I would repot and figure out then. Either way, three plants or one big plant (which was potted with the crown under the soil) is bad. You want to fix it no matter what. I think that pot is too small for that amount of stem anyway.

^Agreed, I re pot it sooner rather than later, if it is three plants it will be better to try an separate them before its too late. I may already be but its worth a shot.

Its a shame to have to separate them as it forms an attractive little bush right now. Each trunk has its leader cut like an inch from the ground. I think all 3 trunks are gonna grow with an ugly form if separated. Perhaps in time they will look good. These plants were not produced for long term growth. These were only there at the store for Chinese newyears. Only ment to look attractive at its current size untill the owner kills it.

It looks like calamondin fruit but if you are really lucky they mislabel a Meiwa kumquat as a calamondin. I would separate before set out time.

6b Steve

Sammers: I dont think its too late. It just depends on how you look at it. If you meant its too late to succesfully separate them, they'll gonna survice. But what comes to the delay to blooming and delay to growth, yes, it does affect it to some point. But on the long term its much better to separate them.

I would pull them out and wash the roots with hose or in bucket(not too cold water). It may sound radical but makes it easier to separate the entangled roots. Then put them all in separate pots with well-draining mix, or just keep the strongest looking plant.

Don't fertilize until you see some good growth. And keep it out of full sun for the first week or two.

The trees are caged like tomatoes. I would definitely separate them now. Plant them with root crown right at the soil level. I think the trunk rot has already started.

Give priority to the best tree and limit all necessary root damage to the lessor trees. prune and they should come back with only a years setback. The best tree will move forward up to a year with its new private pot.

6b Steve

Jontte, That's good to know that they have a decent chance. I have seen many people here try to separate tress only to have one or both of the die. I would take the risk though since they wouldn't have enough room to grow properly otherwise. Charles let us know how it goes!

I had twin calamondins last year myself by accident. My daughter picked it out bc it looked so bushy not noticing there were two trees. I separated them immediately and even though they looked thin at first, both have bushed out beautifully. If you want to keep the plants long-term, you will need to separate them. I'll take pics of mine when I get home to show you.

Laura- 2 for the price of one? That's awesome! Your daughter has a good eye haha!

Lol Amanda! Yeah that's what I need - more trees! ;-)

Last year I separated two Ponderosa lemons whose roots were very closely intertwined. One has done fine all along. The other one almost died, recovered, almost died again and has now been hanging in there for the last month or so with only 4 - 5 leaves on it.

Wow those trees are awesome Laura! The fruit hanging off of them is amazing!

I'm gonna try to repot and separate over the weekend. Most likely I'll be using miracle grow cactus soil. Should I add perilte?

Yes You can also use coarse sand. I get my sand from the street gutter out front.

Thanks Amanda! Charles, good luck with the separation. Keep in mind that if left alone, they all would have eventually likely perished, so even if you lose one, they will be much better off. Let us know how it goes and show us pics!

And yes, listen to Steve and add perlite!

Even with the perlite, that soil mix will have a tendency to retain excess water , so be careful and avoid overwatering.

Should I add perlite and sand or is perlite alone good enough? I have some white pool filter silica sand. Is that coarse enough? What percent perlite do you guys recommend?

If you don't mind the expense of perlite go that way. I do all my citrus in a manor that is close to free. Sand from the street gutter, broken brick crushed for soil aggregate 55 gallon drums cut in half for pots, Construction material 5 gallon buckets make nice pots with their own carrying handle, restaurant drink cups for starting seeds, old ceiling light boxes and fixture for bucket lights, electric cords from broken devices to provide electric to the bucket lights., and 10 to 15 cubic feet of used potting soil I get when I clean up my customers potted plants come fall.

My wife and I lost our means to earn a living wage 4 years after the 2008 crash. I turned to growing nutritionally dense food that we could not afford and buying the cheap caloric foods we needed for energy. My research took me to figs, Meiwa kumquats, greens and veggies. It has worked well.

The standard material suggested on this forum will alway be better than the types of free stuff I suggest. that is why the Perlite is the better choice for you and your tree.

I have a feel for all my plants and their needs. I understand the effects of wind sunlight and temperature and how it affects each species of my plants. I can feel internally when individual plants need water and which one should be fine. I have no watering Schedule . I water when needed. If and when you become one with trees they will be free of most problems. If money is not a problem go with the standard accepted material used on this forum. You will do fine either way.

6b Steve

Steve, there is so much wisdom in your post! Thank you for that! For a moment I felt like my dad was talking to me, while I was reading your words. There is so much abundance in our life that ,sometimes it hurts us and the environment around us. I feel like sometimes things are pushed down our throat ( not in gardening, but in general). I like being free to do my own thing and learning along the way.

Well it was 3 plants. Each one was wraped in some kind of fiber rock wool like material under the soil line. I think this must have been the rooting medium and these are rooted cuttings. I dont think i did much damage to the roots. The roots were very tangled but i was able to seperate them one root at a time without needing to cut any.

I potted them up in a mix of 5 parts miracle gro cactus soil and 4 parts perlite. This cactus soil does indeed hold water. It doesnt drain nearly as well as the original mix that i washed out. I put them in 8 inch pots. Perhaps i could have went biger and used 10 inch pots.

2 of them look nice but 1 looks kind of ugly. It might need a pruning to encourage upwards growth.

Good job! I would have done the same and I would pot them in bigger pots later on the summer, if they seem to grow too much. I dont think it would make a difference in this seasons growth(the re-potting).

Its easier not to overwater this way, if the soil is a little too water retaining.

That looks great! I'm impressed! Repotting is difficult.

Great job! They look very good (even the little one) and I'm sure they will recover and bush out nicely. With a little time, patience, and TLC, you will have three lovely bushes.

Charles,

Thanks for the follow up; it is how we all keep learning here.

Just stake the limb to vertical. In 2 months you'll be able to untie it and it will stay vertical. they all took great.

6b Steve

Great job, Charles! Those pots are good, they have lots of holes and now you have to watch overwatering, don't let the trees sit in water in those saucers and do what Steve said above about the limb. With the right pruning in the future you can turn them into bushier trees. Please, update us when you get new growth :). It's just for the timeline I am observing. Like Johnmerr already said, that is how we all learn here.