Hello to all, I just repotted my orange tree using soil and pine bark mulch. I then read on a website http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/growing/containers.html that pine shouldn't be used for citrus, but when I emailed them, the responder didn't know why. She recommended cedar or redwood shavings. Does anyone know what's wrong with pine for citrus, and also, is mulch too large to mix in with the soil? Also, I could use some advice on what to do with the tree. I was away for a few weeks this summer and couldn't water it (it's indoors)--when I returned, a vine was growing tightly around it, and the soil was dried out (though not terribly). My lemon tree was under the same conditions, but it was fine except for a couple dead leaves. But the orange tree--most of the leaves had fallen off, and a couple branches were dead--white and scorched. I snipped the dead ones off and watered it thoroughly. I just noticed recently that the tree was wobbly, and found out that the majority of the roots had disappeared--I don't know if that was an aftereffect of the summertime, or maybe I overcompensated with the watering--but there was no rot in the ones left. There are very few roots now--it's growing some new little white ones, but I was wondering if I should cut the tree down since the current roots probably can't support the tree too well? It's almost four years old, and about 22 inches on the main stem, with a branch on top extending up to about 29 inches--it was taller but the other top branch died off. It's mainly a main stem without leaves, with three branches--two towards the bottom, and one on top--total leaf count is only 9. Do you think the tree will recover and how long do you think it will take? It seems to be kind of dormant right now--no new growth since the summer, but it hasn't died off either. I don't know how recently the roots disintegrated though. Any advice is appreciated :) Thanks very much, Mina
Pine works just fine, in fact it is probably one of the most common ingredients in citrus potting soil used at most nurseries. I use a mixture of pine bark chunks and regular potting soil (about 4-1) my pine bark chunks range from less than 1/4 inch to about 1 inch. I repot about once a yr. I don't think I would prune the tree just yet. I think the tree will drop what it can't support, but will be able to adsorb the nutrients from the leaves that it drops and that will help support the regrowth of the roots that were damaged earlier. Overwatering can happen due to degredation of the potting soil-- as the soil components breakdown they can turn into a sort of muck that just retains water and supports root rot. Skeet
I just read the link you provided-- they are not saying to avoid pine bark-- they are saying you should avoid pine shavings-- big difference. Pine shavings is actually pieces of pine wood that will rot fairly rapidly and retain water. Skeet
So is it the same for any wood shavings--do they all rot rapidly? Because the woman recommended cedar and redwood shavings, not bark. Thanks, Mina
Peaches, one reason Four seasons recommends redwood or cedar, is because both of these ingredients are very slow to break down, and remain as viable ingredients in a growth medium for a long time. Pine is OK to use as an ingredient in a soil mix for citrus, however, pine begins to degrade rather quickly, and begins to lose its advantages as an ingredient that aids in the aeration and drainage of the root zone. Coconut Husk chips (CHC) are also very popular among container citrus growers, as an ingredient to use in container mixtures. I believe the reason for the destruction of your tree's root system, is that during the summer months you placed the container outside in the direct sunshine. If your tree was in a black container, the sun's rays surely raised the soil temperatures inside the container to the range of 120 - 140F. The tree's root system was killed due to the extreme temperatures, especially near the outside of the root ball near the containers' wall. . Most all citrus growers paint their containers white, or wrap them in tin foil, or better yet insulate them from the sun when they sit out for the summer. This type of root damage is a very common occurrence with new growers. - Millet
Hi Millet, Thanks for the info. I actually left my tree indoors during the summer. I have an enormous window with a lot of light exposure though, and my container is dark green, so I guess it could have absorbed a lot of heat. The upper branches were certainly scorched. So I assume that cedar shavings are ok--even if they are shavings and not bark/chips? Thanks, Mina
Peaches, yes even the wood shavings of redwood and cedar are resistant to decay, but pine wood shavings will rot quickly. Pine bark chips do not degrade very rapidly and are commonly used for citrus potting material. Skeet
