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Scraggly 10 yr old potted lemons...recommended course of action?

darthtrader
11 years ago

I've had a couple eureka lemon trees in half wine barrels for about seven years now. They used to be lush and bursting with large lemons. Now the trees are tall and scraggly. The leaves are yellow with green veins. The fruit are few and very small. I've been feeding with Citrus-tone, a scant sprinkling of epsom salt. Not much change. Should I try new fertilizer? Or should I go as far as doing some hard pruning back to the main branches to rejuvenate the trees? Suggestions, please?

Thanks, all!

Comments (7)

  • mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
    11 years ago

    Simple. You need to repot them. I imagine after seven years the roots look terrible and probably rotting away. Nothing you can do other than a repot will save them. You can feed them all you want but it won't help.

    Mike

  • aslan89
    11 years ago

    Can you post a picture so we can get a better idea of what you are dealing with?

    I would suggest the same thing as Mike though, repot them. If you can't get them into a bigger pot (since you said they were in half wine barrels you might not be able to go bigger) I would prune them back and trim the roots and repot them back into the same pot. Especially if there is root damage, I would just cut away a nice chunk so that it will have room to grow in the pot. If you do trim the roots however, make sure you trim the branches too.

  • darthtrader
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    New potting mix, I assume? I'll take pics in the morning to post. Thanks Mike and Asian89!

  • aslan89
    11 years ago

    Definitely new potting mix! :) I'm new to using the mixes recommended on this site but I have had great results so far. Search for: Al's gritty mix or Al's 5:1:1 mix

    It can be a pain to find the right ingredients but it works so well it's worth it.

  • hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
    11 years ago

    New potting mix, your mix is exhausted after this amount of time. 511 or gritty mix may be a bit too porous for our 100% outside climate. We are pretty arid here in S. Calif. I prefer to use EB Stone's Cactus Mix. You may have to change it out a bit more often, but you won't have to water 2 to 3 times a day during our hot summers (which you would have to do with 511 or gritty mix). Considering the cost of water here in S. California, that is certainly a consideration. And, I would consider using Dyna Gro's Foliage Pro as well as use Osmocote Plus (must be the Plus formuation) as fertilizer. Citrus Tone is good, but you're going to have to use a fair amount to get enough nutrients in a container environment.

    Patty S.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Patty,
    in an appropriately sized container, there is absolutely no reason that one should ever be watering the 5-1-1 or the Gritty Mix 2 to 3 times a day.

    If moisture retention is truly an issue, one can simply screen the bark down to 1/4 inch and add an extra part of peat moss, potting mix, turface, pumice, coir, or even quality compost. The beauty of this mix is its supreme adaptability.


    Josh

  • Fascist_Nation
    11 years ago

    What MKSmith and others said, repot with new container soil. Wash the old soil off the roots to get a good look at them and prune them to about half the diameter of the container. Bet in 2 years it looks like it did when you were very happy with it. First year may or may not have some transplant issues.

    You should repot after every 4 seasons.