I planted a new kumquat in 5:1:1 about a week ago as well. The first 3 days I watered every day, then every other day ( did that twice). The leaves will pretty much signal when they're needing water, the roots struggle at first. And yes, the new growth that was on the tree when I planted it seems to show water stress before the rest of the tree.

At this point my tree is still not receiving direct sun, only bright light, but I'll probably start giving it very limited direct sun at the 12-14 day mark and watch how it handles it, and gradually increase it. No fertilizer yet, waiting until the 2 week mark although I do have some Osmocote plus mixed into the 5:1:1. I'd give root adjustment 2 weeks or so, you'll probably take notice when your tree's leaves have perked up. I don't know why your lower branches are showing stress, don't know your watering or light routine for the week? Importantly, has the leaf loss stopped yet? I would definitely not expect to see new top growth this soon, right now our respective trees are putting all energy to root growth!

Mandarin's comments are right on.
Keep the tree moist for the transition period; protect from wind and intense light; hold off on fertilizer for two weeks; begin introducing more light gradually.

How well a plant tolerates bare-rooting depends not only on post-care but also the relative vitality of the tree prior to re-potting. Normally, a citrus will shed the oldest leaves as they age, so it wouldn't surprise me if those dropped in response to the stress. I would be much more worried if the new growth were showing stress.

Josh

Manderine and Josh's comments are right on!

Hello gals and gent! Hoping everyone is well and enjoying the sun while we can:-)

Mike

Hey, Mike, good to see you back again. It's Citrus season :-)

Josh

Thanks a bunch! My tree is looking pretty good! Each day it has lost a leaf or two but that appears to be slowing down now. If our weather would just warm up now, that would be great!

I'm rather disappointed in the results I see using the gritty mix. The leaves did stop dropping but overall the plants has stalled and hasn't grown or done anything in the last six weeks or so. Prior to this, it was growing quite regularly in the bagged soil that I was using. I'm not sure what went wrong. I read a ton, assembled correct materials and repotted following other's experience. I don't know where I went wrong. All I can say is that I am disappointed.

snapks,

How are you fertilizing? Also if possible, please post a pic of your tree.

Kristopher

This post was edited by krismast on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 21:41

Better to be disappointed than have a dead plant. I would vote for staying the course; and have a little patience.

John is wise. Patience is key, my friend.

I potted my kumquat in gritty in February, and growth pretty much stagnated all through spring. Over the past month or so its lost almost all of its lower leaves and just has a cluster near the top. Its JUST starting to bud now. I'm not too worried though, each tree is going to react to new conditions differently, and has different growth cycles than the next. Heck the Meyer I have sitting next to it in identical conditions is EXPLODING with new growth right now. Interestingly enough, my Meyer shedded most of its leaves before its first growth spurt and bloom. The 2 year old tree now has one beautiful lemon growing big and plump, and it looks like I'm getting a second round of blossoms!

Just be patient, you'll be fine if you're consistently feeding and watering, and the plant isn't dying.

I also agree with John's comment, no need to do anything drastic, just have a little patience.

And do tell us how you're fertilizing...with what, and how often?

Josh