[brotherbrian]

Just planted 2 dwarf orange trees and 1 lemon tree. Bought them in pots at Lowes. 1 orange and the lemon transferred great, but the other orange began looking limp the day before transferring. After a good deep watering, the other trees are still looking fine, but the limp one has not yet recovered. We were told to hold off on fertilizing for several weeks, until roots get a little more established, and just do 1-2 deep waterings a week (Yuma is dry, it is already hitting mid-90s here). Any tips or advice?

 

[CreekFisher]

cant help ya. the only citrus farming i do is when i go to the store and pick a carton of OJ off the shelf.


Creek

 

[rodfair]

Lowes gives a years guarantee, let it die and take it back!
If it was limp when you planted it. Shows lack of water at the store. Before you replant, give the pot a GOOD watering the day before transplanting.

 

[brotherbrian]

Plant looked okay when we bought it, as soon as we noticed the wilting, we did a good watering and transferred the next day. It has not recovered yet (been 2 days).

 

[rodfair]

 

[AOCM.RET]

 

[jeeper1]

If it is in the 90s, the trees might like some air conditioning. :smile: I know I would.

 

[bamashooter]

I assume you transplanted to the earth? Water it once or twice a week depending on rainfall. A good rule of thumb is to dig down about six inches or so and water / don't water depending on moisture in soil. Easier just to "stick" the dirt and read the stick. You just want the earth down there damp. Dwarf fruit trees typically have shallow roots which spread out therefore make sure the hole you dug is consistent with that pattern. Feeding is done about 4 times a year. They like an acidic soil. Rhododendron food is a good choice. AS they also like nitrogen Miracid Soil Acidifier is a good choice too. In the fall, if you have one out there, they like a good feeding of Phosphorus and Potassium when they are of fruit bearing age. Since it's already hot out there and this should be done anyway, give the trees a good 3-4 inches of mulch. You might later see those little "suckers" growing beneath the graft. Be sure and keep those pruned away. Reckon that's about it. Just researched your area. Looks like the fall /winter fertilizing is Jan / Feb and spring is Apr / May. Check for watering about every 3 days out there.

 

[brotherbrian]

The top of soil had already dried out by the following morning. It is still moist just below. Some leaves have withered away, but others closer to the bottom feel stronger and much more pliant. Still droopy. Removed all budding fruit to encourage growth, removed any suckers. The other 2 trees transplanted very well. Wife told me the tree in question had gotten blown over a couple times while still in the pot (we can get pretty windy here). Wonder if maybe it was damaged by falling over?

We will monitor and probably give another deep watering in a couple days. Temp hit 103 here today. It's not even April yet.

 

[bamashooter]

Never experienced growing in such dry hot temps. I guess they do. I'd be putting some shade netting or something similar over them. Baked orange slices might be pretty good.

 

[Drewski]

You could always move to Florida.

 

[RonPT24/7]

I can't remember what it's called but there is a mixture you can get you mix with water and after you planted you immediately pour the mixture ontop the root section and then water . What it did was kept the roots from going into shock so that when transplanted they don't die . You might need to ask a regular Nursery business , very few if any of Lowes employees will know what to do for transplanting just about anything .