Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul

Paul Kaye wrote:
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the

It is easier to kill them by over watering.

top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

If in doubt do nowt. It may recover or the top may be too frazzled by
the sun and sacrificed itself to protect the rest of the plant. Looks
like it was the parts in direct sunlight that cooked and dessicated.

Many thanks in advance for your time,

I'd be inclined to leave well alone until next year, but I don't hold
out that much hope of the top regrowing. That mark looks like dead wood
to me. But I wouldn't prune it out just in case it recovers. I have
known other semitropical trees drop leaves under drought stress and then
regrow them when things cool down.

Regards,
Martin Brown

"Paul Kaye" wrote..

I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Looking at the photo, that top bit looks decidedly dead to me. You could
leave it to see what happens but I don't hold out much hope. If dead it will
not recover, you simply cut it off just above where it turns back to green.
My experience is that they just start to grow again and quite shortly you
won't even notice the damage.
Yes it certainly could be caused by 2 weeks without water at that temp. I've
had the same here with some smaller trees after a couple of weeks without
water at a lower temperature.
Pot looks OK although to some extent the bigger the better, does the actual
pot receive any sun if so the roots will suffer in your climate and it might
be an idea to shade the pot.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London

"Paul Kaye" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul


What a shame, it's a lovely tree! I do think that upper growth is
irretrieveably dead, and as it is still dying back beyond that branch near
your arrow, I think it would be best to cut it out as soon as possible
before the die-back travels even further. Use clean secateurs and cut back
into healthy wood, then disinfect your blades before you cut anything else.
You don't need any kind of wound paint for such a small cut. The pot size
looks okay, but it may be a good idea to remove the top layer of soil
(without harming the roots in that layer) and replace it with fresh citrus
compost; water to settle the compost, then replace the cobbles. This will
give the plant an extra boost to help it deal with putting on new growth.

Spider

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:17 -0000, "Spider"
wrote:


"Paul Kaye" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul


What a shame, it's a lovely tree! I do think that upper growth is
irretrieveably dead, and as it is still dying back beyond that branch near
your arrow, I think it would be best to cut it out as soon as possible
before the die-back travels even further. Use clean secateurs and cut back
into healthy wood, then disinfect your blades before you cut anything else.
You don't need any kind of wound paint for such a small cut. The pot size
looks okay, but it may be a good idea to remove the top layer of soil
(without harming the roots in that layer) and replace it with fresh citrus
compost; water to settle the compost, then replace the cobbles. This will
give the plant an extra boost to help it deal with putting on new growth.

Spider

I would cut off the deadbit too, but would also suggest using some of
the lemons if you can. It looks beautifully laden, but they will take
strength out of the plant. It has been very stressed and needs all
the strength it can get to recover.

Pam in Bristol

On Nov 19, 7:07*pm, Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:17 -0000, "Spider"
wrote:





"Paul Kaye" wrote in message
....
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul

What a shame, it's a lovely tree! *I do think that upper growth is
irretrieveably dead, and as it is still dying back beyond that branch near
your arrow, *I think it would be best to cut it out as soon as possible
before the die-back travels even further. *Use clean secateurs and cut back
into healthy wood, then disinfect your blades before you cut anything else.
You don't need any kind of wound paint for such a small cut. * The pot size
looks okay, but it may be a good idea to remove the top layer of soil
(without harming the roots in that layer) and replace it with fresh citrus
compost; water to settle the compost, then replace the cobbles. *This will
give the plant an extra boost to help it deal with putting on new growth..

Spider

I would cut off the deadbit *too, but would also suggest using some of
the lemons if you can. *It looks beautifully laden, but they will take
strength out of the plant. *It has been very stressed and needs all
the strength it can get to recover.

Pam in Bristol

Wow - I came back at the end of the day and found all this advice -
thank you VERY much to all of you! Obviously there is disagreement as
to whether I should cut the dead part off immediately or not. I'll
leave it for now and check it frequently. If it does travel at all
down the main stem / trunk then I'll lop it off straight away.
One follow-on question which Bob's answer touched upon: Once I cut the
main stem / trunk, how do I get the tree to continue to grow upwards.
It seems to have a natural pattern of one main stem with near-
horizontal offshoots. Would I need to tie one of these in a more
upright position or would the tree naturally compensate for the pruned
part?
Thanks again,
Paul
p.s. Hi Pam - I will be using the fruit in about 2 weeks. Once the
'cold' of winter (~10°C here!) sets in they normally ripen into a
lovely yellow and I'll make marmalade :-)

On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:34 -0800 (PST), Paul Kaye
wrote:

On Nov 19, 7:07*pm, Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:17 -0000, "Spider"
wrote:





"Paul Kaye" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul

What a shame, it's a lovely tree! *I do think that upper growth is
irretrieveably dead, and as it is still dying back beyond that branch near
your arrow, *I think it would be best to cut it out as soon as possible
before the die-back travels even further. *Use clean secateurs and cut back
into healthy wood, then disinfect your blades before you cut anything else.
You don't need any kind of wound paint for such a small cut. * The pot size
looks okay, but it may be a good idea to remove the top layer of soil
(without harming the roots in that layer) and replace it with fresh citrus
compost; water to settle the compost, then replace the cobbles. *This will
give the plant an extra boost to help it deal with putting on new growth.

Spider

I would cut off the deadbit *too, but would also suggest using some of
the lemons if you can. *It looks beautifully laden, but they will take
strength out of the plant. *It has been very stressed and needs all
the strength it can get to recover.

Pam in Bristol

Wow - I came back at the end of the day and found all this advice -
thank you VERY much to all of you! Obviously there is disagreement as
to whether I should cut the dead part off immediately or not. I'll
leave it for now and check it frequently. If it does travel at all
down the main stem / trunk then I'll lop it off straight away.
One follow-on question which Bob's answer touched upon: Once I cut the
main stem / trunk, how do I get the tree to continue to grow upwards.
It seems to have a natural pattern of one main stem with near-
horizontal offshoots. Would I need to tie one of these in a more
upright position or would the tree naturally compensate for the pruned
part?
Thanks again,
Paul
p.s. Hi Pam - I will be using the fruit in about 2 weeks. Once the
'cold' of winter (~10°C here!) sets in they normally ripen into a
lovely yellow and I'll make marmalade :-)

Lucky you! I'm envious!
There looks to be at least one fairly strong growing branch near the
top. Put in a strong cane and tie the branch to that to train it
upwards.
Try this; scratch part of the dead wood. If you see any green under
the surface bark it could still be alive. If it is dry and brown,
it's dead and you can safely cut it off. If you cut into just green
wood nearest the top it could shoot out again from there in due
course.
Good luck. You could offer us all a g&t.

Pam in Bristol

"Paul Kaye" wrote in message
...
On Nov 19, 7:07 pm, Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:17 -0000, "Spider"
wrote:





"Paul Kaye" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul

What a shame, it's a lovely tree! I do think that upper growth is
irretrieveably dead, and as it is still dying back beyond that branch
near
your arrow, I think it would be best to cut it out as soon as possible
before the die-back travels even further. Use clean secateurs and cut
back
into healthy wood, then disinfect your blades before you cut anything
else.
You don't need any kind of wound paint for such a small cut. The pot size
looks okay, but it may be a good idea to remove the top layer of soil
(without harming the roots in that layer) and replace it with fresh
citrus
compost; water to settle the compost, then replace the cobbles. This will
give the plant an extra boost to help it deal with putting on new growth.

Spider

I would cut off the deadbit too, but would also suggest using some of
the lemons if you can. It looks beautifully laden, but they will take
strength out of the plant. It has been very stressed and needs all
the strength it can get to recover.

Pam in Bristol

Wow - I came back at the end of the day and found all this advice -
thank you VERY much to all of you! Obviously there is disagreement as
to whether I should cut the dead part off immediately or not. I'll
leave it for now and check it frequently. If it does travel at all
down the main stem / trunk then I'll lop it off straight away.
One follow-on question which Bob's answer touched upon: Once I cut the
main stem / trunk, how do I get the tree to continue to grow upwards.
It seems to have a natural pattern of one main stem with near-
horizontal offshoots. Would I need to tie one of these in a more
upright position or would the tree naturally compensate for the pruned
part?
Thanks again,
Paul
p.s. Hi Pam - I will be using the fruit in about 2 weeks. Once the
'cold' of winter (~10°C here!) sets in they normally ripen into a
lovely yellow and I'll make marmalade :-)


Yes, Paul, you can certainly do that. You will need to tie it in to the
cane to keep it upright. However, if you cut out the dead growth, the tree
should try and put out a new growing tip, which would be stronger and better
placed. If the tree puts out two new leaders (the name of that main leading
shoot on a tree), cut away the weaker one and tie in the stronger. Two
leaders will spoil the shape of your tree.

I really do advise cutting away the dead wood. If you look at it closely,
you can see how the 'die back' (a fungal disease) is already half-way
through the next joint. Your wife may have killed the top of the tree
through neglect, but you are now in danger of letting the die back slowly
kill the rest. A good clean cut is the kindest thing you can do, and it
will immediately improve the appearance of your tree ... and make your wife
feel less guilty :~).

Spider

Paul Kaye wrote:
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul

Interesting that the dead bits are the ones exposed above the parapet.
Don

"Donwill" wrote in message
...
Paul Kaye wrote:
Hi,
I'm really not a big gardener so excuse me if this question has a
simple or obvious answer! I have a mini lemon tree (I've asked about
its fruit previously) growing in a pot. This summer I was away for two
weeks and my wife forgot to water it! The result seems to be that the
top section has died or has been 'cut off' by the tree to conserve
water. As you will see in the photographs, there are no fruit or
leaves above a certain point. Additionally, I think the bark has a
reddish tint at and above the cutoff point (see close-up photo; arrow
indicates cutoff point).

Photos:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree1.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree2.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/206931/lemon...lemontree3.jpg

Could this be caused by two weeks without water in a hot climate
(Israel; ~30°C)?
Could the pot be too small?
Will the upper area recover next spring?
What should I do?

Many thanks in advance for your time,

Paul

Interesting that the dead bits are the ones exposed above the parapet.
Don

Indeed. More exposed to wind, sun and moisture loss during drought.
Spider

Hi Paul, I have just seen your post, are you sure it's a lemon? as the fruit looks very round to me more like an orange. This will not change what you will need to do to 'repair' the bush which is as previously mentioned by others, I would agree that the top is dead and should be removed. Tie in the branch nearest the top and when you have harvested the 'lemons' you should then get some new growth.
Best wishes Lannerman