Start over with a new healthy tree; and watch/search this site for advice.... My philosophy of trees, it is a lifetime investment... don't start with a bad one...it is like buttoning your shirt... if you get the first button wrong, it doesn't matter how careful you are after that

I suppose it's not that difficult to find a new tree there?

Regards
Nick

If you want to try and save it first determine if it has any hope. To do that scrap a bit of the bark and if the cambium layer is still green you may have a chance. Rinse off the roots and re-pot into a well draining mix and see what happens.

mike

it doesnt look too good from the pics.

thank you Johnmerr, Nick, Mike, and Houston for the honest advice. yes it would be easy to just get another (and I'll probably pick one up soon as insurance), but in the interest of just giving it a shot, I cut back the totally dead (brown) branches, cleaned the roots, and re-potted. Most of the tree still has a green cambium layer, and the kaffir lime smell where I checked under the bark is still pungent. so we'll see!

Any other advice is most welcome. We just got two small nagami kumquat bushes, so I'll be lurking around the citrus forum more often from now on. Thanks again!

What Mike suggest is exactly what I would do.lol

Of course I have a weak spot when it comes to sparing sick plants of their demise. For some reason, it makes me feel good that I can handle such a feat.
It's funny about me, but when I see a plant for sale that looks like h*ll, I tend to grab it and find myself having a good time bringing it back from such an aweful state. call me crazy if you would like.

You certainly have to have the patience to accomplish such a feat and the know how. The know how will come from being a part of this forum along with persistence in learning.
The patience, well, not everyone is up to that.

The fact that you have green cambium tells me there is hope, that is if you are willing to look at such an ugly/ oops,cute tree if so that is what you choose to think of it.:-)

Please make sure that mix is coarse enough to allow proper drainage and encourage much new root growth.
Provide LOTS of sunlight and NO fertilizer until you see its first sign of growth.
Make sure the mix you choose dries out evenly and rapidly.

Mike:-)

No fertilizer... therein lies the secret to new plantings. The lack of ample food in the new soil encourages the roots to grow in search of nutrients. Once the roots grow, the branches will follow and that is the time to start with a complete fertilizer with essential minerals.

And don't forget to get rid of the scale. That alone can denude a tree of leaves. Not to mention that it can infect your new tree as well if not addressed.

Cath

How much sun does that terrace get? I didn't think I was afraid of heights but that photo had me sweating a little bit. I would scrape the bark too to see if its still green underneath and cut back on watering do to lack of leaves. It seems small enough to move around so maybe find a different spot in a window that gets as much sun as possible.

I know that this is an old posting but I have the same problem with my kaffir lime tree and was wondering what happen to your tree. Do you have updated picture of the sad tree?