The question is "Can it be saved?" Maybe a better question is SHOULD it be saved. In my world a tree looking like that would be tossed on the rubbish heap.

John's Rule of Trees... that is, if you are going to plant a
tree, start with the very best and biggest tree you can find and afford. You are going to have this tree in your life
for a long time; and you are going to put a lot of energy, emotion, and money
into it; if you start with the best, it will reward you sooner, cause you less
grief, and generally make you happier.
It is sorta like buttoning your shirt; if you get the first button
wrong, it doesn’t matter how careful you are after that.

You're so right John! I never thought of it that way. I treat these trees like pets and would do anything to save it. I have spent a lot of time and energy on it with no reward. So I'll be throwing it into the woods tomorrow and waiting another month or so to order a big beautiful one. Now the question is....what kind do I want? Definitely something cold hardy!

Thanks John for your words of wisdom. At least I won't waste my time stressing over it.

Hi Monica...Well, you know me, I would of saved it..lol

Just try and figure out what might of caused this in the first place and you can prevent another from the same demise...

Good to see you around and doing well)

Mike, I haven't tossed it just yet. I'm not sure what's wrong with it though to try and prevent again in the future. lol

Not sure why this tree would be thrown away? That little black streak may be rot or something but by and large the rest of the root system looks fine. It may take a while to refill it's root system again, but it being defoliated above is certainly no reason to throw it away as I've completely defoliated citrus before that releaf out fine, and citrus leaves can drop for a variety of reasons in the first place. You have to remember Jon is geared towards commercial growing, and in the commercial world he would understandably chuck the tree, but on the homegrower front I feel it bears reconsideration. This is primarily for enjoyment for us growers after all, not profit.

I don't understand why people throw away trees that are not dead. Yeah it's sick, so what? Would you chop a 20 year old tree down at the first sign it's sick?

get experience saving trees and use the money for another one. At least that's what I would do.

As Pip suggests, get experience in trying to make that tree recover. You would be surprised at how much experience you get once you figure it out instead of chucking them away as soon as they don't fit the bill...

Mike

Okay, maybe you guys can help with the issue of this tree. As I was cutting out the rot, I kept finding little black spots in the root system towards the trunk. It reminded me of peeling a potato and finding lots of "eyes". I had to keep cutting and cutting.

i did repot and watered with dyna grow and KLN root stimulator (1 tsp each to a gallon of distilled water). I'll wait a week or two and treat with Aliette which works on bacteria and helps root issues. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

It could be a fungus but imo probably more likely a bacterial issue. Good news is re-potting in a better draining, more airy potting mix like 5-1-1 or Gritty mix should fix that.

More air will likely cause the bacteria to wither away. The product you applied will most likely help a lot as well.

That being said, I probably would not bother. But I'm 54 and time is an issue for me at this time in my life. If I was 24 and short of funds like I was back then, then I may try to save it.

Good soil, proper watering, enough sun and warm temps, and good citrus fertilizer will work wonders, if one has the patience. The question is really; is that much time and effort worth it to you, with the possibility that it still may not make it. Only you can answer that question.

Barb has a point, I don't know your age. If "time running out" is something you think about then maybe pitch it. But if that's not exactly a pressing issue then consider keeping it. Once spring hits and summer comes around it should look like a totally different tree.

lol - I never thought of time being an issue but since I got my AARP card last year, I'll see if it can recover a little in a few weeks and if not....garbage it is.

Also, I've decided to return my Mexican lime tree as I lost 30 leaves in one day. In only 3 weeks it has taken a complete nose dive and I haven't done anything different. I just hope I don't have some kind of spreading disease.

Maybe I should ditch them all and start over this spring. I don't have time for all this stressing over trees/plants. :-(

I have a sick looking tree but I will do as much as I can to save it. It is one of a kind.

This is my New Zealand lemonade scion grafted to US897 just 11 days after grafting. The single blade leaf appears to be wilted and distressed. I cut 75% of that leafs foliage off with a pair of hot cauterizing scissors and bagged it. I then put it in a warm lighted humidity bucket. I will leave it alone for another 10 days before rechecking. Some trees are worth fighting for. I also will learn for future grafting attempts.

Steve,

So this is a grafted plant? what part is grafted? The whole top portion? If so, it looks like it needs to be trimmed down a little. What appears to be wrong with it to you? Is it the leaves? Stem? From this picture it doesn't look that bad, just that big curled up leaf.

~palmsandsnow

100% agree with Evan, I have read a lot of your posts Monica and I have been shocked at the amount of chemicals you use. They are completely unnecessary for the home grower, I have more sympathy for the commercial growers and what they have at stake. Not trying to be mean so please don't misunderstand.

I am in an even harsher climate than you and I have 13 citrus plus figs and herbs in my grow room doing quite well with no chemicals used at all. Yes I have some scale and some aphids (not on my citrus luckily) but I "manage" them with soaps and oils and don't try to eradicate. Once they go outside in spring the pest pressure disappears. It's worked very well for me for 2 years and my plants are quite young like yours.

Focus on overall plant health and all will be well. I also think you might be an "overcarer" like many of us are/have been when we first got started.

Steve,

Ok, I see now.

So, from the picture, it appears that only the grafted on part looks sickly, am I correct? If that is the case, I think this may be a failed graft, but you will have to wait a bit to see if it ends up dying. If it does, I think you will just have to start over with a new graft, if that is your desire.

Did you do this graft yourself? If so, I am assuming if would be relatively easy for you to just do another one.

~palmsandsnow

Thanks everyone. I will be patient (but will return the lime). It's weird but it seems like more issues started when I set up a cool mist humidifier and a fan.

I know it sounds like I use a lot of chemicals and I do when I see issues (pests) but literally only use 1 - 2 drops to a gallon of water (my husband makes the mix since he knows the products although his area of expertise is in turf and ornamentals) I don't want the pests to develop a tolerance to the stuff used. I may treat more often but it's at such a diluted rate. I think it sounds (or reads) way worse than it is.

I can't wait for spring so all these plants can go outside and my screened porch.

I do use the 511 mix although it's more like 4 bark fines, 2 #4 perlite, and 1 peat.

The scion twig had much darker bark to begin with. I did 4 lemonade to US897 and 1 Sweetlee tangerine to Kuharske Citrange. On lemonade scion fell out. The 2nd died and was brown but I could pick up the 2 pound tree by the scion. The third lost all its leave but is still green. The one pictured had its leaf left and th sweetlee had its leaf and a nice looking bud left. That Makes for 3 possibilities of growth. To date I have done over 100 grafts with only one success.

Ditch the humidifier. Somehow there got to be an idea out there that citrus like and/or need high humidity. They don't. They will tolerate it, as seen by the citrus growing well in Florida, but they really don't NEED it, as seen by citrus growing well in Southern California and Arizona.

The normal humidity of an average household is just fine. And too much humidity indoors can become a problem.

Also fans are great for seedlings grown inside that need some stem strengthening, but potted citrus don't need them. So yep, ditch both.

Great. Thanks so much Barb. You bring up a great point about how citrus is grown in S Cal & AZ. I don't think it's a coincidence that adding those two items in the room started the decline. Thanks again.

Steve,

Yea! That sounds a lot like me! I could never get any kind of graft to work...

Steve, why are you picking up a 2 pound tee by a scion that was recently grafted? If a graft wasn't already failed that's sure is a way to help it there.

also your supposed to wrap the whole scion to help prevent moisture loss.

The scion was dark brown and shriveled. I had no ????'s that it was DEAD so I picked it up to see if there was any bonding at all. There was so I am gaining grounds. on "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE". I have 3 left with moisture and green buds.

Steve - if you want a guaranteed improvement in your grafting success rate:

1. get some proper half-inch clear grafting tape. Not expensive. For example from http://www.amleo.com/poly-budding-tape/p/VP-34/

1. you must always cut off all the leaves but keep the leaf stalks in place

2. wrap the whole of the graft and scion to prevent moisture loss

3. leave the graft wrapped for at least 3 weeks

There is no way a tiny piece of stem can supply enough moisture to whole leaves while the graft is taking place.

Monica - I think your tree looks fine but it is in shock from getting chilled or low light. It's sleeping. They can be hard to wake up. Recovery may take a while.

Thanks John. I'm going to give it my all but won't stress over it. Thanks.

Since my greatest Meyer lemon tree I neglected but did so great for 10 yrs. it died 3 yrs ago, I guess I moved to many times & neglected it for the last time & died. I waited a few yrs. b4 trying another myer & now I have a 3-4 yr. old /2ft. Tall in 3 mo. But it's not like my 1st. If I treated this myer like my last it would be dead by now.ive tried everything but it won't grow a thing! Not a leaf bud or a 1/8" of wood ? Please someone help my baby Meyer? They pruned it b4 sending to me in Dec. & it looks bad but few leaves look good but that's all I've got in these few mo. All I've tried ppl. Say to try. It's fr. Ediblefruit & they pruned the crap out of it ! I need growth of some kind. Help?2-10-2016 got 12-8-2015 help?

Lot's of sunlight, a good soilless mix and lots of warmth..The 3 keys to growing healthy citrus..If you can get these three things together, you should do fine..