Can Over Watering Kill Containerized Citrus Trees?

[Millet]

I say no.

[brian]

I've never had problems with too much water when there is enough drainage.  I'd water them every day if I had the time.

I even have a bare root basil plant that has been living in nothing but a glass of tap water for a month now without decline.  I change the water in the glass twice a day when I use the sink.

[mrtexas]

I say no.

I have often mixed up potting soil with whatever I had around and hoping it drained well enough. I'm talking 100s of pots so keeping the mix consistent is not easy. Latest attempts have been with 50% perlite and whatever I've had around.

I say yes if the soil is poor quality. Dying has happened to some of my potted citrus. I never know until
we have another Noah's rain flood like we have been having here in SE Texas since Memorial day. Now if the
soil is good enough draining, no can't be killed by too much watering.

[Pancrazio]

Personally i have never had any experience with over watering citrus (and rarely, if at all, with other plants). As far as i can see biggest plant require a big amount of water, especially if the weather stays warm; i have my biggest lemons with some saucers under them, and even if i water the soil of them daily, and they also are in a pretty shady location, and they saucers get filled every day, on the next day they are already empty and the soil pretty dry. I have an hard time imagining anyone overwatering to death a citrus kept in a proportionate (or small) pot especially during summer. Other seasons may be different. On the other hand i have had some roots problems with a Corsican citron cutting kept in a biggish pot so i guess that pot size/rootstock may play a role.

[Doglips]

I experience leaf curl.  Which I guess is a function of over-watering and too much fert, and I use citrus and cactus mix, so a lighter mix (still breaks down).

[Millet]

The problem is not over watering, the problem is poor drainage.  What the tree actually dies from is a lack of oxygen in the root zone.   A well draining medium, retains 25 percent aeration after each watering, excess water passing on through.  When a medium retains to much water all the pour spaces that previously held oxygen become filled with water. It is the lack of oxygen that damages or kills the tree.  Citrus are unable to take up water, even when the water supply is plentiful,  when oxygen is not present to the root system.  A well draining medium can safely be watered every day, even two, three or four times a day without any negative effect.
Millet

[MarcV]

What about over heating? On hot sunny days the pots can become really hot. I notice that I have a lot more issues with small plants growing in small pots than I have with large plants that are in larger pots. I assume the large pots heat up much slower.

We are currently undergoing a heat wave and to protect my plants I have moved them all into a more shadowy place. I have also placed them close together so the canopy can cast a shadow onto the pots below.

[Pancrazio]

This may be an overlooked factor and can actually be the reason why i have a good success with growing bananas in ground, and just mediocre results with those grown in pots.

[Millet]

Richard Harris of the University of California, measured temperatures three inches below the surface of the container and one inch from the sun exposed edge.  He used four types of containers,  black containers, black containers painted white, containers covered with aluminum foil and containers protected from direct sun light by placing wood between the container and the sun.  The temperature of black containers exposed to the sun reached a maximum of 125 F (52 C) and remained above 100 F (38 C) for five hours each day.  The highest temperatures were in black containers, followed in decreasing order by white, foil covered containers, and those shaded from direct sun by wood.
Millet

[Slicko]

It would be good to know the ambient temperature at the time he took his readings.

Mick

[laidbackdood]

well i have killed plenty of trees in pots from over watering and i have tried all sorts of mixes........leaves fall off and then twig die back...
the first big mistake i made was transplanting into too big a pot ...so a lot of the mix remained wet fro where the roots never lived.......in auckland i had success growing in terracotta ...so the roots could breathe.........i also added coarse pummice......and it worked well in auckland.
    In aussie where it gets really hot...I now use plastic pots.......pot and tub mix and add washed river sand(coarse) and perlite to that and that seems to stop the mix compacting/slumping and provides excellent drainage..........I find if the water doesnt pass through the mix quickly.......something is wrong............I killed over 10 trees before i got anywhere....all from mixes staying wet for more than 24 hours at a time ....sometimes longer.......a water meter has helped me control the urge to water......last year i was an over feeder !!!

[Millet]

laidbackdood, I suggest your trees did not die from over watering, but from planting in a much over sized container, and also for using a poor draining medium that did not supply oxygen to the tree's root system. - Millet

[laidbackdood]

yeah...Pretty much Millet