Kaffir Lime tree

You could nip out the growing point to make it bush out......

 

Just under two weeks on...

 

I think I will... soon... when I'm brave enough

 

Wah! I think I've killed it! It was doing fine - but the roots looked a little exposed... anyway, I had some peat free tomato compost left over - smells like manure - so I heaped a bit of that onto it and watered it - now it's wilting! I scraped all the compost off but it isn't recovering! What is it in the tomorite stuff that has done this? I thought if it smelt of cow pooh it must be acidic and I thought citrus might like acidic...

 

Morning...they do like slightly acidic compost, but 'peat-free' rings alarm bells. Nowadays, that usually means street-sweepings, chopped wood and bark, any old c**p.....
Make sure it's not standing in water, put it in the shade, let it dry out and cross your fingers...that's all you can do

 

How low was it on there for and have you over watered in the process.
Was it piled up to stem.

 

It was there a day or two. I watered it maybe a little more than I have been... when I scraped it off, the soil underneath was still damp, and it isn't drying out as fast as it did before. I didn't soak it - probably gave it no more than a pint but it has only been getting a small cupful when the top of the soil is bone dry... can it be saved?

 

I think it's more likely to be over watering rather than the compost.

It's like a car, if it don't need fixing then leave it alone.

 

Citrus can pull back from being overwatered, but as it's going to be hot and sunny, you'll need to help it by putting it somewhere cool, sheltered and shady so it doesn't need more water. As long as it's in the shade, you could even mist the top growth while the roots are drying out a bit.

 

Stand the pot on several thicknesses of newspaper, it acts like blotting paper an sucks excess water out of the compost.

 

To be honest Pete, the soil has very rarely ever been more than slightly damp. It has never been soaked - it's normally as dry as dust when I put maybe 100ml on it and the plant has been doing great... I'm truly gutted to be honest

 

Ahhh...don't despair JS! This happens with citrus. If I admitted how many I've killed off in the past.... You can only do your best. All mine are beset with disgusting woolly scale this year, so, not wanting to use chemicals on something edible, it's down to squishing the little *****s leaf by leaf, on 12 trees But we gardeners like a challenge, don't we?

 

Perhaps both pete and I misunderstood about the watering, as that's the most usual cause of problems? The soil looks dry in that photo. Try giving it a couple of litres of water and see what happens As long as it can drain away freely, it should be OK. My kaffir lime does seem to like more water than, say, the lemons and oranges.

 

It does look dry I must admit..
There appears to be a smaller shoot on the other side.