hey everyone, I’m new to the forum and not sure if this is the right place to post but wanted some advice on my poorly Calamodin citrus tree. I’ve always love citrus trees as I visit a beautiful villa in Cyprus each year with a orange grove in the garden, although I can’t grow the same citrus here in England I have a few trees in pots that can move out but mainly live in my conservatory that have plenty of light and breeze through the doors. I have one normal orange tree (not sure exactly what it is) a little Meyer lemon tree and 3 Calamodin trees. I bought the 3 Calamodin trees all together from the same shop, none of them looked in the best condition when I bought them, I wanted to revive them and two have since flowered and have existing and new fruit growing. But one little tree is slowly dying : ( All his leaves have wilted and fallen off and now he dying from the top down his branches are turning brown, I’ve repotted him and some of the roots just pulled off like they were rotten I trimmed the rotted roots away and have potted him in new fresh good draining compost but I’m not sure what else I can do, any help would be greatly appreciated Samantha UK
I am sure, that removing most of those fruits had helped the tree, if you did it, before repotting. If the plant is ill and bears fruit, then it sends its last resources to fruits. Potting mix for citruses must be rather sandy, too much peat would contribute to root rot.
Unfortunately to me it looks like it may be past the point of no return. Once it has root rot, no leaves, and the branches all start to turn brown or black as is seen on the second photo then it is most likely too late. Also, keep in mind root rot is normally due to a fungus and keeping the infected citrus may cause the fungus to spread to other healthy plants. I would suggest disposing of the plant and soil where it won't infect others and sterilizing the pot with a 10% solution of bleach after rinsing off the dirt. If you feel that you really must try to save it here are some tips: Remove all fruit Cut back any dead and obviously dying branches Give it a quick acting soluble fertilizer such as Miracle grow Keep it away from healthy citrus until it is obviously starting to recover One other tip - only buy healthy looking plants. Saving a bit on plants that are not 'in the best condition' usually results in regret as their problems may be due to disease or pests, which can then infect your other plants.
You may try to regrow your tree from a seed. Check, if there are seeds inside those fruits. If there are, then soak those in the water for getting rid of acids, and plant those seeds into well drained potting mix. I have found, that 1:1 ratio for compost and sandy soil is working well for citruses. Keep the mix moist, not wet. I use transparent plastic box with transparent lid for sprouting citrus seeds, it reduces need for checking proper moisture level. After your seeds sprout, repot them into potting mix with lower content of organics (1:5 should be ok). And reduce watering even more, letting the soil surface to dry between waterings.
