Post by seth123 on Apr 23, 2021 23:12:19 GMT -5
Hello all, I’m here seeking help for an ongoing citrus mystery. I usually don’t use forums but in this case I’ve exhausted my ability to research and need citrus expert advice.
In early 2018 I received a lemon tree from my father who sprouted it from a seed from a store bought lemon 10 years prior (a bet with my sister prompted the sowing). I assisted in its growth through my late teens to early 20’s. It seemed happy and healthy for years. We kept it pruned to about 6ft as it was an indoor plant as he lives in the Pacific Northwest. It grew a few terrible pithy lemons. :)In the years leading to 2018 and my sole possession of the tree, it grew weaker. My father is not much of a green thumb so I figured it was poor soil, overwatering, nutrients, mites, and the like. He got tired of watching it’s slow death and handed it off to me.
When I received the tree my first priority was getting it in some citrus appropriate soil by rinsing the root ball and checking the health of the root system. There were nice healthy roots with no rot at all. By this point the tree had lost many of its leaves so I pruned it back to a manageable size to match the root ball. I planted in a well draining sandy/loamy -ish soil and let it recover for a few months. It responded well for its first spring and summer in a south facing sunroom. As fall came it did a complete leaf drop and twig die back. Thought it must have been a temp. issue so I brought it inside (south facing window) for the 2018-2019 winter. It shot out new shoots and healthy leaves.
In February 2019 I was diagnosed with brain cancer and had brain surgery that same month. My horticulture hobbies where back burnered and my treatment/recovery began. When I was able to start my hobbies again my lemon had lost all its leaves again. By this point it was late spring 2019 so back out in the sunroom it went. After a couple months of it slowly dying I came to the conclusion that the only thing that made sense was that the genetics from that seed 10 years ago were not great and it was this trees time to expire. It slowly dried up branch by branch set by set until I had to lop the top off it to check its potential for a graft. It was bone dry and dead. I cut the stock in 3” incriminates until I got to the soil. It was painful process considering everything I went trough the previous months. I uncovered the roots and they appeared healthy. I figured I give it one last chance to live and left it alone for another month before ditching it completely. Low and behold a shoot popped out if a nodule on an exposed main root!!!!
At this point I felt the sickly citrus and I were on a similar path to recovery. I let the shoot grow to about a foot and decided this would turn to a rootstock volunteer and put some verified fruit bearing genetics in the mix.
When end I regained my ability to drive I headed to my trusted nursery and told the associate my story and they donated a beautiful lime branch as budwood. I went with a chip bud graft at the base of the new shoot and mated the cambium. The graft took beautifully! It overtook the original shoot mid summer 2020 so I clipped the rootstock branch and what remained was a nice looking lime start on its way to a tree.
This is where my problems began again. It spring now 2021 and I’ve got it through the winter without any leaf drop but it’s showing signs of stress(leaf droop) and leaf discoloration. I would like some citrus specific input if possible.
Pic 1 link
Pic 2 link
Pic 3 link
Pic 4 link
If you made it through my long winded post I am great-full. This tree has sentimental value and want the best for it. Thanks for reading!
-Seth
In early 2018 I received a lemon tree from my father who sprouted it from a seed from a store bought lemon 10 years prior (a bet with my sister prompted the sowing). I assisted in its growth through my late teens to early 20’s. It seemed happy and healthy for years. We kept it pruned to about 6ft as it was an indoor plant as he lives in the Pacific Northwest. It grew a few terrible pithy lemons. :)In the years leading to 2018 and my sole possession of the tree, it grew weaker. My father is not much of a green thumb so I figured it was poor soil, overwatering, nutrients, mites, and the like. He got tired of watching it’s slow death and handed it off to me.
When I received the tree my first priority was getting it in some citrus appropriate soil by rinsing the root ball and checking the health of the root system. There were nice healthy roots with no rot at all. By this point the tree had lost many of its leaves so I pruned it back to a manageable size to match the root ball. I planted in a well draining sandy/loamy -ish soil and let it recover for a few months. It responded well for its first spring and summer in a south facing sunroom. As fall came it did a complete leaf drop and twig die back. Thought it must have been a temp. issue so I brought it inside (south facing window) for the 2018-2019 winter. It shot out new shoots and healthy leaves.
In February 2019 I was diagnosed with brain cancer and had brain surgery that same month. My horticulture hobbies where back burnered and my treatment/recovery began. When I was able to start my hobbies again my lemon had lost all its leaves again. By this point it was late spring 2019 so back out in the sunroom it went. After a couple months of it slowly dying I came to the conclusion that the only thing that made sense was that the genetics from that seed 10 years ago were not great and it was this trees time to expire. It slowly dried up branch by branch set by set until I had to lop the top off it to check its potential for a graft. It was bone dry and dead. I cut the stock in 3” incriminates until I got to the soil. It was painful process considering everything I went trough the previous months. I uncovered the roots and they appeared healthy. I figured I give it one last chance to live and left it alone for another month before ditching it completely. Low and behold a shoot popped out if a nodule on an exposed main root!!!!
At this point I felt the sickly citrus and I were on a similar path to recovery. I let the shoot grow to about a foot and decided this would turn to a rootstock volunteer and put some verified fruit bearing genetics in the mix. When end I regained my ability to drive I headed to my trusted nursery and told the associate my story and they donated a beautiful lime branch as budwood. I went with a chip bud graft at the base of the new shoot and mated the cambium. The graft took beautifully! It overtook the original shoot mid summer 2020 so I clipped the rootstock branch and what remained was a nice looking lime start on its way to a tree.
This is where my problems began again. It spring now 2021 and I’ve got it through the winter without any leaf drop but it’s showing signs of stress(leaf droop) and leaf discoloration. I would like some citrus specific input if possible.
Pic 1 link
Pic 2 link
Pic 3 link
Pic 4 link
If you made it through my long winded post I am great-full. This tree has sentimental value and want the best for it. Thanks for reading!
-Seth
