Yep you're right, my wife pointed out its actually 6 years old. Been 3 years in that pot. Will repotting it or planting it in the garden save it now?

With a trunk like that, it's definitely more than 3 years old.

Yes, you can absolutely still save this tree. Citrus trees are easy to defoliate but hard to kill. If Ken's assessment is correct and your soil is compacted, this tree is likely suffering from root rot. Please inspect the roots closely when you report and cut off anything funky. Since the growing conditions seem good otherwise (you've made it this far), it should eventually recover but you might not have a full canopy of leaves again till next summer.

Thanks Ken/Graham,

I have repotted it as you suggested. The soil was very compacted, took a fair bit of effort to loosen the roots before planting it in a new pot. Gave it brand new citrus mix soil and treated it with root shock / transplant liquid. It did not appear that any of the roots were rotten though. Will report back in a few weeks as to its progress!

If you can plant it in ground why not. No citrus tree want to be shoved into a pot.

Steve

Well, we plan on selling this house next year, have become quite attached to it. Hoping I can plant it at the next house's garden rather.

2 months after the repot, seeing some growth.

Congratulations Albert, I'm happy for you! It's so nice to see new growth, especially after a drastic decline.

Update; we're into spring here in New Zealand and the tree is certainly looking happier. The leaves aren't very dark, I hope that's just because they're new.

New leaves take a bit to darken, I wouldn't be worried yet.

That looks like a pretty good success story in the making to me!

Albert Mostert Do you own a New Zealand lemonade tree yet.

Steve

No, never even heard of it hah

It is dark now but I can get a picture of mine tomorrow.

Steve

Maybe its growing better hows it doing now.

This is one of the easiest citrus posts on the forum to solve. Citrus leaves start to die at 105F. Your deck is made of wood and most wood is about 150F in the summer. The heat of the deck transfers to the pot, the heat from the pot transfers to the soil and kills the roots. Combine 150F lumber with a dark glazed citrus pot in the sun and you will kill any citrus in that pot on that deck every summer. It is working now because it is spring and the sun is not hot enough. As soon as summer comes the plant will die back again. Get yourself a $20 infrared thermometer and check for yourself.

https://www.networx.com/article/we-tested-it-how-hot-materials-get

Took me a couple of years to figure this out. Tried growing roses, citrus, and hibiscus in these pots. Everything died. The only thing that will grow in these pots in direct sun are heat tolerant desert plants like agave.

Citrus, Cacti, Succulents, Photography · More Info

Citrus, Cacti, Succulents, Photography · More Info

This is a natural terracotta clay pot. As water evaporates through the clay it cools the soil and roots. The value of clay is lost when you glaze the pots. You can tell from the temperature of the soil that this citrus was ready to water.

Thanks for the info, I will keep an eye on it - I have one of those thermometers! But FYI 1) It's now in a plastic pot after the repotting 2) In Auckland our summer's don't really get that hot, I'd be surprised to see the pot at 40degC. Regardless, what I might do is prop up the pot on some pieces of timber (lumber) to further prevent it from absorbing the heat from the deck.

Auckland is very beautiful. My pictures are from Toronto Canada. The deck appeared to have weathered stain from heat. Your point well taken about the more moderate summers. If your air ambient is 75F the pot would need a delta of 30F more to reach 105F.

To lemon lime orange’s point, whether plastic or glazed pot, black is a favorite of greenhouses but not usually a great color for where we as consumers like to grow our plants, as they readily absorb heat. This is aggravated when the plant grown in question loves full sun.iI would consider spray painting the plastic pot white if not interested in repotting so soon again, which should help deflect a little more heat.

Citrus roots like to be evenly watered. The soil should be moist but not wet. Because the pot is tall and skinny it likely will be dry on the surface on wet at the bottom. It would be very hard for me to estimate what is happening with the moisture levels at the bottom of the pot relative to the surface. With terra cotta you just know because the pot has a visual indicator when the terra cotta changes color and moisture is evaporating from the clay. When the terra cotta is dry you water. Ceramic seals the clay so no moisture can evaporate.

Nobody has recommended yet (I don't think) removing the fruit to help that obviously stressed tree better allocate it's resources. I'm not an expert so I defer to others, but that's one of my immediate thoughts. It takes a lot of energy to grow fruit.

@LLO, I struggle with the distinction between "wet" and "moist." (As well as proper watering in general). By wet do you mean standing water? Visible liquid? What is moist by comparison?

Update - sure is looking great!

Congrats Albert! That tree looks very happy!!

Update, 7months later:

We're into the start of winter in NZ and plant is looking very happy. Seeing new growth now as well. 10 months since it was repotted, will redo it again at 24 months?

Very nice tree, have you pruned it to take that shape?

Haven't pruned it since it was repotted and leafless, its just grown like that.