Its before removing it from the old pot.

What kind of soil do you have it in? Looks very heavy.

I think Ken B is correct. The medium that the tree is planted in seems very heavy. It must hold way too much water, thus not enough enough oxygen.

my self I use clay soil typical Ashland Kentucky clay

I have no idea about soil. Before it was in some kind of universal soil I used for all the plants, right now it is replanted in unknown soil, which I got from this lady that uses it to rescue plants that been overfertilized and it has helped a lot for her. For me it just stays the same and not getting worse, except the thing that I have accidentaly broken down some of the leaves while replanting.

"is there anything to help with rescuing it?"

Yes! Get it out of that soil!! It is much too dense and water retentive and lacks the texture that will provide the necessary fast drainage all citrus need. If you leave it in that, the plant will continue to decline.

btw, there is no kind of soil that will help with over fertilization. Only flushing with water (hence a need for fast drainage) and time will rectify that.

putting it in fresh soil with out as much fertilizer will help

Tom, a 1.5 year old lemon seedling, should be 4 times as large as your tree. gardengal is 100% correct, your re-potting soil is totally opposite of what the tree should be planted in.

I found some richer clay and I realize my old clay was very deficient in many nutrients that lemons seedlings need

dried poultry manure will be better than I have now and I don't live in Arizona I live in Ashland Kentucky

Oh, and that would be the 4th replanting - would roots handle that?

1st was just a simple replanting in clean universal soil.

2nd was just roots in a pot full of clean water for 24h.

3rd was in the new "ladies rescue" soil. Im worried, that it would be too much replanting for roots. I live in Latvia, Northern Europe, theres no soil acceptable for citrus, only if you can find something in garden shops or something.

Right now I am watering it once 2 days fully submerge in water for few minutes, then let it go a good drain an only then i put it on my plate and Im a bit scared to change the soil once again, without even talking about searching new, better soil, where to put it. :-(

Before thinking about dried poultry manure, it would be nice to flush all that is inside the lemon right now. If Im understanding correctly, I should repott it in new soil with better drainage, but then again - how would roots handle the 4th repotting...

my seedlings about 2 inches high Instead a pot I put it in 5 gallon bucket with much richer clay the clay is black

Howard, how about soilless soil 1-0-1. Most here are very advanced in growing citrus and others. Read what the regulars are writing. There are forums just for container gardening.

Spend some time there. I and most members been there.

I don't like to go soiless I found some richer clay

I'm trying to find fertilizer that is safe for lemon seedlings and found some black clay I hope my lemon seedlings respond favorably to this the other clay was more dense I may have to pour my grass fertilizer on top of the soil

Howard, I'd like to see how good your trees look and how long you can grow in mixes like that. {Please take the time some time. Thanks) PIcs are always apreciated.

Once those roots get oxygen and no more dissolved salts stuck in that mix, it's a sure bet that little tree will take off.. Trust the advice above)

What kind of mix do you have in mind?

Mike.

Howard, if you could explain your reasoning behind some of these practices, we might be better able to help you interpret them to provide what is best for growing in containers. Because I doubt you will recognize the same degree of success most of us have if you persist with your methodology. The inappropriateness of using clay (or any other garden soil) in a container, using a container that is grossly oversized for the plants being grown in it and the failure of organic fertilizers with any kind of container culture are very well established.

Well, Im off to search some appropriate soil then. Any suggestions what to look for? Also how big pot should I choose? Please dont judge the photo, condition of plant, etc., this seed is with kind of a big story and Im ready to do all I can to try to rescue it. There are some new little sprouts of leaves that can't be seen in photo, heh...

Btw, was worried about the roots, because of overfertilizing they've been burnt, I guess.

A bark based potting soil would be best but if you can't find that, then any peat or coir based potting soil well amended with perlite or pumice. And the pot size should just be about an inch larger all the way around the diameter of the current rootball. The faster draining and more mineral based the potting soil, the larger the container you can start with.

right now that is all I have available is clay I'm using a different clay that I had to scoop off a parking lot

the clay I got now is much richer and it is black not quite as dense but I was just spraying it on and not much from the roots and how do I get a growth spurt apparently I haven't been getting enough to support the growth spurt even though I'm using clay not all clay is as dense right now I'm just trying to get it to respond I got it in a5 gallon bucket and I wonder if that will give me some better drainage to get some grow and my seedlings are less than 5 inches high

I don’t think you are serious about your efforts growing anything. A 5 gl bucket to grow a less than 5 inch seedling In clay? Nuts, you are not even trying.

A

Howard, any type of clay is a bad soil to grow citrus seedlings in.

are some better than others

Bob I am trying the type of clay now is less dense and has more sand in it than the other one the other was more dense heavier clay and this one has more nutrients in it

I never done things the usual way and I m going to secede

Give it up, it’s not going to work. There is so much good advice here. Shake some of your coins out of your deep pockets, you be alright.

I don't have the coins to shake out

the darker one is less dense

the one In the bucket is much richer

just use a bark based soil! Im new to this as well and my plants ALL of them are thriving! If anything, the only plants in my backyard that aren't thriving at the ones in the soil! - I think i have clayish soil and some plants are having a bad time.

I have 40 containers and all i used was just bark! Go to your Lowes or Homedepot and get 1 bag of pine bark fines! It costs you 3$ and will be enough for maybe three or four 10 gallon pots if not more. If you want you can buy a bag of peat moss for plants that like more moisture1 bag of peat moss costs maybe 6$ and will be plenty! for lots of containers - I used 1 bag for 3 containers that are 5 foot by 2 foot and 3 foot deep, in a mixture of peat+bark

Howard, you have any intention getting fruits of your tree? Your profile picture says otherwise. You look like you are doing great, give some to your tree.

Some people only want to do it their way and even when given good advice they ignore it. If Howard insists that it has to be done his way then they only way he will learn is when his plants die. So be it, It is what it is and I wouldn't waste anymore time on it.

Me to. He is just persistent in doing things the silly way.

Howard, at least you are not giving advice and just sharing what you do. Thanks for taking part. If you are happy with less than ideal conditions for your llttle trees, then that is ok. Good luck and if you decide to upgrade a bit we will be here for you.

Appreciate the time you took to take pics)

HOWARD, I know for a fact there is a Lowes Home Improvement in Ashland, Kentucky. Save your pennies and buy a bag of potting soil. Maybe even a small bag of Perlite there as well. If Lowes doesn't have Perlite, go to Home Depot in Barboursville.

Im growing the lemontree in my apartment, clay pot. It wouldnt stande a chance agains the weather planted outside where I live. Right now Im searching for some right soil and its pretty unlucky. Would bark based soil mix be the best to flush my seedling and if so, how often and how mutch should I water it?

The seed is from lemon that I took off of a lemontree with fruits, while on a trip with my girlfriend in Greece, if the location helps...

Tom, if the mix is porous and fast draining, holds it structure and allows dissolved salts to pass out from the bottom, then anything can be used. You can use anything that holds structure from small sized pebbles, course sand, turface, perlite, bark and just about anything you can get your hands on. Think to yourself, " what mix will can I use, or what can I do to create one that will hold it's structure for quite some time"?

That is why many use a bark based mix because bark breaks down slower than peat.

if you can not find a bark based mix, then you can add bark to it. You can even buy cheap ole miracle grow and use perlite with it. There has to be a store that sells a bagged mix if you can't make one and anything you can add to it that will create better structure. Once you have found a sound mix, then rinse away all that crappy mix until the roots are clean, leaving the roots wet the whole time, then pot it into the better mix making sure to fill all around the roots. I'll bet that tree will thank you with great growth in no time at all.

There is no one size fits all when watering. Your mix can be entirely different than what i use, and your conditions different too. What environment your trees grows in, the size of the pot, the temperatures and amount of light will dictate to you when to water.

Clay pots are a good start for those that tend to water to much or want their mixes to dry out faster than plastic pots)

Mike

A potting mix that I have had success growing citrus in that can all be easy to locate on amazon or home depot is a 3 part mixture of 1 part miracle grow cactus citrus and palm, 1 part course perlite and 1 part coco chips (pine bark fines works too).