Your mixed success is probably not soil-related. WHEN you repot can be critical for most genera/species of trees. E.g., you can't just undertake the major root work associated with a (true) repot on a Ficus carica while the tree is in leaf. Early spring is the best time to repot the fig, Citrus & most evergreens.

I'll let you ask specific questions rather than go to the effort of providing guidance you might not need.

Al

Oh, I totally agree, it was not the soil, which is awewome. I attribute it to rough handling (no patience on my part) and the heat, which would not go away this year!

Anyway, I am not sure whether to completely bare root them all or just trim 1/3 of the root mass from the bottom, and 3 wedges around the circumference. Since these are evergreen and either constantly bearing or in fruit/flower, I am not sure which is best. I would like to retain the fruit on the lemon.

What do you mean by early spring? Since we get no frost here (winter is a joke!) early spring could be feb/mar. Is that what you mean? As far as the fig and the persimmon, I will wait until they are leafless, and relatively dormant, which they do every year.

In your area I think late February would be the best. Give the plants time to recover from the transplant shock before it gets hot. I would not bareroot,but remove what soil you can so you have about two inches of bare roots exposed all around. Have the pot with the new soil ready so the plant may be repotted without the bared root material being able to dry out. If the plants were root bound I would remove about two inches all around BEFORE exposing the bare roots. If this is needed, expect shock to a problem, and consider removing most of the fruit and take the opportunity to prune to shape or reduce size. Water well at least weekly until you become familiar with the faster draining soil. Al

Hi, G-me. Sorry to have neglected you. I've been busy with meal related activities & company for the last couple of days. I'm gardener AND cook around here, having prepared all but maybe a dozen meals for the household over the last 30 years.

I would tend to follow the procedure you suggested in your last post, but that's just because I have little personal experience with Citrus. I tried a couple of Meyer lemons as bonsai, and they grew very well, but I found them unsuited to bonsai because of the straight, angular branching habit and their tendency to put out furlong-long shoots whenever they had the whim. In early spring - Feb is fine - saw/cut off the bottom 1/3 of the root mass & then remove 3 pie-shaped wedges from the remaining roots. The 3 wedges should = either 1/3 or 1/2 of the remaining root mass, depending on the vitality of the tree and it's genetic vigor. You will accomplish a complete change of old soil in either 2 or 3 repots, depending on how large the wedges and whether you remove 1/3 or 1/2 of the root mass.

It's important to the long term vitality of your trees to make sure that the old soil in the original root mass does not harden to the point that it literally girdles or compresses roots to the point where water/nutrient flow is cut off. I've seen nursery trees that have been bumped up several times in container size with soil so hard and compacted around the roots that it took a chisel to remove it. The soil was much, much harder than the rootage.

The fig and persimmon can be bare-rooted while dormant/quiescent and root-pruned with no problem.

Tip: I use a Dramm Fogg-it nozzle in 1 or 2 GPM flow rates to help blast away old soil, along with a root pick (like a chopstick) for the stubborn stuff. You can take your time with no worries about even the finest roots drying out because they are constantly being moistened as you work. I don't want to leave a link to a Dramm site, lest I get in hot water with the powers, but use the search words Dramm GPM and multiple sites will come up. Using it in combination with an in-line shut-off will allow you to control pressure/flow rate.

Al

Al:

Do you think I have to remove the fruit first on the lemon and lime? They are always in multiple stages of fruiting and I would HATE to lose a crop, but even more, I would HATE to lose a tree! Yikes!

Well, places that draw available energy are referred to as sinks, and these sinks have different strengths. What I'm getting at is the fruit, being the plant's means of reproduction, is a very strong sink. The tree will 'try' to mature fruit at the expense of weaker sinks, so the more fruit there is on the tree, the slower the recovery will be.

I grow trees for their form and to maintain maximum vitality so they can withstand the rigors I put them through as bonsai subjects (Grow long - grow strong ... :o) I just made that up.), so I have no hesitation when it comes to removing fruits & blooms as they appear. Your goals may be quite different from mine, so I won't presume to make a decision for you. ;o)

Al

OK, I gotcha - sinks, a new word. How's your book coming?

The book ..... the truth is I'm not so sure I can get past how daunting the task appears, primarily because of the lack of time I have to devote right now, so it may have to wait a while until I retire. I know that once started, I would have to keep after it until it was done, but the way my time is structured, I know there would be other areas of my life that would have to be put on the back burner for the endeavor, that can't afford to be neglected. It takes a great deal of time and effort to keep a business running at a profit in a (business) climate as depressed as Michigan's. It really is something I want and intend to do, though. Thanks for asking. ;o)

I really thank you and Calistoga for the great advice. I'm (gulp) very nervous about my fruit trees. Knowing that I have you guys as a resource gives me a lot of confidence to charge ahead. Wish me luck! I'll keep you informed as I get closer to doing "the act"! Yikes!