The good, the bad, and the ugly...rescued is a horrible word for me; it implies starting with a much less than perfect tree. My rule of trees... it is a lifetime investment of money, time and labor; start with the most perfect tree you can find/buy... it is a little like buttoning your shirt; if you get the first button wrong, it doesn't matter how careful you are after that. What you have bought is a tree that has been pushed to look beautiful for sale and now has been in the too small pot for too long a time; and maybe never will be a quality tree. I wish you good luck with your "orphaned" tree; in my world I would have burned the tree before I sold or gave it to someone who would suffer with it for years.

I haven't taken it out of the pot to see how rootbound it is. If it's really bad, maybe some aggressive root pruning will do some good.

should be ok to repot

This is not the optimal time to be re-potting.

The very best time would be later in Spring, between flushes of growth, after the plant
has recovered some of the energy reserves that it lost during the Winter. I am telling you
this to prepare you for the worst and so that you'll have more reasonable expectations.

That said, you are in a warmer zone...and that can make a great deal of difference.
In other words, a Winter re-potting in your climate will be less traumatic to the tree
than a re-potting at this time of year in, say, Michigan or Ontario.

I would not recommend "aggressive" root-pruning. I would simply try to unwind and straighten
the roots in order to keep as much as possible. Of course, you will want to remove any roots
that are girdling other roots/trunk, any j-hook and strangely angled stiff roots, et cetera.

If you are determined to go forward with this re-potting, follow these tips:

1) Prepare all your materials ahead of time (a helper wouldn't hurt, either).

2) Work quickly but carefully - fine-roots will dry out and die within 5 minutes of exposure.

3) A bucket of semi-warm water will help remove old soil and won't shock the roots with cold temps.

4) When you re-pot, add a little mix at a time, then use a chopstick to work the new mix into ALL the
air-spaces between the roots. Be very thorough. Do not leave open pockets around the roots.

5) Orient the tree so that it is upright and balanced (not leaning one way or the other).
Secure the tree to a stake that is located at the edge of the container, not against the trunk (as in the pic).
The more secure the tree is, the faster the roots will establish themselves in the new mix.

6) Water the tree well with semi-warm water, then place the tree in an area that is sheltered
from direct sun and wind for approximately two weeks. Check the soil moisture every three days,
making sure not to let the tree become too dry - a newly re-potted plant needs to stay more moist
than a fully established citrus (which should dry down a bit between waterings).

7) After two weeks, begin to fertilize again at reduced strength.

Let me re-iterate, however: now is not the best time to be re-potting.

Josh

I'm with Josh!

Follow his directions carefully, and you should have success. Depending on how well your tree does by the spring will determine if I would root prune, which in most cases with a healthy tree encourages remarkable health and vigor no matter what the tree had been through years prior.

By the way, I respectively disagree with John, you Debbie downer you. lol

I have taken on a many tree looking far worst than what he has, and they are thriving as we speak. The way you describe trees being sold is our ONLY choice, and that is what we learn to work with.

Now if you are trying to sell your trees, then that is another story.:-)

Mike

Thanks all for your input. As (bad) luck would have it, after I posted, the temps dropped to low 30s at night, and that's the way it'll stay for the next week. I'll postpone repotting for now until warmer temps arrive.

Meyermike, no worries that you don't agree with me; I am a pragmatist and you are a romantic; and the world may well survive without pragmatists, but never without romantics.
My issue is that whenever I plant a tree, it is a life commitmeent for me; and, as with women, I would not make such a commitment unless it is with the best one I can find. My commercial issue is that someone would suffer for years trying to make a good tree out of a damaged tree that has my name on it. Example, you buy a Four Winds tree from Home Depot that hss been mistreated; and for the rest of your life you tell others "I would never buy a Four Winds tree"
For those of you with big enough spirits to rescue "lost" trees...Good on ya, mates.

Hey John, lol, I had a good laugh when I first awoke,

I can tell you that for the trees I do rescue from mistreatment, it does take commitment and patience, but the weird thing is that I find it challenging and a bit of a joy watching these trees respond to my care for the better.

On the other hand, it is quite nice to get trees that have a great start and to watch them flourish from the get go. Hum, I guess it's all what one is willing to take on at the time.

I will say that your trees are a perfect example of having great starts and good care though:-)

Enjoy a glass for me today. will ya?

Mike

I would agree entirely with Josh (and Mike). I've had poor experiences repotting my citrus in winter/late Fall. And I've been *extremely* careful doing so not exposing the roots to cold air more than the few minutes it takes to put it into the new mix and work soil around it -- warm water soaking and all. When the first warm-up comes, down they go.

Hi Mike and Josh!

Oh and Hi Newgen! Finally got some cold around here, eh?