Citrus trees dying.?

I am caring for a property in hot southern California in the desert near Palm Springs. The mature orange and lemon tree on the property seems to be slowly dying. No new leaves are forming and the old ones have fallen off. I have also planted 3 other baby citrus trees (grapefruit, lemon, lime) and only one of those (grapefuit) is leafing and flowering. The other 2 lost their leaves and the trees look like green sticks in the ground.





I have been watering them every other day and removing some of the dead limbs. Does anyone have any advice on saving the remaining trees and any tips on keeping baby citrus trees healthy and growing? Do I need a specific fertilizer? Any answers would be helpful.





PS All of the other plants on the property are thiriving---however most of them are drought and heat tolerant. (Bougainvilla, cactus, fig, oleander, palms.)

Citrus trees dying.?
As "LJAY" mentioned in her response, your citrus were probably damaged by the frost and are now losing their leaves. Since you mentioned that "The trees look like green sticks in the ground", that's a good indication that the trees are still alive.





My advice is to purchase a couple of bags of bagged compost and a bag or two of steer/chicken manure and then scatter it around the trees followed by an irrigation to move the beneficial microbes into the rooting area of your trees. These microbes will help make take in more available nutrients into the trees and aid in their recovery as well as protecting the them from the various diseases and soil-borne insects.





Another little-known fact that many homeowners are unaware of is a beneficial fungi called "Mycohrrizae". You can purchase this fungus and apply it to the soil as you would a liquid fertilizer followed immediately by a good watering. Once it establishes itself onto the roots, it helps the plant forever with no need for re-treatment.





Mycohrrizae attaches itself to the roots of the plant and begins to send out "microscopic roots" into the soil, while acting as an extension of the roots of plants. These microscopic roots are able to absorb water and nutrients much better and at a higher rate than regular roots while making it more drought-tolerant and disease resistant. Citrus respond quite favorably to this beneficial fungus and you'll begin to see an improvement within 3 to 4 weeks after treatment. I strongly recommend this use of this fungus to every home gardener.





Just remember that citrus doesn't do well in extremely wet conditions. Keep the soil moist and not saturated.





There are several good fertilizers designed specifically for citrus/avocados but most fertilizers high in Nitrogen will work. Apply fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks from now until August.





Here are a couple of sites that sell the "Mycorrhizae" online;


http://www.fungi.com/mycogrow/index.html


http://www.planthealthcare.com/fungi.htm...





Hope you found this information helpful and that it aids in the recovery of your citrus trees. Nice to see thoughtful property managers, such as yourself, who care. GOOD LUCK!





-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a Degree in Plant Science
Reply:Hello, these sites may be helpful,good luck!





http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/water/popups...





http://www.ricecrc.org/reader/citrus/cit...
Reply:Your problem may have been the hard frost we had here about 2 months ago, and it gets even colder in the desert. Citrus are fairly drought tolerant. You shouldn't need to water every day. A deep water once week is plenty, I water mine even less than that. My guess is the tree is cold damaged. I wouldn't prune it. It is very hard to tell what is really dead wood and you will stress the tree even more.. You are going to give the trees time to recover. The best thing you can do is nothing.





For the young trees, Citrus trees take some time to mature, 5-7years. The young trees may not be old enough to flower yet.