I would guess it is a faulty graft or an incompatibility issue. Could also be a viral blockage of the flow of nutrients. In any case, I doubt it is going to suddenly thrive. If it were mine I would keep trying, as long as it is not dead; but I would look for a replacement in the meantime.

Thanks John. I wonder if I should contact FW. This is certainly not anything I did wrong although I've had the tree for a while.

If its a graft issue, maybe you could try air layering above the graft then just growing it on its own roots. Should be fine since its in a pot anyway. That may be a last resort for you, but something to think about if nothing else works.

Contact FW. I think you contacted them once before. Did you send them a picture of the tree then? Show them the same current pictures you have posted today as well as a copy of your receipt.

Contacting FW is probably a waste of time; they knew it was a sick tree when they sold it to you

Thank you Jay and Denise. I think I may try to do both. I want to learn how to air layer, but I worry it is the wrong time of year to try this. I worry that if the tree dies over winter, it will be too late. Should I try to start a cutting also?

Laura, sorry about your tree, but I am glad that you posted about your declining Bouquet de Fleurs tree. We can compare notes now as my BDF has been steadily declining since within a month of purchase back in May. It looked pretty good when I got it but soon after a few leaves started yellowing and then a few more, then it started dropping leaves. I was not concerned at first because I know that some leaf drop of older, yellow leaves is normal. Then more leaves turned yellow..Three weeks ago it dropped most of its leaves. Now the poor tree is almost bare.. I have mine potted up in the 5-1-1 mix, feed it well and only water as needed. I am not sure what is going on with it but I do not believe it is anything that we are doing wrong. I think we should both email FW'S and tell them what is going on with our trees. Send a picture too..

John, thank you from me also..

John, I do worry about that, but I guess the worst thing they can say is no. I don't even want a refund, I would just like a healthy tree. Denise, I have not contacted them before.

Jinny, yours looks greener than mine (the leaves that are left), but mine does not look as wilted. The leaves are curled though. I think I may try to start a cutting now. I am sorry about your tree. It is so frustrating to see a tree decline and not be able to do anything about it.

I had the exact same issue with one of the caras. Came yellow and got more yellow over time. I have not thought about the graft being faulty but it makes totally sense. I contacted FW and they are replacing the tree after it finally died. (or almost dead after it lost all leafs and browning of the twigs.) I will keep it and see if the rootstock stays alive. Maybe I can graft on it.

Jaydub it might be a good idea if the tree would not be compromised like this already?

here shortly after they arrived

and here the second tree that came at the same time

I am going to take a couple of cuttings and try to air-layer a branch. I took a cutting off of the Pomona Sweet Lemon that is also declining..

Susanne, I am happy to hear that Four Winds is replacing your tree..

Laura, send me a nice cutting about 5 or 6" long and i can graft it for you. Might have a little luck doing. You got my address, right.

Laura,

BDF is itself a very good rootstock. I would guess that whomever created your BDF, just grafted some budwood on a rootstock they had available, say C-35 and the rootstock they used is not compatible with BDF; hence the continuing attempts of the rootstock to grow; but not the scion. Unfortunately there are few ethics in the business these days; it is all about profits in the short term and how to "salvage" customer satisfaction later. Most people will never request a refund or replacement; they will just assume they did something wrong.

Bob, I will do that. Worth a try for sure. I just took two branches and am trying to root them. I'll be in touch! Jinny, my Pomona is doing incredibly well. If yours goes, I will be able to help you in the future when it gets a little bigger.

John, I am happy to hear it is a good stock. I took the cuttings now bc I figure it may not survive the winter at this rate and it is a worth a try. I will also send one to Bob ;-). It is sad what you say. The thing is in my case, I have lots of FW trees among many others and the ONLY one that looks like that is the BDF.

Laura, I have a Dancy Tangerine from them that just will not green up like yours no matter what I do. All my 50 some trees are fine, but this one. I bought this one 8/16. It was a 3 YR old tree $40.

Cory

Laura, please don't feel bad..Believe it or not the same thing happened to two of my past same tree way before I met you. I had heard about this tree and gave it a try from Four Winds themselves because they know I like fragrance, and I had bad luck with both..They did the same thing. I blamed the scion or the root stock..That is what got me on this curiosity in the first place.

Remember when you recommend I get one, well I held back for this very reason but did not want to say anything. I was waiting to see how yours would do since I know you do very well with your trees. You always give them the best care and above..So, now that I see what I see, it's not you, it's either the graft or root stock. I gave mine the best conditions possible in the 5.1.1 mix in summer, then the other a greenhouse and still lost them..As if the roots rot very very easily...

Good luck and I hope you figure it out. Until you do. I will not buy another(

Laura, Jinnylea, Susanne so sorry to see your trees like that :(( If your trees are on the same rootstock, it might be a rootstock incompatibility. Please, update us on future developments on your sick trees. Denise, you make a good point above!

I was also thinking that they might have given the trees wrong fertilizer or something in water or soil, if that's the case they should investigate and learn from it.

I will call them tomorrow and let you guys know what they say. This is definitely not my error because I have 50+ other trees that are perfectly healthy and this tree arrived very light already. I do hope that at least one of the cuttings grow or than Bob can work his magic on something I send him ;-)

It is disappointing. Many of my trees from them are wonderful - the majority. But this one is particularly bad. My kishu also is really not thriving either, but at least is green, and with time, I think will be ok.

Well, my Valentines finally decided to show some life too. No, most of their trees I got are fine. No complaints at all. Also that they are willing to send me a replacement speaks for them. I definitely would buy from them again.

I don't know anything about citrus viruses off hand. So just as a general caution, I'd isolate that tree and all the implements you use on it. Clean your pruners after you take the cuttings. Discard the potting mix if it dies. Etc.

Laura, i am prepping a tree now with some extra foo-foo, should work, i hope.

Bob, I'll email you. I'll send it out Monday. It is waaaay to hot today! If I can get to the post office earlier, I'll email you!

Bob I don't think we have met and I have been here for years. I think you have a huge and kind heart. Thanks for being here.

Sorry Mike, i do have a few aliases i have been with these forums for a long time, check-out persimmonbob, way before Houz. Sorry again, that name has been deleted.

Oh great that you're still the same kind person I've known way back then too thanks Bob

Laura, the leaf symptoms on your B de F certainly are in accordance with a deficiency of nitrogen. Nitrogen deficiency symptoms are totally yellow leaves with no variation of color, or for a milder nitrogen deficiency, yellow veins with some green remaining out on the leaf sides. As you have had the B de F for several months, and so far it has not responded to your soil fertilization, have you tried foliar spraying a nitrogen source directly to the leaves? The very best nitrogen source for foliar spraying is Urea (low biuret), but most other nitrogen fertilizers also work. Foliar sprays are the most efficient method of correcting deficiencies. My bet is that it will make a big difference to your tree. Currently in Florida trees that because of disease cannot take up fertilizer nutrition, the growers are all feeding their trees through foliar nutrition sprays. It has worked well for them.

Thank you Silica. I will try it, but how then is it that the rootstock is dark green and healthy? Does the grafted part take longer to receive the nutrients? I will spray it certainly and report back.

Laura, please do..I would love to see the results..If that was my problem, it will give me hope.

Silica, thanks for your input..

I dis foliar spray wirh cara and it made no difference at all

Susanne, what chemical did you spray? Did you also add a surfactant, and at what time of day did you spray?

no surfactant. I use iron, fp, fish fertilizer and red algea. Not all at the same time of course. Did not know about a surfactant. Most times I sprayed in the morning

Silica, other than 'Coco Wet' which I ran out of, what would you suggest as a very good surfactant..? I really LOVED that stuff!

https://spray-n-growgardening.com/coco-wet.html

I think Pro-tek is another but I have not used that one lately..

Susanne, without a surfactant your foliar spray just sat on the leaf surface as drops. Using a surfactant highly reduces the surface tension of the spray, and causes the spray to form a complete film over the entire leaf surface (both top and bottom), thus GREATLY increasing the spray's efficiency. In my humble opinion red algea is worthless. Lastly, do you actually know what was the deficiency type that the tree was suffering under? Spraying this chemical and that chemical in the hopes that perhaps one of them will correct the deficiency can cause many additional problems. You can use any of the non-ionic surfactants, I always use TW-20 (aslo known as Tween-20.

Thanks for explaining that Silica. I did not know that. You may have missed my question above, so I'll ask again. Why would the rootstock growth look healthy but not the tree above the graft? I just noticed today that the rootstock is growing again! I'm going to let it grow a bit to really get a good look at the growth and will post pics. Maybe that can help us figure out what could be going on. I have been spraying my trees with FE + HO + neem + protekt to start getting them ready for winter, and now I will add a little peters to feed the foliage (previously I added FP, which does not have urea). Perhaps that will help.

Laura, I am not sure, perhaps it is due to the graft union, but it could be any number of reasons.

To correct a nitrogen deficiency through foliar spraying, urea (low biuret) is by far the best chemical to use. This is because urea has the fastest absorption through the leaf cuticle. Urea, even in low concentrations, hydrates the cuticle making its absorption (as well as other mineral nutrients) more effective. The maximum penetration of urea occurs approximately 40 minutes after spray application, and at a rate of about 2% of the amount applied per hour.

Silica, what concentration Tween 20 do you use?

Vladimir, for TW-20 use 1 teaspoon/gallon.