as the trees develop. Presumably the new owners of the existing citrus are au fait with citrus in the ground? If not, here's a link to a recent thread about same. Good luck! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Citrus in the ground
RE: Three unhappy citrus in pots.
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finbar, your continuing advice is much appreciated. For now, I have given the small pots a top up of citrus planting mix, to cover the very exposed roots, stabalised the wobbly one, and given all three a good drink of seasol. Even within 24 hrs they look a lot happier. I will not consider transplanting them, or passing them off for 'adoption' until Sydney Spring. Will keep you in touch about my progress with my three unhappy citrus.
thanks again pommie gardener |
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