Based on your numbers I have been adding much too little fertilizer. I will correct that asap! I added maybe 3 cups when I planted and have added a little more but nothing significant. I think I will switch over to osmocote when I run out of citrustone , also many people here like dynagro. I will replace my fish emulsion with that. Thanks for your input! I have over fertilized my ornamental plants in the past so I have been reluctant to give a good dose to my young citrus plants.

Mick

You're welcome. Most people don't use enough volume of Organic fertilizers, because they're used to the amounts standard fertilizers use. Standard ferts are a lot more concentrated usually, so it's easy to over fertilize, but not so much with organics. You're not alone in that, lol.

Btw, those amounts I wrote above come right from the CitrusTone label. I found it on line. They do recommend a lower amount at planting, but the next feeding they recommend the above rates. So you did fine at planting time.

They only recommend feeding 3-4 times a year, which seems not often enough per what most folks here do, but if you understand the way it's used it makes sense. The large amount is meant to last that long, it's also a kind of slow release as it breaks down over those months and releases the food to the plant via the soil microbes. It's best to thoroughly water over and through the organic food at the base of the tree when you water, the microbes work best when the food and soil are moist.

This is also why organic fertilizers do not work as well in containers; there just aren't many soil microbes in most container soils. But in the ground it works great as long as it's applied correctly.

Btw, Fish Emulsion is a fine organic food, I just don't think it works well as a Foliar feed, it's better right in the ground.

It's tough to over fertilize with Osmocote as it's a coated timed released particle (called a "prill", now you know, ha ha)

You can definitely over fertilize with a standard fert like Dynagro. It's great stuff, but very concentrated, so be sure to follow the label, as with all products. And never feed a plant with dry soil, water first then feed. Good luck! : )

Do you recommend anything for thrips ?

Mick

Spinosad works well, and it's good against many other insects too, including Citrus Leaf Miner.

I have soluble fertilizer for acid loving plants, would that be suitable for citrus!? It is Miracid I think but it is relabeled for azaleas, camellias etc

It's not ideal, but I'm all for using what you have before buying new products, if you can. Miracid is 30-10-10 NPK, which is not an ideal ratio for citrus and is pretty high in nitrogen, compared to citrus food. Citrus don't need acid food but I think in the ground it would be OK. However, since it is so high in N, I'd cut the dose in half.

However, where are you located? If you are in an area where you get acid rain or your water is very soft and on the acid side, I'd probably not use the Miracid.

Your CitrusTone is a good food, you just need to use more volume.

Also, looking more at your pics, do you have the tree in a lawn? If so you need to remove the grass at least 4 feet out from the trunk. Grass is very greedy and will steal nutrients from your tree. And you will need to make sure the sprinklers don't hit the trunk of the tree. That's not good for the bark and can lead to rot.

I noticed yesterday several of the small fruitlets turning yellow and dropping off. Is there a way to reduce the amount of fruit drop ? Is it normal for the plant to drop fruit this early?

The tree will drop whatever fruit it can't support. If you just transplanted it, you may have a lot of fruit drop this season as the tree should be putting most of its energy into growing roots/foliage. Over watering can also cause fruit drop, so as Barb says, make sure you're checking that the soil isn't too wet.

How could I diagnose root rot? If I am overwatering which I think is possible I could have instigated root rot.

Mick

I forgot to reply to the above message from Barb. I live in Austin TX our soil is very alkaline. I planted in heavily amended soil so I hope the pH is more balanced but even our water has a pH of nearly 9. I did mulch a 2 foot circle around the tree but I can remove more grass. I have no sprinklers and I dont water close to the trunk. I do worry about over watering. When I test the soil it is usually sort of wet but not moist its like a wet paper towel thats been wrung out.

Mick

I would just back off the watering a bit, unless you have really sandy/fast draining soil. If it's still damp between watering, you're probably watering too much. Citrus really like to dry out a bit, and they like infrequent, deep watering vs frequent shallow watering.