Resurrecting an Orange Tree......

**many houseapes** · 04-18-2009, 10:42 AM

On Easter Sunday morning, we discovered to our horror, that our 2 stupid Huskies decided to yank our orange tree out of the ground & chew up the roots when they were let out the night before.

We had planted the tree 2 months ago & it was doing really well - had flowered & had little oranges forming. OOOOOh,I was sooooo mad - If I didn't love my dogs, I would have shot them right then.
We redug the hole, mixing the soil w/compost, replanted the poor tree & applied "Has to Grow" in hopes that it might revive itself.
It has been almost a week & I have been babying it like crazy - plenty of water & another round of "Has to grow". Alot of the leaves have fallen off,but the tree is still green , it has a new bloom(the only one it has) and nearly 100 little green oranges.
So...is there anything else that I can do to help revive it....do you think this tree has a chance of springing back after the roots where chewed up?(it was bad). Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

**Landscape25** · 04-18-2009, 10:56 AM

Just keep watering every day. I don't know what 'Has to Grow' is but at this point you probably don't need it, maybe some fertilizer in 4 to 6 weeks. If you have something slow-release like Osmocote you could put a little of that down now. If it is big enough to stake, that might help stabilize it in case of wind or Huskies. I have a gardenia that is much worse off than that. When I come out of denial, I need to pull it out.

**Laurie in Bradenton** · 04-18-2009, 12:33 PM

The leaf drop is most likey from the shock of exposed roots. Depending on how much damage was done to them I might be temped to cut off some of the green fruit so the tree isn't so stressed trying to produce fruit and repair root damage.

Laurie in Bradenton

**Landscape25** · 04-18-2009, 07:34 PM

Good point Laurie!

**many houseapes** · 04-18-2009, 08:19 PM

Thanks

When we originally planted the tree, we inserted some "protein pellets" (cakes?) on either side of the hole before we filled it back up w/dirt. They are suppose to last 9 months - everytime the tree is watered, the pellets dissolve a little & feed the roots. We have it staked (again) too. I think that I will go out there tomorrow & snip off about 1/2 of the fruit....& see what happens
oh..."Has to Grow" was recommended by a worker at the nursery where we bought our trees. You add about an oz. to a gallon of water & pour it at the base of the plant & it works like "wake up juice" if your tree/plant isn't doing so good. I had tried it on my blackberries & it worked for them

**Landscape25** · 04-18-2009, 09:22 PM

Would the "Has to Grow" be what is in the link? I didn't see anything online about it, maybe it is a local thing? I have heard of using mychorrizae when planting but I never have.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza[/ame]

My Gardenia is out by the curb now

. I bought a new shrub form today, the other was a tree form. The new one is in a pot, the other was in the ground. The potting soil cost more than the plant.

**many houseapes** · 04-19-2009, 08:37 PM

It might be a local thing...I really don't know. It has a seaweed base. Did you call your local nurseries to see if they have it? 1 bottle is about $10, but it works great & worth the price. My blackberries are thriving & starting to climb - some already have ripe berries on them & they've been in the ground for only 4 weeks.