Is this water log or wrong fertilizer or something else? Help me to save my orange tree and lemon too as they lose their leaves and vitality.
Hi @John57,
Many thanks for your message.
Let me tag a couple of very helpful community members in @Noelle and @BradN to see if they might be able to identify why your citrus trees are struggling and how to revive them.
Our Bunnings D.I.Y. experts will also assist as soon as possible.
Jason
Hi @John57 . I'm afraid I don't know what's causing the problems with your leaves.
Is the ground waterlogged? When plants are stuck in waterlogged soil their roots can drown and begin to rot and this can begin to show as damage in the leaves.
How much fertiliser have you given the trees, and what sort? Too much fertiliser can cause "fertiliser burn" on leaves, but again I don't know what's actually happening with your trees. If you can give us some more information it might help one of our garden gurus to pin it down.
Brad
Here’s the bosses recipe
1-cup citrus fert
1/2 cup worm hit
top up with citrus soil
spread around the drip line
2 months ago…
Hi @John57 . I don't think that that fertiliser would have hurt the trees. I wonder if it's cold damage.
Just doing some reading online now, it looks as though young citrus trees can be particularly vulnerable to cold damage. This article from an American citrus industry magazine says it's best not to prune, fertilise or heavily water any cold-damaged citrus trees until they have put on a fair bit of new growth in the spring.
This story from the ABC's Gardening Australia looks at using "citrus tents" to protect young citrus trees in winter.
I'm still guessing here, but cold damage could be a possibility. Have you had any frost or near-freezing temperatures recently?
We are also not sure of the reason and may have to wait until this cold spell is over to determine the cause and effect.
Thanks for your feedback.
I'm interested to know what fertiliser you're using. I note you applied "1-cup citrus fert". A cup of Richgro Organics Food would be fine, but a cup of Scotts Osmocote Controlled Release Fertiliser could cause issues.
How saturated is the soil in the area? If you stick a finger in the soil, is it damp for a long period after rain and how long until the soil dries out?
Mitchell
Mitch
Fertilizer was Richgro
Soil moisture is visible wet on finger. Odd as it is on a small mound rise. The neighboring trees are not so wet.
We are considering drainage across this area. See the slope downwards towards camera and towards the back fence. See the agi drain outlet from the retaining wall garden beds. But I suspect it’s just overall shallow soil 6-12” then clay; across this whole area. Can we remove this orange into a large pot or will the shock seal it’s fate?
The shock could seal its fate @John57, though it's not looking particularly crash hot at the moment and could be on its way out if nothing drastic changes.
If you were to lift it, you'd want to take all the root ball with it and place it in the largest pot possible. The key is not disturbing the roots at all.
As Bunnings Workshop is a community for everyone across Australia and New Zealand, it's not the best place to find a local tradesperson in your area. We would suggest sites like Airtasker and Hipages are better sources of tradespeople near you. We've also removed your mobile phone number from your post to protect your privacy as this is a public forum.
Apologies that we can't assist with your enquiry for suitable tradespeople, but we would be more than happy to assist you if you would like to tackle the project yourself.
Hi Jason I jumped on Airtasker and found someone. I’ll revert as the job progresses next week.
Thanks
John
Just wondering where the rest of this discussion has gone?
Great, thanks for the update @John57. You can access Page 1 of this discussion by clicking the links below - just above the "You might also like" heading.
Step 1 we are installing an agi drain to run across the wall on lower ground level to link up with the storm water drain along the side fence. Hopefully this will help dry this area out and reduce water around the two trees at risk. Next Tuesday now Wednesday schedule … pics to follow.
Oh dear
in a matter of days we are losing another tree. Lime is shedding its leave. Job starts tomorrow. Will one agi drain be enough or will we need two one below this tree across in front
of the shed too?
Hello @John57
One should be sufficient, I recommend putting in a Vinidex 100mm x 20m Socked Slotted Draincoil. I suggest using a socked drain coil to prevent soil from gathering inside and blocking the pipe.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Thanks Eric I have passed on your recommendations to the agi drain tradie, I believe he was already aiming at this product.
Progress shots…
Another issue was the ph level showing as way to acid, and the water level was measured as suitable for aquatic plants!
So agi drain to reduce the water level, and baking soda 1tsp to fix the acid level. And lets see what revives after today.
Hi @John57
Thank you very much for the photo updates. Hopefully, the agi drain will be enough to divert all the extra water going to the area and your baking soda additive will fix the ph imbalance in the soil.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your orange tree green and healthy.
This is not yet completed but the agi drain is done. Sulphur was laid down to correct the ph level, and water absorbent pellets laid on the three most affected trees. The whole ground area was re-leveled to properly follow the natural gradients. A bund was added to the agi drain downhill side. Later we’ll add small agi pipe to become feeding points for each tree. The three affected trees have been trimmed. Awesome work by one man Ashley today.
Another top up layer of mulch going down tomorrow.
That's great to hear @John57, when that mulch arrives and is spread out, that should be the finishing touch to levelling your garden area. All we have to do now is wait for your orange tree to recover.
Wife and I can't wait to see signs of recovery, thanks for being a part of our journey.
Well judgements are finally in. Mulch is down and agi drain completed. Two citrus trees lost. Primarily acid soil was the culprit along with moisture. Too much water… we will remove these trees and replace in due course. The third at risk tree the lime may survive. Mernda Vic has had severe wind, frost and rain this winter. Poor soil, and drainage don’t help. Mulch came too late as did the agi drain, itself may not fully control moisture from rainfall either. Reflection is that the transition from excavated site to garden was largely overlooked. I mean the clay soil had very little top soil, and was not topped with any good quality soil to begin growing in. And the holes we cut in the clay to plant the trees were not large enough diameter, to the tree line for example, they were more like large pot size say 30-45cm. We get winds up to 90km/hr in our backyard because of site location and facing - great views come with this cost. Initially we put in screens around the trees and this worked. The acid soil was the killer.
Thank you very much for the update and I'm sorry to hear that you lost two citrus trees. I believe the outcome could have been much worse had the agi pipe not been installed. Because of the clay soil that you have, I suggest digging a larger/deeper hole for the new citrus tree. I propose using Scotts Osmocote 25L Citrus & Fruit Premium Potting Mix as the main mix for your new citrus trees.
Again, thank you for sharing the results of your garden revamp.
First of three replacements gone in. A Valencia orange. This one lifted well above the clay. First a layer of gravel above the gypsum over clay, followed by a mix of citrus soil, standard soil and compost. Topped with some mulch.
When taking out the old stock it was thoroughly wet on the root ball. Not sure it’s clear here but it was dripping wet.
Hopefully the new planting can drain sufficiently to survive.
