I got a dwarf lemon tree as a present for christmas and I am now going to
put it into a bigger pot. As I have very limited gardening experience I was
hoping to get a couple of questions answered to help it survive.

1. It has spent the last 2 days in the car travelling with me in the
air-con. Looks like it didn't mind too much but should i leave the
repotting for a few days to let it settle back into the real world?

2. What should I put into the bigger pot to fill it all in? Will just any
old potting mix do?

3. How should i treat the original soil around the roots when I transplant?
Leave it as is and just dump the big block of soil straight into the bigger
pot and fill in around it or should I break the soil away from around the
roots before i replant?

4. What about watering. Any tips for that?

Thanks heaps for any help you can give. I have came home to a few dead
vegie plants (been away 4 1/2 weeks) so i don't want to lose anymore.

Cheers
Petesin

"Petesin" wh@tthe**** wrote in message
u...
I got a dwarf lemon tree as a present for christmas and I am now going to
put it into a bigger pot. As I have very limited gardening experience I
was hoping to get a couple of questions answered to help it survive.

1. It has spent the last 2 days in the car travelling with me in the
air-con. Looks like it didn't mind too much but should i leave the
repotting for a few days to let it settle back into the real world?

i'd probably leave it until the weather's a bit cooler but before the roots
start up for winter. but that's just me. if it's an emergency (root bound),
just do it anyway.

2. What should I put into the bigger pot to fill it all in? Will just any
old potting mix do?

i have a vague idea you can get citrus potting mix, but don't quote me on
that. make sure to put in some blood & bone too. and when it's more settled,
they enjoy a wee every now & again ;-) don't use a pot that's much too big,
there's no point to that.

3. How should i treat the original soil around the roots when I
transplant? Leave it as is and just dump the big block of soil straight
into the bigger pot and fill in around it or should I break the soil away
from around the roots before i replant?

you want to make sure that the roots are all free and dangling when it's
out. you really don't need the "old" mix, so try to comb out the roots
nicely with your hands & get off any big lumps of old soil. make sure
there's no roots growing round in circles or any of that, they want to be
going down & out. trim off any long roots or any that look diseased or
weird. put your new mix in your new pot to a level where you can spread the
roots onto it nicely. fill it all over to the right level (so the tree isn't
popping too far out the top, nor half-buried). if there's a graft, the join
should be 8-10cm above the soil line.

4. What about watering. Any tips for that?

water it really well before & after to reduce trauma. keep it in the shade
for a few days, too.

Thanks heaps for any help you can give. I have came home to a few dead
vegie plants (been away 4 1/2 weeks) so i don't want to lose anymore.

a "few" isn't too bad for 4 1/2 weeks!!
kylie


Cheers
Petesin