Hello, I am very new here (1st post) and have some questions regarding my lime tree. I live just south of Houston, TX and it's been fairly chilly lately (35-50 degrees F at night). My backyard is also really windy. Is this a problem? Is my pot too small? Should I repot my tree? I've read about suckers on this site and had taken off what i thought were suckers a few months ago. Are there still suckers at the base? Do I need to prune off the top of parts of the tree? Some older leaves have turned quite yellow (shown in picture 7). IS there something wrong with the tree? Is this normal? Is it bad the my tree leans to the side (pic 2)? Should I support it with a post or something? Here's some background info: I've had my lime tree since September of last year and since then, my tree has not yielded any fruit. Last fall, I did have several blossoms (about 15-20), though all fell off before maturing to a full fruit. I have TONS of blossoms now. Are there too many blossoms? I also had a lot of leaf loss, though I know this happens when the tree is stressed. I did not repot the tree because of this. New sprigs have come back where the leaves fell off (shown in pic 9). I've been fertilizing in the pot with Vigoro Citrus & Avocado 12-5-8 with about 1/6 cup every 2-3 months. Is this enough, too much, too little? Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong or right. :) Thank you in advance for your help! -Alex 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
I do not think the pot is too small, but if the tree has been in the same pot for over a yr it may be time for repotting. I use a in a fast draining mix of 4:1 pine bark and commercial potting mix.
Do you think I could use the same pot again and just change out the soil and filler? Where would be a good place to purchase filler? Home Depot or a proper gardening store?
The same pot would be fine. The problem with most potting soil is that it begins to degrade and compact over time. The compaction begins to exclude air that citrus roots need and the degraded media holds water promoting root rot. I use a mix of 4:1 pine bark to potting soil. I usually have some miracle grow potting soil around for growing flowers and veggies so I use it instead of peat moss. It does not matter where you get the bark or peat moss/potting soil-- I prefer to get my pine bark from dead trees since the cambium is gone, but have used bagged pine bark nuggets. The bark nuggets packaged for orchids is best, but more expensive than the stuff packaged for mulch--if you get that though, you have to pick through it to remove the wood and cambium as they break down fast. You can also find and use the formula for a potting media based on Coconut husk chips (CHC) that is posted on this forum--supposedly it will last for several years without breaking down. Skeet
