Oro Blanco left in the car while at work... now sunburned..help!

10 years ago

Hey guys and gals,

My Oro Blanco tree was doing great until fall came, which meant 30 minutes of sunlight every day. This caused some of the new growth to stop dead in its tracks and some parts actually crumbled after touching it. I decided to move it to my mom's apartment where it could get more sunlight, so I dropped it in my car, front seat and all and drove it to work. While at work it was sitting in about 8 hours of full sun, windows rolled up, 86 degree weather etc. When I came back I noticed 80% of the leaves were withered up, turned brown and dry as hell! Even some of the branches were turned brown! When I brought it to the destination, I watered the tree, although the next day it was just a tad better, the damage was already done.

Notes
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1. Part of the tree was exposed for 8 hours of full sunlight, 86 degrees weather with the windows rolled up.
2. That particular day was when it was scheduled to be watered; I wanted to get home to water it.
3. Tree now has some branches brown while others are green
4. It's been 4 days now and the damaged leaves are still hanging on to the tree.

What should I do next? Should I cut the brown branches or let them be? Should I remove the brown leaves? How can I help rehabilitate the damaged half of the tree?

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Comments (13)

mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
Here is another picture
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
Close up of the branches. It's now a little more darker
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hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
10 years ago
Wow. You toasted your tree. Water well, every 3 or 4 days, watch to see if branches start to die back. Prune back to good wood. Keep in afternoon shade for now. Poor baby. It may come back, citrus are very resilient. Once it stops dropping leaves and the die back has stopped, give it some liquid fertilizer (I prefer to use Dyna Gro's Foliage Pro) 1/2 strength. Once you start to see a little new growth, you're safe to plant the tree in the ground.

Patty S.
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the help Patty! How do I know if the branches are dead? Do they become brittle? As of now they are still bendable.

BTW I seen you forumup citrus forums, you're awesome!
uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
10 years ago
The lower branches / leaves look ok, so odds are it will come back. Follow Patty's excellent suggestions.

If you are not sure which branches are dead, just give some time. The truly dead wood may not become obvious for a few weeks or more. Time and patience really helps with citrus.
George K.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
10 years ago
The branches will become brown, dry and not supple. Becauseican is correct, give this some time to see what survives and what doesn't. Don't be too quick to prune. Even if leaves drop, if the branches are alive, the nodes will push out need leaves.

Patty S.
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
1/26/14 Update

From what it looks like, the top of the tree is dead and from where the graft line is, there is a new branch forming.
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
Angle 2
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
Angle 3
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
The whole tree...as you can see it lost all of its leaves!
orangelime1
10 years ago
It looks like your tree might not be dead. There looks to be a new sprout forming an inch right above the graft line. It's small but i think it is there on your first photo from today. There is still hope. I think the lower sprouts are from the root stock , what ever your tree was grafted on.

Brian
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
10 years ago
I would continue to water your poor tree, and 1/2 strength fertilizer. It appears (very, very early to tell for sure, yet), that the sprouting you see if from above the graft line, so it would be your tree starting to recover, miraculously. I would also very carefully remove the shipping stick. It serves no purpose, and is starting to girdle your tree.

Patty S.
mr_z1
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks guys! Yeah Brian, I think the new sprout is coming from above the graft line, so let's see what happens! And yes Patty you are right about removing the shipping stick, I'll go ahead and do that.

Will update in about 1 to 2 months.