Help me figure out what's going on with this mandarin tree?
 

Hey y'all, I have a potted Seto Satsuma mandarin tree that was purchased and potted last Spring and has never flowered or fruited. In the past couple of weeks, the leaves all started turning yellow and brown and falling off, I thought I'd overwatered it (the pot is self-watering but sometimes I water from the top out of laziness). Now, it's still got yellow dead leaves and branches on it, but it's putting off lots and lots of leaf buds on the branches and suckers at the base of the trunk. Is this normal behavior? Should I worry about it or just let it do its thing? Pictures are in my thread in the photo gallery section, the last three pictures I posted. Thanks in advance.

Here's a link to the post with pictures: [url]http://tomatoville.com/showpost.php?p=533523&postcount=34[/url]

[QUOTE=TexasTycoon;533542]Here's a link to the post with pictures: [URL]http://tomatoville.com/showpost.php?p=533523&postcount=34[/URL][/QUOTE]

Kelly those are sprouts coming from below the graft.
More than likely it is what you call a sour orange.

Scratch the limbs above the graft and see if they are still green if they are then you have a chance.


You know how to look things to google sour orange and compare the leaves.

Worth

Be sure and remove the sprouts below the graft. Those sprouts take energy away from the growth above the graft. Good luck!

Both responses above are good. First check to see if the scion wood(above the graft, the mandarin) is still alive, as Worth suggested. If it is, as he said, you have a chance to save it. Then you should remove the sprouts below the graft, as twillis suggested, you do want the mandarin to get the all the nutrition and energy, not the rootstock.

If your scion is not living, you could either chuck the tree, or you can leave the sprouts on, and grow the rootstock. You may be able to try grafting a new top in the future(It really is easier than you would believe, I was successful my first try). If you like the rootstock variety, you could just grow it for an ornamental.

Hope that helped.

[QUOTE=clkingtx;533567]Both responses above are good. First check to see if the scion wood(above the graft, the mandarin) is still alive, as Worth suggested. If it is, as he said, you have a chance to save it. Then you should remove the sprouts below the graft, as twillis suggested, you do want the mandarin to get the all the nutrition and energy, not the rootstock.

If your scion is not living, you could either chuck the tree, or you can leave the sprouts on, and grow the rootstock. You may be able to try grafting a new top in the future(It really is easier than you would believe, I was successful my first try). If you like the rootstock variety, you could just grow it for an ornamental.

Hope that helped.[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what I am going to do with a peach tree and some citrus that came from the root stock.
They are in the ground and established.

Worth

That bottom left picture looks totally dead, sorry.... but, check the trunk to see if there is green cambium layer yet, scratch it with your thumb nail and don't fret about scarring the tree. You will either scratch it off and see green or your nail will not be able to dig in and scratch anything off.. If it is green yet, your tree has a chance of recovering.

Thanks for all the help!! I know that one branch with all the yellow leaves is dead as a doornail, I just wanted to show the various states the tree is in. The third to last picture (with my hand in it) shows all of the leaves budding on one of the branches. Several of the branches (all above the graft line) show signs of new growth. Do I still need to scratch since there are new leaves forming? I'll chop the sprouts below the graft off when I get home today.

These pictures show some of the new things happening in the branches of the tree. Is there hope for the little guy?

Here's what I'm thinking happened, let me know if I'm way off base. I did overwater the tree, this I know. It got stressed out and shed leaves, but once the water level evened out and the seasonal citrus fertilizer spike (one of these things: [url]http://www.miraclegro.com/smg/goprod/miracle-gro-fruit-citrus-tree-fertilizer-spikes/prod70144[/url]) I added to the pot started leeching into the potting mix, the tree recovered and started putting off new growth.

[QUOTE=TexasTycoon;533663]Thanks for all the help!! I know that one branch with all the yellow leaves is dead as a doornail, I just wanted to show the various states the tree is in. The third to last picture (with my hand in it) shows all of the leaves budding on one of the branches. Several of the branches (all above the graft line) show signs of new growth. Do I still need to scratch since there are new leaves forming? I'll chop the sprouts below the graft off when I get home today.[/QUOTE]

No you dont need to scratch to see because you can see it is alive.

I will go out and take a pictuer of dead wood and live wood to show you what we are talking about.
Be right back.:)

Worth

Okay I'm back.
Here are the two examples.
Worth
Live wood this time of the year the bark is starting to slip.

[ATTACH]56466[/ATTACH]
Dead wood.
[ATTACH]56467[/ATTACH]

Okay so it's fine? I should just chop off the sprouts that are below the graft and let it be?

[QUOTE=TexasTycoon;533697]Okay so it's fine? I should just chop off the sprouts that are below the graft and let it be?[/QUOTE]

That is what I would do.
Those sprouts below the graft are what I call suckers.

When you see pomegranate trees that are a fat bush they didn't cut the suckers off.
These trees aren't grafted but they still do the same thing.
If you cut the suckers you get a nice tree instead of a bushy shrub.

Here is an example of the way an oleander is supposed to look like.
[IMG]http://suncontrollandscapes.com/images2/Trees/images/Red%20Oleander%20Tree_jpeg.jpg[/IMG]
Here is one that has let the suckers grow.

[IMG]http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/images/plants/shrubs/oleander_pink.jpg[/IMG]

I prefer the former over the latter.:)

Worth

I was going to ask if you had fertilized it and I see that you used a spike for it. I think you burned it. I also think once you prune it up (via Worths advice) it should be okay.
yes... get all the new sucker growth off the trunk below the graft otherwise it will over grow and over compete with the grafted part and ruin the tree.
If the sprouts are still small and green just rub them off. if they are already hard cut them flush up against the trunk. You don't want to leave any part of it to regrow from the same sprouted bud. good luck.