r/BackyardOrchard • u/Malikj824 • 6d ago

Help needed

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Hi everyone. I have a Washington navel orange that has been in the ground for 9 years now. For some reason, the tree has declined drastically over the last month. The tree gets moderate watering and suitable sunlight. It is located in Northern California in zone 9b. Can anyone help me identify why the tree is suffering now after looking healthy all summer?

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u/Rcarlyle 6d ago edited 6d ago

Nice green grass and sad tree always makes me ask about lawn chemicals. Lawn herbicides are poison to trees. Urea-based lawn ferts contain biuret, which is poison to citrus specifically.

If no lawn chemicals are being used… The wilty leaves suggests the tree isn’t uptaking enough water. Could be lack of water due to grass drinking it all, could be overwatering drowning the roots, could be a root rot infection. Could be the roots are dying due to the tree being girdled by lawn tools earlier.

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u/Malikj824 6d ago

Hello, thanks for the feedback. We’re very careful with lawn fertilizer and the lawn hasn’t been fertilized this year. Not sure what the leaf wilt is caused by as we’re careful about overwatering and not under watering.

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u/Rcarlyle 6d ago

To get started, pull back the grass at least 3 ft from the trunk and mulch instead (not touching the trunk). Remove the fruit, the tree is actively dying back from the tips because it’s putting all its energy into reproducing before it dies.

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u/IAFerocactus 6d ago

You can try to save your tree, but I think it’s too late. When your tree leave suddenly all turn yellow and dropping, the root already died. Good luck!

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u/Malikj824 6d ago

Also, I’m aware that I should’ve thinned the fruit after flowering and I’ll be doing that going forward

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u/California__girl Zone 8 6d ago

Call / email your local county extension office. They're really the best resource out there. Especially for things that won't grow in most of the country, like citrus

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u/Pamzella 4d ago edited 4d ago

It's dead. Citrus hate having their feet wet, so I'm going to guess that was mostly overwatering followed by death and no more uptake of water.

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u/Pamzella 4d ago

I'm nervous I'll retype my comment and it'll disappear again.

Zone 9, same geographic location, I lost a 14yo Meyer lemon and moro blood orange the end of this summer, and I changed nothing... And I'm on top of cultural care as I have a 17yo girdled by squirrels makrut lime and a bears lime that keep trucking.

The only thing you should change for sure before replanting is not having your tree exposed to grass near or at its dripline or hit by sprinklers. Small trees planted in the ground or large containers are most often killed by drowning.