Over fertilized potted lemon tree?

[nachoqtpie]

So.. we took the plunge into potted lemon trees. Hubby bought a potted seedling, maybe a year old, from a woman at our local farmers market a couple of years ago. It's doing okay, not real bushy or anything, still hasn't flowered so no fruit as of this year.

Well, I was watching a video on growing lemon trees from seed, and he heard that they should be fertilized and like acidic soil. Soooo... he decided that he was going to get some citrus fertilizer and acidifier (which we have blueberries so the acidifier is okay I guess..) well he found some spikes but no granular. He pops this spike into the dirt in the pot, then tops with some acidifier.

The last couple days it's been outside and now the leaves are turning splotchy white and even looking burnt (like someone actually took a lighter to them burnt!)!

Do you think I should repot it and take the spike out??

 

[so lucky]

Unless those fertilizer spikes specifically said "for potted plants", then, yes, it is probably burnt. If I remember correctly, those spikes are pretty potent, and are to be used according to how big the trunk of the tree is, for instance, one spike for a tree with a 1" diameter trunk, two for a 2" diameter trunk, etc. Maybe not exactly like that, but you get the idea.
I would take the spike out, check to see how disintegrated it is. If not much, maybe you could just flush the soil to wash out the remaining fertilizer. If the spike is all mush, then probably repotting with fresh soil would be best.
Now re-reading the question, I see you have them outside. If they are in the sun, the leaves could have sunburn.

 

[baymule]

Good info! I have a potted Meyer lemon tree, named Alex. Poor Alex put up with a lot of neglect over the winter as I was gone a lot, working on our new house. Alex still managed to bloom, set fruit, most of which fell off, due to more neglect, but I still have a few. Was wondering what to feed Alex and how much. I would've probably done the spike thing too, so thanks for the warning.

 

[Nyboy]

When I move my Meyers outside in spring I put it in shade, then slowly move to full sun.

 

[Nyboy]

@baymule Meyers are heavy feeders, I use a citrus fertilizer I ordered from home depot.in your part of the country they might carry it in stock.

 

[baymule]

Thanks @Nyboy. I have a couple of blackjack oaks in front of the house that would love a little lemon tree for company!

 

[nachoqtpie]

Ignore my dirty windows... I haven't had time to clean them yet this year!
This is my tree.... it looks so scraggly and I'm not sure what to do with it

 

[Nyboy]

Mine look about the same this time of year. Will grow new leaves when outside. The new growth at top looks healthy. Not sure what happen to leaves that are discolored.

 

[Nyboy]

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/citrus post your photos here, they know all about citrus

 

[thistlebloom]

Good advice from @so lucky and @Nyboy .

I doubt you need to add acidifier to the pot. If you get a pre-formulated citrus specific granular fertilizer like NYboy suggested you'll be on the right track.

Citrus grow all over the West which has soil that is generally closer to neutral.
Their needs are nothing like blueberries on the pH scale.

If it were mine I would go ahead and give it some fresh potting soil.

Take a look at the roots while you have it out and if they are starting to circle then you should do a little root pruning. Potted trees should be root pruned about every 3 years.

Oh, another thing, when it's actively growing make sure that when you water you give it enough to have a decent amount flush through and exit the drain holes. You can get salt build up in the soil if you just give it a little at a time.