How long has it been in the same pot, without transplanting?

T - your plant is suffering from cultural conditions involving matters more serious than root congestion, not to minimize how serious the limitations imposed by tight roots can be. From what I can see of the medium, I'd say to look first to soil compaction and excess water in the medium (they go hand in hand) as causal. It looks like topsoil or sand, and while that can work well if growing in the earth, it works poorly for conventional container culture.

This should be helpful (click embedded link), especially if you're a Dr. It explains what you need to know about the air:water relationship in container media and how to control that relationship to your plants' best advantage.

Al

Silica it has been in the same pot around 2 years now

tapla agree growing in a container can be challenging i try to water it when it is top dry but i never pushed it to the extreme of dryness

been thinking of changing the soil but i was waiting for some one to push me to do it since it is hassle here due to size of the container

when you repot .. use a media.. not soil .. if available .. think of media as a water management system ... retaining what water the TREE needs.. while shedding excess ... do not use a media for water loving plants .. as it will hold too much water for a tree ... do not use a media that already has fert in it ... after that month of settling down.. you can start a proper fert regimen ....

but after the repotting... move it to full bright shade for at least a month .. to let the roots settle in and start pumping water .. before you slowly move it out into sun ...

ken

today did show no leafs are shooting but they do not look healthy 🥲

Your choice of grow medium is a critical factor in what kind of opportunity you'll be able to offer the plant in terms of maximizing its genetic potential. It's a whole new world when you get to the point where you no longer need to battle your choice of soil daily for control of your plants' vitality.

Al

What you said serves as illustration of how important a sound nutritional supplementation program is. No nutritional deficiencies would have developed, aside from those caused by poor cultural conditions, if an appropriate fertilizer product was being used judiciously. There is a recent discussion that touched on the problems that occur when hobby growers try to identify and treat deficiencies of one or two nutrients. The expectation is far greater that harm (often conspicuous, sometimes not) will come as a result of misguided efforts to 'fix' whatever deficiency the grower thinks (s)he identified. While I don't in this case agree with the cause/effect relationship you suggested (for T's plant), how you went about eliminating the deficiencies in your plant was appropriate. Even if the deficiencies you thought were a limiting factor were well wide of the mark, the holistic method you chose was bound to fix any deficiency not caused by cultural conditions; so even if you were wrong you were right.

Al

CA, for instance.

I've grown dozens of citrus and for years, and none of them ever have a problem with nutrients using a good fertilizer such as Foliage Pro. Once in a while I will only have to add vinegar to my fertilizer solution to make it readily available and they will green right back up again if I get any kind of issues. The pH of my tap water is much to high to keep the nutrients readily available at all times.

One example is that I bought a ponderosa lemon tree with very very yellow leaves in which has nutrient issues. Once I watered it with Foliage Pro fertilizer and vinegar, it greened right up with two weeks.

Using a good fertilizer which provides all the nutrients your tree needs will always prevent problems.

Just make sure to use a good porous mix and a good pH solution to compliment your program)

CA Kate z9 can you help me with the name of the liquid fertilizer

Dr. T, the liquid I use for both my in-ground and in-pot citrus is Urban Farms Fruit and Citrus concentrate; it's like a Tblsp to a gallon of water. This a company in Texas and I order it online from: Urban farms....www.uffertilizers.com. I also sprinkle around a slow release fertilizer in the Spring. However, The other fertilizers mentioned above will probably be good too; just read the lable's list of nutrients present. This one I named has a long list of nutirents.

Tapla, I did check a pretty good website that actually has photos and drawings of leaves that indicate certain deficiencies and/or diseases. So, when I suggested that there might be a mineral deficiency I was taking it off an official source. I do try to be accurate when I add to a thread. However, I still have been know to be wrong.

The use of a small amount of vinegar has been mentioned in several different threads. I have yet to try it. Mike, what is the vinegar suppose to do? And, cider? white? malt?

Dr. T, I just discovered that I gave you the wrong address if you want to order online. The correct one is: theurbanfarm.com.

Kate

CA Kate z9 found the product in Amazon and cheaper than UrbanFarm 🕺🏻 👍🏻 😉 thanks for your input

Citrus also need micronutrients. So if you select a fert without them, you will want a second micro product.

It's still much better to use a single product containing all nutrients essential to normal growth. STEM and Micromax are the two most used sources of micronutrients, but their use almost always duplicates some nutrients already contained in your primary fertilizer, and neither contains all of the secondary macros or micros.

As far as the Urban Farms product goes, I read some pretty outlandish statements at their website, and I'll always be suspect of products that don't provide an easy path to a list of nutrients, the percent at which they are represented in the fertilizer product, and what the source(s) of N are.

I have absolutely no problem with the OP's choice, as it's his choice to make. My comments are directed more toward others who might read this thread while current, or later after coming across it while in search mode.

Al

How's the tree now?

@Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) nothing much here waiting for fertilizer to arrive and to apply it

now it is very hot in Saudi Arabia so i should apply it night to time to avoid the hot weather

Yes, good thinking...Enjoy the heat..Ugh. Very cold for this time of the year here. I am wearing a jacket and I should be wearing a bathing suit!