Citrus hate wind, particularly salt winds that close to the ocean.

I didn't know you had crows in Australia. They can be very pest-y and they are hard to deal with because they are so intelligent. I would not wish a crow on anyone. I will pray for your country.

Thanks bounty, I hade thought of that, though we had two navel orange tress that did quite well ( till we paved around their bases and they died after about 10 years!)
Ponsiruguy, yes, we have crows. though in my state they are actually ravens. " as the crow flies" and "stone the bloody crows" are very old Aussie sayings...
no one else with any ides or the same experience?

Yikes. Looks like your tree is extremely dehydrated. I would soak the root ball because the potting medium, if allowed to dry out, can become hydrophobic. Soak, soak, soak. See if you can get your tree to recover. Place it in afternoon shade, it is struggling to survive right now. Never fertilize a dry tree, the fertilizer will burn the roots. Water well, make sure the soail has re-hydrated itself, then fertilize and water in well. Once the tree recovers, check to see if you can re-pot using a better potting medium that is well-draining, but retains enough water not to dry out to the point of the Sahara desert.

Patty S.

Hi Patty,
I thought as much as well. I checked the soils/ potting mix and it is all still damp. It's just the top layer that is a little dry.
I have pulled the plant from the mix and noticed the root mass to be VERY small and not spread out.
So I aerated the soil, re-planted it and gave it a water and I will see what happens in the next couple of weeks

Okay, so we may have a situation where you have compacted soil. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if a tree is drying out, or, just the opposite, drowning in compact soil. You don't mention what kind of potting medium you've used, but we talk a lot about using a well draining mix. Many folks will mix up their own. I live in S. California, in the middle of the citrus belt, so my container potting mix is a little more dense than perhaps, those who have container citrus that come in and out of the house throughout the year. I use basically 3 parts high quality bagged cactus mix, 1 part small bark chips (about the size of a quarter), and 1 part perlite. I top dress with a time release fertilizer (Osmocote Plus), and water pretty frequently - during our hot months about twice a week, depending on how root bound the tree is. I also fertilize once a month with full strength Foliage Pro. My container citrus are outside year 'round, and being as dry as we are here in S. California - we average maybe 12 inches a year on a good year - and our average humidity is relatively low, about maybe 30 to 40%, depending on how close you are to the ocean - I prefer to have a bit denser mix. That way, I'm not having to water 2 or 3 times a DAY during our hotter summer months. If you're just using a mix that comes out of a bag, you're probably going to find that it is much too dense, holding much too much water. Or, if left to completely dry out, become hydrophobic. So, search our forum for "511" or "Gritty Mix" for good potting mix recipes, and see if this might help your poor little tree.

Patty S.

Hi. Its me again. We have the as the crow flies saying, but I have never heard the 'stone the bloody crows' saying. My brother visited Australia and came home. He told me that because I was growing citrus trees in zone 6 (-10 F), That I was one rib short of a barbie. I have a feeling that it was not a compliment.

As for your tree. You are closing out summer and things will cool down. This should give your tree a better chance.

At Zone 11, Why not plant out side in ground.

Here in Cincinnati I aerate the root with a vacuum cleaner powered suction chamber place under the tree. My trees are in over sized pots in a heavier than normal soil. My tree are doing well.

{{gwi:565612}}
The 5 gallon seed grown sweetlee tangerine tree is sitting on top of a 2 gallon bucket. Notice the vacuum cleaner hose attached to a side hole to pull air through the pot above with the tree. A 30 second blast is all you need.

Steve