How to repot my Orange tree?

[barbs01]

 

 

Hi fellow gardeners, hoping somebody can give me some advice please. I have a potted Navel orange Tree ( approx 4 years old ) in a black plastic pot 100 litres. it has been struggling to produce fruit, it only had 6 small oranges this year ( first crop ). I'm not sure if the potting mix is old and depleted or being in a plastic pot the roots are not growing from poor drainage and oxygen exchange, or are spiralled around the pot.

I wanted to repot it into a larger grow bag with improved new potting mix with the hope it will grow out and produce more growth and fruit, but I am not sure whether it is too late now. It has just started to produce new leaves and flower buds. If I repot it now will it go into transplant shock and drop it's flowers? Should i leave it alone and wait until next winter? Thank You

[barbs01]

Thanks very much Noelle 🙂

[barbs01]

Hi Noelle, can I please ask you for some advice if possible. When I repotted my orange tree I also repotted my imperial mandarin tree, but it was already looking sick. It had dropped most of its leaves and had scale on the branches and was developing brown die back on the new growth. Since repotting it it has lost all its leaves and the die back has worsened, even though I have pruned it back several times. Any new growth has also quickly turned brown after sprouting. I sprayed the scale with an eco oil, and also sprayed the tree with a copper spray for fungus, as well as applying a product to the soil called 'Rot Stop' which is a hydroponic liquid to treat soil and root pathogens. Nothing has worked this far and the tree is dying. What can I do please Noelle to save this tree? Thanks so much 🙏

 

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @barbs01,

Allow me to tag @Noelle so she is notified of your additional questions.

Hopefully she will reply shortly.

Jacob

[Noelle]

Hi @barbs01 

The mandarin certainly looks quite poorly. You have undertaken quite an extensive pest and disease program, which makes me think it is cultural rather than pest-related.

I'd start by removing the mulch from the top of the potting mix, to allow the potting mix below to 'breathe' a little more. Sometimes a mulch like that can reduce air circulation and penetration into the mix, which results in the mix staying too moist for too long. I'd also raise the gro-bag up off the concrete on to a stand that will allow excess moisture to drain more freely from the bottom of the bag.

Water only when the top 10cm or so of the mix feels quite dry. Although citrus don't like really a consistently moist soil, they will not tolerate 'wet feet'.

Then perhaps look at the top growth. I would cut off all those thin, spindly shoots, even though they are green, back to the older wood - citrus will shoot from older wood when encouraged to do so.

Location may also be playing a part in this - not only where you live but the position of the pot on your property. Mandarins like warmth but are susceptible to frosts and cold winds. While you tree is recovering/recuperating, move it to a sheltered spot where it receives plenty of warmth but not necessarily direct sun all day, and don't expose it to spring frosts or cold winds.

That's about all I could suggest at this point.

[barbs01]

Thanks a lot Jacob, Yes, I have received a reply from Noelle.

[barbs01]

Hi Noelle, thanks so much for responding so quickly to my question, I appreciate that! I will certainly try those things you have suggested, but my concern is that the tree was already dying before in the smaller pot. When i repotted it, i looked at the root system and it was brown, tangled and compacted, it had a lot of ants in the soil, it didn't seem to have developed, and looked dead, i didn't see any new white feeler roots, so i decided to put it into this larger grow bag with new soil and hoped for the best. Do you think that the tree will recover by itself with these changes? Do i need to fertilise it again, or is there some other treatment to help the roots recover and grow? Should i take it out of that large grow bag after pruning it and put into something smaller to re-establish a good root system first? I think i will have trouble moving that large bag to another area with the weight. Sorry for all the questions! Thank you kindly, once again 😶