How to revive an unhealthy citrus tree | DIY Garden Projects | Gardening Australia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2023
- Josh helps bring a struggling potted cumquat back to health by performing some tree triage. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
Citrus trees are a garden staple for many Australians, but they’re also top of the list for causing grower angst - yellowing leaves, pests and diseases - they get the lot
Josh helps out his friends Josie and Xavier whose citrus tree is looking sick.
Their eight-year-old ‘Nagami’ Cumquat (Citrus cv.) was a gift from Josie’s grandmother and was the first tree they planted in their new Perth garden, so it has lots of sentimental value.
However, after being initially healthy, they’ve noticed over the past two years it’s become more susceptible to pests and is losing leaves, dropping fruit and generally looking pale and unwell.
It’s been growing in a half-wine-barrel for about 6 years and gets fed with compost three times a year, in spring, summer, and autumn, plus liquid fertiliser in between.
Josh guesses that the plant may either be root-bound, that the potting mix is simply old and stale, or that the drainage may be impeded. Or all three!
Repotting is the order of the day:
- The mulch is removed and put aside for later.
- Caster wheels make it easy to move to the centre of the deck and onto a tarp to make cleaning up easier afterwards. The protect the pot with blocks of foam as they lay it on its side to remove the tree.
- Under the pot, the drainage holes are a bit blocked but not too bad.
- After scraping away some of the soil, the root ball eventually comes free from the pot. It is slightly root-bound but, more importantly, the organic matter in the pot has broken down, forming a dense compacted media that restricts air pockets or drainage. This is removed and the root ball is pruned back by about a third, while the pot is cleaned.
- When repotting, the level of new mix is measured in the pot to ensure the root ball sits at the right level when replaced. New mix is then backfilled around the roots, watering in and rocking the root ball as they go to prevent air pockets from forming.
- The canopy is then reduced by about 20% to prevent the foliage from drooping as the new roots regrow, and to encourage new growth.
- Mulch is replaced, and a top dressing of organic feed is applied followed by a dose of seaweed solution to help settle it back in.
Featured Plant:
CUMQUAT ‘NAGAMI’ - Citrus cv.
Filmed on Whadjuk Country | Perth, WA
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The easy extraction from the barrel is miraculous. Only in the movies
Ive been growing citrus for years, and nothing beats epsom salts! 1 week after giving epsom salts you'll see new leaves everywhere. once every 2 months is great. If your fruits are dropping early, it is usually a lack of phosphorus and potassium.
Yes, I agree. I am doing the same. I give Epson salt and new leaves develop everywhere within 2 weeks. My citrus trees were covered with scale. So, I prayed bio oil 100 ml/10 litre of water,and followed up once after 2 weeks again. All scale died. Not even one on my cirrus trees any more. I also had a big problem with citrus leaf miner. After spraying bio oil, no leaf miners any more and my citrus trees look beautiful.
Oh good to know thank you for sharing! We have a old lemon tree in ground in yard and it was neglected for a very long time. Has leaf miners, aphids, black bugs I think that look like dot, a little bit of yellowing of some leaves, has many suckers that are very long and tall, vine plant from neighbors climbing up the trunk, i really wish to save the tree or at least be able to clone it. Any helps or tips for saving it?
@@Jules-740 to get rid of the pests, spray the infected areas with soapy water, repeat like twice a week, after each spray like an hour later blast areas with a hose pipe. magnesium, potassium go a long way, but do fertilize it, and water well. i have tried many many times to clone a citrus, all have failed.
@@bobrobertsNotUrBob Thank you so much for these tips! I will give it a shot. Also I forgot to mention I think this tree is really on it's way out because it is old and also because someone seems like they hacked it or hit the trunk with something sharp that went really deep. Chunks of the tree bark are falling and peeling off the tree also. 😩😞😖
@@Jules-740 a citrus tree should have a lifespan of 50years, so maybe try revive it. give it 2 tablespoons of epsom salts in 2lts of water, you really should see new leaf growth in 2 weeks or less..if you do thats a great sign. good luck
Give that barrel a medal!
I am from sri lanka .garden and landscape related to the jobs i am currently doing the job with 15 years of experience i am happy to meet people like you
Seems like the right diagnosis. Great work team.
Thanks for watching!
Entertaining and very informative and great acting Josie and Xavier ! Well done 'Dr.' Josh!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Well done Josh.
Loved this. I have just bought my first citrus tree, a mandarin ao I need to learn a lot.
Please keep your great videos coming. Thank you all.❤
Thank you! Will do!
I have a Nagami Cumquat which is 25 years old in a huge glaze pot. It gets looked after betted than a dog, its give me a bucket of fruit every year,
Selamat sore sahabatku terimakasih banyak perkongsian nya ya
That's so uncanny my Gran had a cumquat tree and whenever I see one I think of her - great segment Josh thank you!
Same here. I have one in my yard in her honor
Thank you so much for the lesson I got a lemon tree in a big but i just realise it has one big not can it be cut the branch of wen il prune it thank you 👍🏻🌈💖🇦🇺🐨🦘
Just what I needed to know time to increase my pot size and fresh soil.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you! I needed this for my oranges!
You're so welcome!
@@GardeningAustralia :)
Fantastic content
Glad you enjoyed it!
Explanation on how to root prune please 😊
Very informative ❤
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching 🌱
I'd love to see how the tree is doing now.
How about using potting media that doesn’t go “gluggy” in the first place. Coarse River Sand, Pumice, Perlite for example. Peat Moss can also be used, maybe 40% for water retention.
Coarse river sand on its own works wonders if you can manage the weight.
For anyone interested look up “what is perfect soil” by Gary’s best gardening on TH-cam…. You’ll understand why the potting media looked like sewage and needed to be replaced, and why the same thing will happen because they repotted with the same mix.
That's not rootbound! The type of soil mix is the problem.
❤💐
useful information if you can get past the cheesiness
The scale was not addressed. 😢
Because the plant was stressed its resistance to pests and diseases was lowered. This is not uncommon for a wide variety of plants/trees. The first action to stop the scale is to improve the vigour of the plant - the repotting process show here in the video will take care of that. Second is to prune and open up the canopy as adding air and light can help reduce scale - again the repotting takes care of this. Finally you can spray what's left with white oil - follow the manufacturer's instructions. Scale can hide so look underneath leaves and along stems. Have a great day.
Thank you for the response. I will look for white oil.
Uhhh sorry to be the bearer of bad news "doc" but you got the prognosis wrong, that tree was just overwatered which is why the soil was gluggy. The procedure was unnecessary. Simply don't overwater container citrus - especially in colder weather.
What are your credentials?
A citrus in the same pot for 6 years - repotting was the absolute best advice. Refreshes the soil and the pruning (root & canopy) will encourage strong new growth and improve resistance to pests and disease. The repotting has also allowed for the drainage holes to be cleaned out. Now with nice fresh open soil the risk of any overwatering is reduced as the water can escape the pot and get away from the roots. Just my 5 cents.
Thats exactly what he said gluggy soil