If it were mine that is exactly what I would do. Let the soil dry out quite a bit before you water it again. Consistently moist soil is not good for most plants, Citrus included. This has been my experience with my potted lemon and kumquat trees, both in soiless fast draining mix. I live in FL and sometimes we get heavy thunderstorms in thee summer, I always bring them under a covered patio or garage and let the soil dry out before I bring it back outside if I know that rain is in the forecast again. Once the rain is over I place it back in full sun again. Good luck, hopefully it will recover.

Keith,

What are your temps averaging besides?

I would do exactly what Pug said..Her soil is more forgiving than most because of it's ability to drain very fast..I am not sure what yours is in..If she says protect it. I most certainly would as of today..;-)

Citrus can develope root very fast.

Thanks pug and mike for the quick response. You folks confirmed my thoughts... I moved the container (Al's soiless mix) lemon this morning. Ughhh... heavy... :)

Lol..If it is the gritty mix in a huge container, especally clay, I hear you!!!lol

Goodluck with your tree..

Mike

In-ground citrus seem to survive the rainy season. There must be something about wet feet being OK in the winter, because they always are (wet, that is).

Keith, like Mike said ...Good luck!

Lifespeed, I couldn't agree with you more, rain on inground trees is a whole other matter, seems to love it. Consistently wet soils in contianers...not so much,lol...

Hello...That is because the ground acts like a big huge wick, taking the perched water table down south so that the roots have less chance of rotting in ground..
In the container, the PWT is always there, especially in a soil that does not drain well, although sitting the containers on the ground soil, or a bark mulch does help..It tricks the water into thinking it needs to go beyond the container itself.

Have a weekend everyone..

Mike:-)

Thanks Mike, makes a lot of sense. You explained it much better than I could have :o)

To an extent the meyer leaves do yellow (lighten up) and shed in winter here in CA. But I'll take your word the tree isn't doing well.

Although good advice above, and I would certainly do the same if I were concerned about an ailing tree, using the gritty mix in a container with proper drainage holes should be fine. Unless somehow the mix compacted (relatively speaking) or was not 1:1:1 or not screened, the generous air spaces should be adequate to not have the roots rotting away. Once the turface and bark are saturated (via both internal porosity and the external adhesion), gravity should be pulling excess water down and out through the drainage hole.

That was one of the major benefits of using gritty vs. normal peat bagged mixes. None of my peat based containers are dry enough in winter to appear to need water -- thus no re-oxygenation of the roots, a double whammy.

Again, sheltering the tree is good advice esp if the tree is frail and desiccating, as the remaining leaves are likely weak and further pelting rain may cause more loss.

But from what I understand and what I'm witnessing in my own little container orchard, the gritty mix has removed all my fears of rain causing soil saturation,

in other words, Too much rain Over-watering. ;-)

Cebury,

You are 100% right! I too have no worries about mine outside, just as last year when we had the cloudiest, coolest, rainiest summer on record. Mine survive because all were in the gritty mix and the 5.1.1. mix.

Asssuming that like you said that, unless the mixes are made correctly, there is no worry of root rot or to much water in my containers too..

I am assuming though that kieth is using a peaty mix, or something other than what we use..If he is using the gritty mix, too many fines from not being properly sifted out can be an enemy too.

Great points you brought up..I think keith, you should learn of this gritty mix and how to properly make it so you will be able to relax knowing the chances of your plants rotting away during a long bout of rain will cause no harm..:-)

I lost most my citrus in prior years from using peaty mixes, bagged soils, even outside with just a few days of wet weather. In particular, I used the best Miracle Gro and nursery mix product on the market..Never again...:-)

One more thing. If you are growing in a mix that's ben staying to wet for your liking, try using a wick by pushing it up through the bottom, and let it hang down from container to drain out any PW that might be in your pot..:-)

Mike

Slighly off topic. When was the last time you gave them some nitrogen fertilizer?

Hi guys-

Thanks for the comments. The tree was transplanted in to a slightly larger clay container with Al's mix from the Four Winds original container. The lemon had been doing pretty well up 'til then.

I have been giving it 1/4 strength nitrogen feeding since December (I think) along with the TBSP of vinegar in a gal of water.

I think at this point once the pot has dried for the next watering, I will go back to it's regular fert sched.

There bud break on my pear, apple and roses now. So, spring has sprung.

I have around 15-20 different citrus varieties in pots that are left outside all winter and have absolutely no problem with the constant rains. Citrus are not adversely effected by wet soil, they have a problem with lack of oxygen at the root level. If you have a well draining soil then they will do fine outside in the rain because the roots generally still have good oxygen exposure.

There is something known as the winter leaf drop. This occurs when the roots are cool and can't absorb water well. When it is sunny, the leaves have difficulty cooling themselves down. Even though it is cool outside, the direct sun on the leaves can cause them to heat up significantly. This can cause citrus to loose leaves in the winter.

Also, I have found that citrus which are not very healthy going into the winter months (e.g. yellowing leaves) will loose a lot of these unhealthy looking leaves over the course of the winter months. I don't necessarily consider this a bad thing, because when the spring comes the new, healthy leaves will emerge.

-Brett

Brett,

Very good explanation..There is such a fine line for many between wet and moist..Hard to explain actually..

It rained for 2 months in a row almost every day here last summer, and was very cool, yet my citrus loved it..
An open soiless mix does make a HUGE difference...

By the way, good to see you again. Hope all is well.

Mike

Hello All:

Although a little late to the party (2010 posts) I thought I would ask. I live in the low desert of CA (Palm Springs). We've been getting a lot of rain. My poor 3 year old meyer lemon tree (in ground) is not happy. It's yellowing and losing leaves. It got a good feeding of a nitrogen rich citrus fertilizer in December. All of the rain is just too much for it. Any rugestions too combat the saturated soil?

Spread a plastic tarp around the base of the tree, and snug it up to the trunk a bit off the ground so the rain will run off to the edges. I use clothespins or similar clamps at the trunk , Where the two edges of the tarp meet, fold and overlap them and use clothespins to keep the fold secure. It you do it well that should stop the ground under the tree from receiving any more moisture. It's easy to remove when you want to, easy to put back on. I use rolls of 4 or 6 mil plastic from HD, or Walmart. I do this with containers also. For an in ground tree you need to use rocks or bricks to hold down the edges.

Belavita, this is in general, the toughest time of year for our trees in the desert. They get chlorotic from all of the chemicals pumped into our drinking water to combat bacteria growing in the water lines. Most of Palm Spring is built on an alluvial fan and therefore the soils are very porous and most fertilizers we add get washed through the soil very quickly. In your case a Meyer lemon tree needs even more food because they are heavy feeders, I like to feed my Meyer less fertilizer but more often, almost monthly. Go to either HD or Lowes and buy a fertilizer called "Arizonas best" citrus food, it works very well in our climate. I highly doubt that your tree is water logged unless you are supplementing it with additional irrigation during and after these rains we've had over the last couple weeks. I haven't watered my citrus trees in 2 weeks due to our rains. Can you post a pic of the overall tree and then a close up of the leaves? That will help us determine if it is a watering issue or winter leaf drop which my trees experience this time of year in prep for the February growth flush that is coming in about a month.

Evan

P.S. I'm in Indio about 30 miles East of you, different soil but same climate.

Hi Evan:

I'm also actually in Indio as well. I always say PS because most people don't know where Indio is. I saw "Arizona's Best" at Home Depot a few days ago. Will pick some up. I turned off all irrigation for the past 3 weeks now as well. Even though it looks dry on the surface at times I know the ground is still very moist. I would post a pic but it's raining (LOL). Will post once it stops.

I also like the tarp/plastic idea that jbclem posted.

Thanks all!