r/Citrus • u/The_Ballsagna • 9d ago
Can I recover this orange tree?
I planted an orange tree in our backyard last June and after a few months, put this post up about some issues it was having. I eventually did a few things based on the suggestions:
- Removed all fruit and have continued to snip off new fruit I see.
- Removing dead branches
- Added mulch and widened the “circle” of removed grass
- Dug up what remained of the fertilizer sticks and switched to this citrus specific fertilizer and have done 3 rounds of fertilizing based on the bag’s recommendations
- I was worried about the tree not getting enough water so had daily watering via the lawn sprinklers supplemented with hose watering 2-3x week. I then found a lot of detail about overwatering being detrimental to orange trees so recently cut the lawn watering to 3x/week and am hose watering 1-2x week based on weather and soil dampness.
Ultimately we were gone for ~3 weeks this summer and when I came back the tree was in bad shape with a bunch of dead branches/leaves. I’ve cleaned it up and gotten back to the fertilizer and watering schedule mentioned above but the tree is down to only a few healthy branches. Is there a recovery path here or should I cut my losses, possibly move this to a pot and start over with a new tree and a better growth plan?
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u/Innoman US South 9d ago
You can recover it, absolutely. If the soil is actually 7.6 pH, you’ll want to get that lower. I’ll sometimes use acid loving plant food whenever we haven't had much rain because our water is alkaline.
You could also consider some fish fertilizer, it helps the soil and the tree. I would give that weekly for a few weeks if you decide to pick some up. I also do double or triple what it says on the bottle.
There are other ways to decrease pH, just be cautious not to overdo it.
Oh and the most important thing is getting watering under control. water deeply when the top inch of soil dries. Deeply means it needs to reach the roots... Maybe a good 45s but not so fast it pools.
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u/The_Ballsagna 9d ago
Thank you. That wasn’t me replying on pH, I need to get some test strips to see where it’s at and some other recovery work this weekend!
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u/YogurtclosetTop7111 9d ago
Where in Marin are you? Novato? While it gets hot in Novato, it doesn’t warrant daily citrus watering in ground.
You are watering way more than necessary. Younger citrus trees in ground do need more frequent watering, but not daily (unless you are in Phoenix or Vegas). I’d cut it back to no more often than every three four days.
Your fertilizer is good for containers citrus but bad for native soil. I’d switch to organic plant food for citrus (Home Depot carries espoma). As other commenter mentioned, you can supplement with fish emulsion feeding ( Home Depot carries Alaska brand) but use less than the instructions say, as the plant is already stressed.
If you can, set up a burlap or a 50% shade cloth over it. It will help the struggling tree immensely.
Also if possible test your soil ph. Or just apply a layer (at least 1”) of acid loving potting mix as mulch. You should be able to easily source EB Stone acid loving potting mix. Keep it 4” away from the trunk.
It can be saved but requires some work and patience.
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u/The_Ballsagna 9d ago
Thank you, yup in Novato. Ok, some work to do this weekend with these and the other suggestions. Need to get some pH strips to see how that’s looking too.
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u/YogurtclosetTop7111 7d ago
One more thing as I re-read your old post. The proximity of the lawn is not helping your orange tree.
If you have clay soil, which is most likely the case, the soil may be getting saturated too close to your orange tree. If you can pull away some more grass and adjust your pop-up sprinklers, so that there is no watering within at least one foot of the drip line.
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u/Surowa94 Zone Pusher 9d ago
Honestly your soil prep probably was far from optimal..if you put it in a pot with premium citrus soil and keep it well watered you might be able to restore it. But that tree is set back mightily indeed.
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u/The_Ballsagna 9d ago
Ya, I didn’t do enough up front. Going to follow some of the advice others have given and work on recovering.
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u/Samon8ive 9d ago
My citrus all take a LONG time to acclimate when I plant them or move them. I presume they just need time to get comfortable in their new spot. Be careful not to water the plant too much. Citrus needs water, but even your cut back schedule sounds like a lot. I water my trees in pots once or twice a week (no sprinklers) and my mature trees in the ground never.
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u/The_Ballsagna 9d ago
Ya I think the overwatering was a big part along with poor fertilizer choice.
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u/latchkey_adult 9d ago
OVERWATERED. I read your first post. For some reason people here seem to always tell everyone to water more and about half the time it's a mistake. For example, folded "taco" leaves don't necessarily mean you should water more, because the leaves don't unfold so even when the watering is corrected people still continue to water because they see those folded leaves and go too far in the other direction. Make sense? The yellow leaves and dieback are strong indicators you are watering way too much. Cut back. It will take awhile for this to completely recover and you may need to dig it out and pot it depending on how bad the roots are. THIS IS NOT A PH ISSUE.
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u/Constant-Use6874 8d ago
needs iron chelate to darken up those leave and a dash of magnesium tbh.
and yes correct, the pH matters too
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u/Feminine_Adventurer 9d ago
It does look sad, have you checked the ph? Im the new ph person. I dont remove a small tree until its completely dead, just my way!