Hi! I recently transplanted 2 large (3m/9ft) lemon trees bearing fruit into my garden. I live in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the weather is sunny and warm. The roots were damaged in the transplant process. I observed the rule about not digging too large a hole and watering well. However, the tree leaves are wilting and drying up, the fruit are shrivelling, and the trees look to be in bad shape indeed. My best guess is that the cause of the bad state is the damage to the roots. My question: Can the trees recover ... do lemon trees recover from such state, or should I accept that the process was botched and remove them? Thulani
As long as there is any green left in the bark (you may have to scratch it to see), you have a chance. Your problem may have been not re-balancing the tree's top to match the roots that were lost in the transplant--you needed and still should cut back some of the top. You should probably also remove any fruit left. It is difficult to move large trees, but when you do you must reduce the top to a level the roots can support (better to remove too much top than too little). One thing you can do before the move is to "prune" the roots--make about 6 to 8 cuts straight down with a shovel at a distance of about 2 to 3 ft from the trunk (about where you will start digging when you plan to move the tree). Do this several months before the move. It causes the tree to send out many new roots at a distance of 4 to 6 inches from the cuts so that when the tree is moved it will have more roots to support the top.
Skeeterbug, many thanks for the helpful reply. I will take your advice about cutting a bit off the top, though not sure how much would be ideal in the state that the trees are in. There is yet some green in the bark ... though how long this will remain I cannot say. What is your opinion on watering, how much water should I give the trees? Cheers. T.
Water when the soil is dry a couple inches down-- the tree will not need as much water now until it starts to recover. As for how much of the top to remove, I would remove most of the limbs with leaves--maybe 80-90% --keep the limbs that have the most life in them. The roots are most important now, if the tree survives, it will quickly regrow as much top as the roots can support.
Thanks again, Skeeterbug ... your advise has given me direction and hope. I'll let you know how the trees fare over time. T.
