Transplant about 2 weeks before set out and let it adjust. Set it out in full shade-1 week-half sun-1-full sun. First feeding when your tree goes into half sun. Air-layer after the tree is placed in full sun. soak plant in water for hour before removing old dirt. No need for trimming. show a picture

Steve

One issue I had was that my existing mix (regular potting mix) was too moist when I pulled the rootball out. The sheer weight broke some roots.

I found it useful to use a hose sprayer to clean out the mix from between the roots (especially the center of the rootball), if it didn't fall off by itself. Seemed less damaging to the roots.

I am not thrilled with the 511, because of it drying out too fast. Like you said, sometimes you can't water first thing in the day. I am actually thinking of increasing the peat content.

Hibiscus- I’ve read up a lot on 511 and I know there are ways to increase the moisture retention, but just increasing the peat content tends to make the mix sludgy and it will act as a glue to keep water draining from between the bark pieces.

I’m not really sure what people in hot climates do when growing in containers.

Amanda- I remember reading your post, so I’ll be sure to completely bare root. I’m just afraid I’ll lose so much precious growing season time waiting for the trees to recover. They’ve been growing throughout the winter, but still losing leaves and experiencing branch die back. They’re kind of sad and desperate for sun and warmth.

Steve- thanks for the timeline. Now I just need to the weather to be consistent, so I can figure out when to tackle this project. I want to prune my ST. It has several long gangly limbs that aren’t branching. It’s shaped oddly and not full at all. It has continued to grow all winter, but the branches just keep getting longer. I know some people here are against pruning and I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve over-pruned in the past, but sometimes I think it’s necessary for container plants.

In the photo above, you can see the branch on the left is growing so far out to the side, with no branching and is one I want to chop back.

From the other direction, branch on the right growing out and away, but if you look closely at the two branches on the right, they grow up and up until the flipped over and started grow downward.

A closeup of the trunk there’s no central branch. The trunk spilts and all the branches grow outward into 3 main branches with all this empty space in the middle. It’s hard to get a sense of the individual branches from the pictures, but I think it’s really an odd shaped tree. I’d like to cut it back to encourage more branching on the lower portion on the tree. I was contemplating air layering one of the larger branches off.

Any thoughts on pot size? I think I’m just going to stick with the next pot size up for all of them. However, I’ve been reading up in rootmaker pots and they sound interesting. It seems like there’s sound diy options too.

Its a beautiful tree!

I just re-potted my limequat which was in the same pot as a dead Meyer.... It was a pain in the butt to untangle the root systems and I'm pretty sure I ripped some of the limequat roots off when removing the Meyer. I let the soil get dry so the soil would break off easier. Any remaining soil, I just sprayed it with water in my Bathtub. I soaked the roots well in water for about 5 minutes.

Also, I tried to remove as much of the old soil as possible, using new soil to re-pot the limequat.

'I’m not really sure what people in hot climates do when growing in containers.'

I grow in cactus mix (a mix of coarse cut peat and sand) and I have never ever had root rot issues. I have never had the need to water my potted citrus every day even under 100F temps. I often need to water my potted roses every day during high summer even though they are in a much more retentive peat and loam mix. IMO mixes like 511 are a pain in med-type climates where citrus can stay outdoors all of the year and precipitation is generally low.

Someone once suggested in the Antique Roses forum 511 mix for potting roses. I would say that would be a big no-no in all but the rainiest and most humid climates. 511 type mixes are not a panacea for everything and everywhere...

nikthegreek, I agree with you on your opinion with 511. I live in a hot and humid climate, but my trees do have to come inside for 3-4 months of the winter. I live in middle Georgia. I have used a peat based product for many years and never had an issue with root rot. I hardly have to water during the winter and the trees get through it just fine.

I just repotted 2 trees recently that were in a peat based product for over 10 years due to my ignorance and there was no sludge at the bottom of the pots. I don't understand why not after reading other people saying there would be. I just found lots of roots. I also repotted a bunch of my other trees which were in the same growing medium for about 3 years and again no sludge. Just roots. The only thing I can think of to explain it would be the type of fertilizer used. Maybe the type of fertilizer breaks down the growing medium. My trees mainly get Jobes Organic Citrus and Fruit Tree fertilizer because that is all I could find locally. I just started using Foliage Pro last year on a sporadic basis, so we will see what I find next year when my smaller trees need to be repotted.

A lot of people disagree with me here and on other social media about using a peat based product, but it works for me so I will stick with it. This year I did add pine bark and extra perlite for extra drainage because my pots are quite a bit larger than I have used in the past. Again, I will see how my soil is in another year or so.

I firmly believe that there are different growing mediums that can be used for citrus. It all depends on your location and what's available. Citrus is grown all around the world and not everybody uses 511. Youtube has taught me that.

My friend grows citrus here in Cincinnati and she uses soil dug out of her garden. Her trees are about 8-10 years old, They are grapefruit and orange trees grown from seed. Her largest container is about 2 gallons. I gave her a seed grown Fukushu Kumquat tree that is in an 8 gallon pot that is planted in pure leaf compost that is doing fine. I am now using 2-2-1 mix for my potted kumquat trees.

When I got my first lemon tree, I used heavy clay soil from my garden and put it in a giant pot. The tree did just fine for the entire first year, even over winter indoors. I suppose I managed the watering well. It wasn’t until my MIL starting watering it everyday over the summer without telling me, that it suffered from root rot.

I’ve since been using a peat based mix that started light and fluffy, but now has turned dry and dense. It’s a chore to water now. I can only pour in a tiny bit at a time or I have to soak the pots for a while to rehydrate them. I need something easier to work with.

I completely believe different growing mediums can be used as long as the grower manages the watering accordingly.

I need to repot ASAP, I’m just not just what my best bet is at this point.

Alana, I didn't answer your question about pruning. Just prune the longest one you are concerned about to keep the tree's canopy balanced looking. I know you didn't ask about the pot, but I would not use clay. From what I can see, you have some white stuff around the bottom. It should not be there so I am thinking you have mineral/salt build up. Be aware that clay pots allows moisture to evaporate through its walls and keeps the roots cold during the winter. Other than that your tree looks great.

Alanna, I repotted my new ST lemon outside in 40-50 degree weather a few weeks ago - I bare rooted it using a bucket of luke warm water letting it soak and swished the tree around to remove all old peat/soil from the roots. It never went into shock and is now preparing to push new growth. I’ve used this method with several trees during our chilly spring and have had no issues of stress - maybe I got lucky :). Good luck with your trees - they are beautiful!

Alanna, don't feel bad, many of our trees, yes even those growing with years with lots of experience have leaf drop and sad looking trees by the end of winter. It can be very disheartening but you get use to it)

I have a camera'Canon power shot 8'. It was marketed to citrus grafting facilities. It has a Citrus setting that would allow the owner to take pictures of the citrus trees for sale. The software improved the coloration found on healthy trees so they would sell better. My trees look a lot worse looking than the pictures I've displayed.

Steve

LOL