Newbie and Citrus

[BzTouring]

Lime Front1 by Hazel Larrier, on Flickr

Hello all. This is my first post on Bonsai. I am new to this art but I have been enjoying the threads on the matter so much that I have obtained my first plant to be made into a Bonsai. This lime tree was removed from the ground and potted a few days ago.
The trunk diameter is about 2ins and this 2-branch plant was pruned to about 2ft tall. However, I would like to further reduce the height to 1ft while maintaining both branches (forking about 4" above the nebari).

While I would like to maintain the 2-branch style, the larger branch is only slightly tapered so I am not sure it meets the bonsai criteria (even at 2 ft). I am, therefore, wondering if it should be removed/jin and I should instead use the smaller branch as the leader.

Below is the view with the smaller branch.

Lime Front2 by Hazel Larrier, on Flickr

[dansai]

It appears that there would be plenty of places on the thicker branch/trunk that you could cut back to to create taper. But first of all you need to get this tree healthy and growing. A general rule when removing a tree from the ground and into a pot is to leave it for at least a year or even 2 before doing any work on it. This ensures it has good roots established in the pot and is healthy enough to cope with more work. The potting mix looks very dry, and so do the leaves. Give it some water and get it growing strongly again before you work on it some more.

[BzTouring]

Thanks for your feedback. Will leave the plant untouched for the time being. Although the soil has been showing a moisture level of 4, the leaves have been wilting, probably because of the uproot. As a result I skipped watering it today to dry out the soil. Just checked it and the top was level 2 but further down was 3-4. Will water again.

[Max]

I thought Winter was the best time to transplant. Do they have winter in Barbados ?

[BzTouring]

No winter. Just two "seasons", rain and sun. At the moment we are experiencing a little drought.

[shibui]

Citrus are generally happier to be transplanted when they are active - late spring or summer. Much like many other warmer climate plants. In Barbados I think they should transplant in either season.

[Beano]

Looks great! Hopefully it performs well for you.

[BzTouring]

Just an update. The lime tree has been losing some of its leaves and I am afraid it is in a downward spiral especially when I compare it with an air-layered piece that was potted a week before I uprooted the mother plant. The air-layer is robust so I had expected that after a month I should have seen perky leaves if not new buds on the mother plant.

I am wondering if the foliage is too much for the extracted roots.

[shibui]

The original photo looked to be a reasonable amount of leaves but I don't know how much you reduced the roots. Also can't tell what conditions it is in or how often you are watering, etc so it is difficult to make any meaningful suggestions.
Most trees are quite resilient. Many will drop excess leaves in order to self balance when needed. We have seen limes drop all leaves after frost and then sprout many new buds from the trunk and branches a few months later so don't give this one up just yet

[BzTouring]

Thanks. Was wondering if I should have left it in the ground .

I, too, hope it revitalizes. What a lesson! All my new plants I am putting in perforated baskets before grounding them.

[adamting]

It is growing very well and also It seems you are taking care of it pretty well. Keep up the good work!