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That's one fine Meyer lemon tree you have there. Congratulations!
Where did you order it from? The trees I have purchased that looked that terrific came from Fast Growing Trees.
Good luck with your newly adopted citrus. I'm sure you will take good care of her :)))

Keen4green, thank you very much. You sure know your trees! You are right about fast growing trees. It's my very first purchase ever online for something alive. I gotta find out how to best winterize this tree.
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Here is a picture of some bark soaking

first off bark is good for drainage but still will hold some water. my choice for mixes is more on the pearllight side it helps drain better in my opinion. now for if you use just the bark put good quality compost in with it as well it needs organic matter to hold onto some water. What ever you do don't use lime on the tree it kills them. In my mix i use lots of pearl lite compost or mushroom compost and coco coir that's it and i get great results. i also use something called a lazy gardener watering system and it seems to be working the best for a nave orange its the most healthy tree out of the bunch. so if you can get one of those from amazon before putting the tree in a new pot, the My Lazy Gardener usually run 25$ or there about.

Here is a link that might be useful: TheItalian Garden

Thanks Jonathan29, I just got this! And Mushroom compost, also taking out the lime. Thanks! Still need to learn more. I think if I can make it through winter I can hope for the best.

NO compost for Citrus! Don't follow general planting guidelines for Citrus.

For Citrus in a pot: No compost, not even partially composted bark. Not even on top after the plant is established. Generally, not even organic fertilizers.

For Citrus in the ground: No compost in the hole. Mulch on top but not touching trunk. Compost or organic fertilizers are OK after the plant is established.

Here is my most non-organic experiment. 80% Turface, 20% virgin fir bark. Resurrected from the 70% discount section of a local nursery. It was rotting in the organic nursery mix and had 4 leaves left:

GregBradley! Wow that's amazing! I hope I can do that with mine. I'm on my way to buy a pot for the tree. I think staying close to the same size it came with should be fine right?
I'm going to try your method and hopefully make a gritty Mix. Should I do anything to the roots? Do I have to get all the dirt off the roots? Do I also need the stick that supports the tree or leave it out?

Actual Gritty Mix is probably ideal for Citrus in a humid climate. That is so far out of my experience that you should get more info that applies to your climate. What is your climate?

Citrus like to be watered well and then dry out before next watering. I assume the mix is lightweight if that nursery ships all their citrus. That probably means it is fast draining. If so I'd be tempted to leave some to cut down on transplant shock. Best to get info from people that have experience with that nursery. I normally leave the stick until the plant doesn't need it. If I'm keeping some of the original mix, I am careful to blend some of the new into the old to not have any sudden change of planting medium in the pot.

I've tried citrus in a variety of ways. I should have kept a really accurate journal but only have some of the info. I have 29 in pots at this time and I didn't kill a single one but a couple came close!

GregBradley I have the pots now and will take your advice. I'm in Georgia zone 7b I think it is. Today is going to be 10/30/2014 with first time out in full sun. Highs are 65 lows for the week here is going to be 30-40s

First off I have to say that that is one FINE looking tree! I shall have to check that website out)

You have all the perfect ingredients for a terrific mix!
What kind of mix did they ship their in to you?

If it is fast draining and looks great, I would hold off on transplanting until spring...Let us see what the mix is that it came in..I have the feeling it's going to be ok for a season or two...Did they ship it in a pot too? Or is that root ball the shape of a pot?

You won't need lime with the gritty mix but would need it if you were using just pine bark and peat and perlite...

Beautiful!

Greg, you have a beauty there too...Maybe it's even happier sitting by that nice pool too..
You are right, no need for compost in a pot do have such a fine looking tree like yours)

MIke

meyermike_1micha! Thank you so much for chiming in. Here are today's pictures. First it did come shipped in its own pot. I just took pictures of the pot, dirt, and roots with dirt. It's still in its original pot and dirt (haven't switched it to gritty). Should I still wait for spring even though I'm dying to try out the gritty Mix? My neighbor just saw it outside and she said it looks amazing! I'm excited and happy, but honestly have to learn about the care because this is my very first plant!

More dirt!

Free from pot

Close up of dirt

Hey, I remember when I was first excited to use the good mix too...You would be amazed at how awesome trees do in the stuff you are so anxiously waiting to use..By the way, great idea about soaking the bark! It is even so clean looking and just beautiful{{gwi:807}} to match that beautiful tree..

I wonder about that mix it came in..It looks like it is ready to break down fast already..Hard to really tell..It looks like it would be good draining for one season more.

Let me ask you this..This is your homework{{gwi:807}}.
Call that place tomorrow and ask them specific questions about the care your tree just came from and what kind of mix they use.
Here is what I would ask them to help give your tree a head start and to mimick as close as they did.

1. What exactly is in their mix?
2. How long has the tree been in that same pot?
3. What kind of warmth did it recieve?
4. How much sunlight did they get?
5. Were they grown outside or in a controlled environment, like a greenhouse?
6.Did they use any type of acidifyer product?
7. What was teh fertilizer they used?

By the way, what Zone do you live in? Where in the world? Will you have to winter it inside or will you be able to expose it to full sun all winter long?
Does it get cold there?
That will determin if you can use a less than ideal mix to carry you over until spring)

MIke

This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Thu, Oct 30, 14 at 17:30

meyermike_1micha you are wise as you are kind! I will complete this home work ASAP, this is why I prayed someone would share and guide me a little. These questions I would have never thought of myself. I'm in Woodstock Ga, USA and I believe I'm in zone 7b. I wish to keep the tree in a container. So much work to do! I really got the tree because of the sale price and free shipping. But now it's time to get down to business, it's here and I don't want it to "survive" I WANT IT TO THRIVE!
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That's awesome, just let us know..

I have a feeling already that is will do ok in that mix until spring and then it will still do ok even if you repot it...If you do it right, it just might not fuss at all..

Is it still warmish down there with temps staying above 55 at night and will it do that for the next few weeks?

If your temps are to stay above 55 and the tree can continue to stay in growth mode, you would be able to transplant, I mean a complete bareroot with out any hitches at all...
But if your temps are going to fluctuate drastically and drop to the cold levels at night, below 55 degrees, I would not bother until it is much warmer come spring for you guys. Probably March? For me, it June.lol

Find out what that place says and let's go from there.

Mike)

I live in GA 7b and find greedy mix good in winters but in the summer it dries out way to fast. When I tried greedy mix one tree always stayed wilted unless i watered it three times a day in the summer. For all the trees I have that is way too much work. So I came up with my own mix 1/3 E.B Stone Orchid mix, Cactus/citrus mix and pearlite all mixed in 1/3s. Have used this mix for nearly two years and have had no problems with root rot or over watering. In the winter I have to back off the watering a little.
Trace

By the way awesome tree

The pictures are great! The mix the trees were grown in (and shipped in) is a bark, perlite, and very coarse peet mix. Mostly bark and pearlite

I have received 9 different varieties of trees from them in the last 3 months and every one was a healthy beautiful specimen. All but one were the 2-3 yr. olds with full healthy growth - and some had small fruits. The Persian Lime was 3-4 yrs, old and was so huge that I had to prune a bunch of new growth off for easier handling.

They were all on sale with free shipping. I really don't see how they can do that as these trees in pots are HEAVY and the well made sturdy shipping boxes are huge!!
For an example: my 3 yr. old Owari Satsuma was $24 on sale and included free ship. They had also sent me a $7 off coupon for being a repeat customer so the tree cost me $17 shipped.

First time customers receive 10-20% off depending on the ad campaign at the time. And I want to say that I DO NOT work for this comapny nor am I affiliated in any way. Just a satisfied customer :)))

I really love my Harris Kishu and Taracco Blood orange trees too! But for the money, Fast Growing Trees shipped larger older specimens in large nursery pots that should keep the trees happy for another year or two.

Sorry I was so long-winded in my previous post and didn't mean to hijack.
And I meant to say that my trees were grown/shipped in the bark, pearlite, and coarse peet mix. I can't speak for Woadie007's tree of course and hope I didn't offend.

I went out in the greenhouse to be sure about the medium and it seems to be a pretty even mix of all three of the ingredients.

meyermike_1micha after calling them today I have better information. They told me to start the transfer of the tree indoor for winter. The lady didn't know exactly what the mix was in the pot, but said it had some dirt left over from when it was in the ground. No acidifyer was used. It had sun out doors. Espoma citrus tone was the fert used. She also said while indoors I would expect some leaf drop and I should mist occasionally. I'm also told not to have it near any air vents. She also mentioned that I should fertilize the plant every 60 days. I feel that it would be fine in the current pot like you suggested until spring time.

I'm wondering will my foliage pro work just the same? I'm sure there will be other questions later but I feel better now. I only have one problem getting indoor sun. I don't have the best spots for sun. Will I have to build a light box for this tree? I have a 4ft T5 set up that I'm not using.

Hey, I a,m sooooo sorry it took me this long to get back to you..I wish I had a way that there was an alert for me when someone needs my help..

I am so sorry....That's just what I figured..They look that nice because they had them in the ground in such a sunny arae..That is quite a change and shock to these trees as they come north into clmaites where they get a lot less sunlight and are stuck indoors..

Your Foliage Pro will be just fine, especially because you are growing in a pot..The Espoma is more for inground citrus and you will find it works way to slow if at all in your containers...I have a whole bag of that stuff and have had it for years and it was useless with my potted trees...

Let me read some more of what you had to write and catch up and I will be back. I am again sorry for not getting back here.

MIke