Hey! My kumquat that I have had now almost a year lost all its leaves a month back. First I thought it was because it’s winter and it was just lacking sun (I live in the north of Sweden) but I have a plant light on it. I thought it was dying and could not figure out why. Now it have sprouted a new branch down at the bottom of its trunk and I don’t know what I should do. Should I cut it off and hope it sprouts new branches up top or regrows the leaves? The branches feel really dry and breakable. Should I cut off the whole trunk right above the new sprout? Any tips are greatly appreciated!!
You probably will need to cut off the branches above the sprout, but wait a month or two before you do, to see if there is any more new growth higher up the stem.
Sad to say but the kumquat seems to have died. The new sprout is not a kumquat, it is a trifoliate orange used as a rootstock for the kumquat. If you want a rootstock plant you can let it grow, but keep in mind trifoliate orange fruit is not at all like kumquat fruit and is considered largely inedible. It is also unlikely to flower and fruit for at least 5-10 years as rootstock plants are usually not in their mature form. As for the kumquat branches you can tell for certain whether a given branch location is alive by making a small scratch on the bark with your finger nail. If it is green under the bark then it is still alive at that location, otherwise it is dead and should be cut off. One possible reason for the kumquat dying is that from the pictures it looks to be next to a heat register, where hot dry air comes out. If the air was too warm and dry this can certainly kill a citrus. I generally recommend keeping kumquats and other citrus some distance from anything that blows hot dry air directly on them during winter.
Thank you so much for the answer! I will make sure to not keep my kumquat anywhere near any radiators in the future!
