On Tuesday I received a Meyer Lemon Tree (ordered from the Williams-Sonoma catalog) as a gift. It has come in a 6" terra cotta pot that looks quite small. It said to water immediately upon arrival, which I did. It also says that "planting in a larger container is the easiest way top keep the plant healthy." Today, I bought a slightly larger terra cotta pot that I was planning on transplanting it to. Since I really want to take care of this tree correctly, I decided to do a search on "google" and I have found this wonderful website. These trees seem tempermental so I do not want to make any mistakes in regards to pot size, watering, fertilizer & sun exposure. I guess my biggest question iright now is - should I transplant this tree now since I just got it? How big of a pot should I be using if I do transplant? I really want to do right by this tree, so any suggestion would be appreciated.
Really, no one can tell you if you should, or should not, transplant your tree. Slip the tree from the container and look at the root system. The optimum time to transplant a citrus tree is when the root system has filled the container just to the point that the roots are capable of holding the growth medium when removed from the pot. This is much sooner than most people realize. However, the tree MUST BE TRANSPLANTED before the roots become deformed and begin circling around the inside of the container wall. Unfortunately, the worst container that a tree can be planted in, is the common smooth sided containers that are sold just about everywhere. The absolutely best container available is called a Root Maker II container. These containers have ledges that guide the root system to air root pruning opening on the sides and bottom of the container, where the roots are air root pruned. Air root pruning prevents the root system from constantly circling around and around. Further when a root is pruned, either mechanically or by air root pruning, the root will develop 3 or 4 new lateral roots approximately 4 inches back from the point of pruning, just as the tree branches do when pruned. Therefore, where the tree had one root tip, it now has 3 or 4 root tips to absorb greater moisture, nutrition, and oxygen. The draw back is that Root Marker containers are marketed wholesale to commercial nurseries, and there is a minimum order that must be purchased. The best tip that can be given to a new citrus grower, is use a potting medium that has VERY, VERY GOOD DRAINAGE. Do not use the common potting mixes sold at retail outlets. There are many posting on this forum and other citrus forums, that give information and formulas for potting mixes. The number one killer of citrus is over watering. - Millet
Thank you Millet for the valuable information. I will pull the plant out of the pot and inspect the roots then go from there.
Millet, your post regarding the transplanting or repotting of container plants on the and the previous thread has made me look at the roots of my seedlings. Many of them are getting close to the one year mark, but I have had them in relatively large containers-- 1 gal pots mostly. Some of them did indeed have roots that were begining to circle the bottom. I don't have enough larger pots available right now, so for some of them, I just added an inch or 2 of new media to the bottom of the pot and put the plant back in the same pot. I assume that should hold them until spring, or am I being too optimistic? Does the one yr rule apply to plants in CHC as well? Skeet
