Dying Meyer Lemon tree?

Hi all,

I received this Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree last April as a gift, and it already had some tiny green lemons on it. I originally planted in in a small planter (15") last April and within a week or so, it was doing fine, perked right up.

About 4 weeks ago, I transplanted it into a wine barrell...now it is loosing all its leaves and is looking pretty wilted.

The top of the roots are right at the soil line (how the nursery lady told me to transplant).. and the soil is moist... I did move it from the original location, but it still gets the same amount of sun/shade. I dont know what else could be wrong.
At first I thought it was just in shock...but shouldnt it have recovered by now? It has been exactly 4 weeks....

This tree was given to me as a gift during a hard time in my life... one of those; 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" issues.... and I really dont want to loose it!

Please help me save it!
AnjL

looks overwatered to me. Try letting it dry out a bit.
What kind of soil did you plant it in ?

miracle grow... tree and shrub soil.
I also have a citrus fertilizer, cant remeber the name right now... but I didnt put alot in, as i was already fertilized before I transplanted.

Water may be the issue... It is now in my herb garden and maybe getting more water than it needs?

In the wine barrells, should you drill drainage holes when planting direct in them? I didnt have drainage holes in the smaller barrell that it was in... didnt think I would need them in this one? now I am second guessing....

Definitely make some drainage holes...I suspect that's the problem...the soil is way too wet.

Remember, those wine barrells were designed to HOLD liquids, so the sooner you drill some drain holes, the better off you'll be in saving it.

k, will have DH drill some holes in it tomorrow.... how many do you think I should have him drill? and how big?

I really dont wanna loose this tree....wish I would have posted sooner!

Hard to tell how large a circumfrence is on that barrell, but if you have him drill about 4 1" holes with a spade bit, you should be ok.

One in the center and three at even spacings further out...maybe three or four inches away from the edges.

thanks!
I really appreciate the quick responses! hopefuly it will 'bounce back' real quick and I wll have some blossoms this year after all!
AnjL

I totally agree wit h JasperDale on the problem. Hope that saves it! I have killed my share of houseplants by potting too big and in heavy soil
I am starting some Meyer lemon seedlings from a friend's fruits.

I agree that the problem is more than likely due to overwatering because the barrel doesn't have any drain holes, but it may also be due to putting the tree in a container that is too large for it right now. While citrus prefer moist soil, overpotting can lead to root rot because the soil that doesn't have roots in it stays wet for longer periods of time. The fibrous roots of citrus are easily damaged by too much water.

In the photo, the rootball itself looks dry, but it could be an illusion. However, in a pot that is too big for the size of the rootball, the soil in the rootball may dry out while the surronding soil is still very wet. Until the roots have grown into the new soil, I would be very careful not to overwater.

Are those roots sticking out of the soil near the trunk? The roots should be near the surface, but not literally on the surface exposed to drying air. I use Miracle Grow potting mix because I can't get SuperSoil here in Texas. The one I buy comes with slow release fertilizer already mixed in. I've never used the tree and shrub mix so I don't know what its texture is. I use the one in the green bag which drains well.

Adding fertilizer when planting is not a good idea because the fertilizer will stimulate top growth that the stressed root system may not be able to support. Give the plant time to establish itself before adding any more. To reduce any added stress, consider removing the fruit and flowers. Once the tree puts out a new set of leaves, you can let it bloom. In Fremont, the Meyer Lemon will flower year round and have fruit of different sizes so removing the fruit now will only set fruiting back a few months.

Is the tree getting full sun? Ideally, it should get sun all day, but needs at least 8 hours of sunlight.

Thank you all so much. I checked the soil today and it is quite damp. The pot that it was in previously was one of those smaller wine barrells, the kind thta are MADE for potting trees, not for holding wine! I dont know what I was thinking when I repotted this with no drain holes! lol! I guess I just thought that the water would drain same as the old planter.

DH will be drilling holes tonight. I was just going to have him tip the planter on its side and drill, but do you think I should take the soil out and put in dryer soil? When I gave it fertilizer, I was at the end of my box, so I only mixed in about 1/8 cup in the soil. I dont think its a fertilizer problem, I really think it was overwatered from rains and no drain holes.

oh and yes, its in full sun all day...unfortunately most of my yard is full sun all day :o( I am hoping that once this tree grows up some, it will shade the window that it is planted uner ;o)

Once I get it all healthy again... I'll come post some pictures and the story of my 'make lemonade' and you all might understand why this tree is so important to me ;o)

I'm not familiar with 'tree and shrub soil'- is it heavy like dirt from the yard?

no, its more like potting soil... lighter.

sounds good then I agree with you it would be better to put some dry in

ditto.

okay, we drilled holes in the bottom 1" each and there are 5 holes...

It was MUD in there! Ugh!

I did take some of the soil out and replaced it with fresh tree soil....

next question.... should I water it with superthrive? does this stuff work on trees too? I dont want to do too much...but I dont wanna do too little either....

AnjL

Can't help on that one, I've never used it.

I haven't used it often enough to tell, but it probably wouldn't hurt.

My friend has successfully kept a Meyer lemon in her dining room for about five years and been getting fruit. I can't believe this thing can live let alone fruit, on the amount of light it gets. So I hope that's a hint that its a pretty hardy plant and you can be hopeful on recovery!

I don't think Superthrive can possibly hurt your plant (unless you overwater in the process of adding it of course!). Don't know whether it'll help or not but if you've got some around it's worth trying.

Hi everyone. I'm sorry to hear about your lemon tree oneanjl. I hope it works out for ya. I just bought one today & appreciate all the info. And it seems that I'm doing that 'pot to large' thing, with my strawberries. (Edges of leaves are browning ) So I'm transplanting to smaller container. And for now I think I'll leave lemon tree to do it's own thing in the container it came in.