it would be ok, probably not recommended, just keep it in partial shade for a couple days and water thoroughly. give it a few weeks to settle in.

I just did exactly that to mine about 3 weeks ago. Temperatures then and since have been mid to upper 90's. I put them in a spot that got about 2 hours morning sun and 2 hours sun right before it set for about 2 weeks after.

Here is how they responded.

meyer- had about 15 marble size fruit set, dropped all but 1 no leaves dropped
key- no fruit drop, lost about 2-3% of existing leaves
satsuma- no fruit drop(has about 20 golf ball size), dropped about 25% of its leaves.

That was the bigger 4 year old trees my 2 year old key, meyer, washington naval where done the same time and same way. None of them dropped any leaves.

provided plenty of water and no ferts for a couple weeks.

mike

so citrus dont like too much sun or extreme hot temperature?

Mine have been exposed to 100+ degrees F in full sun with 80% humidity for days with no ill effect. I just give them lots of water.

I believe they prefer daytime temps of 70-80F and full sun

I would think being tropical they can take the heat as long as you have the humidity to go along with it.

Container citrus can be transplanted any month of the year. The basic caution is to insure that the roots do not become dry while transplanting. Citrus can tolerate quite high temperatures. Many citrus groves are located in the California desert,where they tolerate temperatures reaching 120F, with low humidy, producing excellent crops.

'In-ground' citrus and containerized ones are of two different worlds and therefore can tolerate extreme temperature changes from the very HOT to the very COLD along with the lack of or high humidity.

The roots are much more protected from the above ground heat and or cold.

I would like to know who even started the rumor that citrus do not perform well without humidity?

Mike

Thanks for all of the information. I am going to attempt to do the transplant this weekend. I will keep everyone posted on the results.

Please be sure to let your trees rest in the shade and or dabbled light under a tree for at least a couple of weeks, or until you see the leaves staying perked up for a while.

Also, make sure you don't let the roots get exposed to the air for too long.

Fill in all around the roots with a stick of some sort pushing the mix in-between them, even shaking the pot until the mix settles enough to completely cover and surround all the roots. Use a hose with the water coming out with a good amount of pressure watering very close to the mix as it pushes the mix even further into the roots.

Good luck!

Mike:-)

In short, if this is your first attempt, it is more risky doing it now vs. waiting just before Spring. But if you must do it, it must be done.

But I've barerooted many container citrus in all months of the year. Some respond extremely well, most just languish for a few months without growth (but flush just fine the next season), and a small few decline (I've only lost one healthy tree, that was when I root pruned at the same time). I try to be as careful as possible to avoid root loss, but obviously one reason for those declines was my handling.

Tip: Do as much removing of original soil, gently, under-water in a tub. If it's a larger rootball, get a friends help to hold each side when moving it. Make the sure soil isn't overly wet either as the ball could split and the weight of the soil tears roots.

IMO I would do the cool/shady spot (wherein receives a few hours of morning sun, no afternoon sun) for a couple weeks vs. days. If you see decline within the first two days and it doesn't perk back up immediately, there was either a mistake in putting the bareroots into the mix or there was rootloss. You must be sure to put the mix inside, between, over & under each individual root (OK, not every root, but you get the idea).

>>> I would like to know who even started the rumor that citrus do not perform well without humidity?
Hi Mike ;-) I think this particular comment was regarding "recovering from bareroot repot, in the high heat" a citrus tree should perform better vs. a dry environment which I would also support. And yeah I drive by hundreds of acres of citrus groves here in Central CA which is technically a desert @ It must've been that Florida Citrus industry who started the rumor!

Weird I posted mine today but couldn't see Drake & Mike's two posts (from yesterday); I did not even logon yesterday, so it wasn't like I needed to refresh my browser. I jumped on this morning and they weren't there...

I did not get an opportunity to transplant the key lime yet as we welcomed a new addition (baby boy) to our family this past week and have been very busy. I was also wondering if it would be alright to root prune when I bareroot the tree????? I would like to put the tree in a slightly smaller container. Will the stress from barerooting and root pruning be too much??? Thanks for your help.

Congrats on the new boy! Happy belated Fathers day!

>>> Will the stress from barerooting and root pruning be too much???

Probably. Sometimes not, it just depends on how well you do and how strong the tree was before. For a "slightly smaller container" I'd be very hesitant to do so and just transfer it as-is in the gritty mix until I see signs of decline from excessive rootage for the container size. How small of size are we talking about and how big is the tree? got pics? of boy and tree!!