This is fantastic! I love seeing these types of posts. Makes me rethink throwing anything out before I'm 100% sure there is no way to save it. Know anything about saving a potted dying andromeda? Because I'm pretty sure I'm slowly killing that poor plant :(

Mike,

You are a citrus whisperer. Those little trees are living when there wasn't any hope for them.

I wish I could get my trees to look deep green and healthy like that.

Vivian

Hey Mike

great job as usually. I havent seen you post much lately. I was getting concerned.

Mike

Fantastic trees, Mike! Really amazing what you've been able to do to bring these back...

I am curious about one thing. Have you experienced the same sorts of difficulties growing your Meyer as others have in your (non-subtropical) region. Did these come back much more slowly in your environment than other citrus? Are you fertilizing differently or planting in a different formulation of the 5-1-1 or gritty? How are you over-wintering?

Something that I've definitely learned from you and others here (as well as own observations) about citrus is that they are very much on their own schedule (regarding how they grow/how fast/when they flush, etc.), and that after we've committed to a regimen, we need to allow time for the tree(s) to do their thing.

Best,
Tim

Excellent job, Mike! We SHOULD start calling your the Citrus Whisperer, lol! Very well done, so nice to see someone didn't give up on these lovely, lovely citrus trees. You have the magic touch for sure.

Patty S.

Yes, citrus can be pretty forgiving. My kumquat came from the garden center, a customer bought it as a beautiful plant with ripe and green fruit, took it home, and brought it back about 3 weeks later a total mess. The person had put it into a container with no drainage whatsoever, then flooded it with standing water about half way up the pot. It smelled literally like a sewer, and all of the leaves were dying and dropping. I figured it was only a 3 weeks (I knew, I was the one that checked out the customer) and it could be saved. So, I took it home, washed all of the soil off, trimmed all of the rotten roots, which were many, cut back part of the top growth, potted into a homemade mix that contained a lot of sand, drenched with Captan, and it came back promptly. I've had it at least 10 years now, and it bears every year.

Hey Mike - do you make house calls to Seattle? ;)
My tree could use your healing touch. (Love the water feature too!)
Westgirl

Hey, Thanks everyone!

Party, well citrus whisperer until it comes to the wiser Meyer. Lol

I am glad you are all doing well. Yes, I've been busy this summer trying not only to make my backyard happy, but the many citrus I have that need a bit or a big amount of extra care.
I am finding out that it takes great patience and good cultural practices to get them to turn around
At least they are free, right ?

Thanks again Mike, Patty, Tim, Denninmi, Vivian, Westgirl, and Dandy!
I'll have updates on others soon :)

Mike

Fantastic Mike...you're my Citrus Hero :o)...honestly, you really have the gift and grow-how to make plants that are in the brink of death...get them to recover and make them thrive. Great job Mike!! I know who to send my "sick" plants to!

Hey Pug. Thank you, and it's great to see you ! Remember Rosa? Well she is getting huge. I have had to cut I way back twice and it grows like a weed. Lol.
Hoping you have a fun and sunny day in the land of oranges, Hoya, palms, desert roses and many other goodies!

Mike

Great job, Mike!

oh my word Mikie your plants are gorgeous as always hi every one...i back again lol

Rhizo! You have been a true GEM to this forum and to my success here and in private. I give full credit to you for my success with these trees and half to myself for listing to you:))

Buyladyyyyyy !! I'll be. Where the heck have you been? You ok? How's the trees. We need an update. You've been missed around these parts.
Thank you as always for your kind words.

Mike:))))

Mike, great looking pics!
I especially enjoyed seeing your pond and all the landscaping you've done in the background.
I haven't been to the Citrus Forum much lately, but I'm glad I peeked in today :-)
We'll talk soon, buddy. Had graduation and a wedding reception to attend this weekend....

Josh

Hello everyone,
I know you have seen them before but here is a pic of my Meyer before meeting Mike and then the same tree about two years later(taken today actually).It is my healthiest citrus and is in a quickly made unscreened 5;1;1 mix. I did not know about screening until after I had done it and decided to keep it that way and it is flourishing.Thanks Mike and of course many others.
Dave
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Now THAT is some serious turnaround, Dave! Great to see you and your healthy Meyer!

Your mix looks pretty good to my eye. The only screening that needs to be done for the 5-1-1
is the removal of any bark pieces that are larger than 1/2 inch...otherwise, you're good to go.
I don't see any problem with your mix.

Josh

welll i been in the hospital but doin ok now trees are all on the deck now enjoying the sun this part of the state we sure need a rain bad...

Nice Save!!

Thanks Josh,
On the mixes since that Meyer repot I have been screening the microbark with a plastic nursery basket like you suggested that has 1/4 inch square holes. Still takes a while to screen a whole bag of bark. The tree in the back round is my oroblanco that was in just as bad shape as the meyer and it got repotted into a made up mix of my own. I don't remember exactly but it was basically bark,bagged mulch mix and pumice. I have the recipe in my yahoo notepad but for some reason I can not access it at the moment. How are things in the foothills? It has been hot down here by the bay.
Dave
this is of the oroblanco before its turn around
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90ðF right now, Dave!
I'm taking a break from mixing 5-1-1....had a green salad for lunch, now I'm cooling off.

So, Dave, if you're screening your bark down to 1/4 inch, no wonder you're having such great results.
That's a great way to refine the drainage in the mix and increase it's longevity.

Josh

Excellent rescue efforts! Kudos to you both for a great job is saving those beautiful babies!

Alexa

Dave! Dave! I can't believe how great they look now. I am so pleased with the results of your had work and your trust in us here. I am thrilled at how beautiful they are. WOWOW!

Thanks for stopping by. You were certainly thought of. I have been meaning to ask you to come back. So good to see you again:-)

Hey Josh!

Alexa..Thanks so much for stopping by and your kind words.

Josh, it is cool here agin. We only broke 80 in the past month! Where is our summer? Considering it was in the 90's in the middle of winter, I am beginning to think our winter will be in the middle of summer. I must say though that this must be your favorite weather. Very cool by night and mild by day. perfect for my coloring jades and flowering citrus. I would say, southern Cailf. weather in winter.

Jaybird and Buylady!! Thank you so much.

Buylady, let's talk soon. I want to make sure you are alright, You will be in my prayers:-)))

Mike

Mike, you give me such inspiration when it comes to plants. Just know your plant, and where it comes from, and that knowledge will help it grow/or come back to life. Sometimes you make it seem so easy =) I'm so glad that you were able to save these plants, I feel the same when I'm in grocery stores and see them rotting, and so mistreated with mixes and such; I just want to grab them and run, and dare for them to stop me! That's sometimes why I purchases some, just to give them a great life, and to enjoy their beauty.

Hey Greg! That was very kind of you to visit here and to say such nice comments! I really appreciate that.

Good to see you. I owe you a plant or two as well as a couple others here and I have not forgotten! My life has been crazy lately but finally slowing down:-)

Mike

This is my Washington Navel. It looked kind of rough this spring, tall and lanky, a number of the branches had died. So, I just cut it back to the trunk and stubs of main branches the weekend after M.D. weekend in May. So, this is about 4-5 weeks of regrowth.