A couple of years ago I ordered a lemon tree and a key lime tree. I have yet to bear fruit and every year when I bring these into my house for the winter all the leaves drop off. I water them pretty sparingly and once a month I water them with an epsom salt mix. I'm not sure if my weather conditions are not right here in Ohio, or if there might be more care needed. I just can't seem to get it right. The plants are about 1 1/2 feet tall and I have them in a sandy soil mix in about a 2-3 gallon pot. Can you help?
Howdy, A few things. ...Watering citrus is different than most plant. You need to wait until the soil has dried 2 or 3 inches down, then saturate the soil, watering deeply to allow a lot of water to come out of the bottom. Let it dry out somewhat between waterings. ...What positions are they in? Are they kept in a sunny spot outside? What about inside? ...Citrus need high humidity indoors. Gravel trays are a good way to achieve this. Keep them away from heat sources, like radiators. ...Every time you bring them in, you are experiencing what is generally known as Winter Leaf Drop (WLD). Firstly, they must be brought in gradually. A few hours a day, gradually increasing over a few weeks until they are ready to stay indoors all the time. Again, humidity. WLD occurs when light hits the leaves and the roots are cold. When light hits leaves, it heats them up. The natural defence of the plant is to ship water to the leaves to cool them down. But, if the roots are not warm enough, they do not work, so cannot do this. Therefore the tree drops the leaf. Citrus roots will stop working at 55F. Indoors, when the tree is in a light location, the temp of the soil...not the air!...should be at least 65F. More would be better. If you have them on the ground, put them on something - the floor is the coldest place in a room. So, either make sure you have warm roots in a sunny location, or, alternatively, leave them in a dim location with little light, but with cooler roots. Like a garage or a shed that won't freeze through. They can survive a winter in almost-darkness if the roots stay below 55F. A lot of people do this. So, in conclusion to WLD, sunny location needs warm roots, dim location needs cold roots. ...Check for signs of pests and disease. ...Citrus are greedy feeders. They should be fertilized once or twice monthly when growing, slightly less in the winter, with a fertilizer higher in Nitrogen than other elements. Adding epsom salts to the mix should only be done 3-4 times a year. Use epsom salts monthly only as a very mild foliar spray. The fertilizer you use has to contain trace elements like boron, copper, iron etc etc. ...Are the tips of the remaining leaves yellow? Three or four times a year, you should 'flush the pot' Pour water through the pot, to the volume of 4 times the containers capacity. This gets rid of all of the soluble salts that build up and can cause yellow, burned leaf ends and poor plant health. It should be done regardless of whether the leaves are affected. ...Never, ever prune a citrus tree. Fruit will only grow on new growth, so pruning them will set back the fruiting process. ...Lastly, are they seedlings, rooted cuttings or grafted plants? If they are seedlings, key limes, given proper growth condition, take about 2 years to fruit and flower. Lemons 3 to 5 years. Rooted cuttings usually take a year or two to adapt and start to fruit and flower...same for grafted trees. But they won't fruit or flower if the proper growing conditions are not met. A pic would be really god :)
mmmm, I will try to send a picture of them this weekend. I bet the humidity factor plays a huge role in my house. It is freezing here and of course the heat drys everything out. The cold roots are probably a big problem too. I have them off the floor in my sunroom in the direct sun, but it is pretty chilly in the room, maybe 50's, I'm not sure. I'm afraid if I move them to a warmer location in my house they wont get enough light. I think I need to figure out how to warm the pot! mmmm. What kind of fertilization would you recommend, I have several different types of Miracle grow, I think I even bought some brand for Citrus. I think, I must have been over doing it on the epsom salt, so I will quit feeding them that monthly. Thanks for your help! I was so excited to get these plants, but have been constantly disappointed in my ability to get them to bear fruit. I thought I'd be the cool person in the neighborhood to have lemons and limes! Maybe it would just easier to move south! haha...I wish
If I can grow them in england I'm sure you can there lol. I am positive the problem is the roots being cold. That is why the leaves drop, and it sets the plants energy away from fruiting. Warm the roots and you will have good results. Use a warmth mat, or wrap xmas tree lights around the pot. This is a very common method of heating the roots. You have to use trial and error to find out how many wraps around you need for the right temp so buy a soil thermometer, or one used in cooking to check meat lol. They will fruit and flower, just give them time and some warm roots. And up the humidity.
Ok, all my plants in my sunroom are going to be so happy especially all these tropical flowers I try to grow in Ohio! The lemon and lime tree have nice(clearance, I might add, .68), Christmas lights wrapped warmly around their pots and a Vics vapor warming humidifier, (less the Vic vapor rub)blowing nice warm steamy air in the room. I'm going to try to send you a picture of my poor plants, but I am not really sure how to attach them to you. Hopefully, I might one day be able to show you a before and after shot, perhaps even one actually bearing fruit! Thanks!
When you click on 'post reply' it brings up this window I am currently typing in. Below that are 'additional options' Click on manage attachments on there and it gives you the option to attach pics. Make sure the steamy air isn't going to cause damp, or ruin something in the room. I stock those vapourisers at work lol and I know how much steam they can let out :)
Yeah! I think I did it! Now you can cee my sad looking lemon and lime tree. The lemon tree actually has no leaves and the lime tree is the one that is all wilted. Sorry about the cat, you got a little of him too! Thanks, Kristi
Question? Bright daylight or not? Humidity changes will affect the foliage... ie dropping of all leaves due to dramatic drop in humidity... but don't panic, the plant should rebound with a continued temperature pattern above 14c. to encourage new growth. I agree with thdo not over water part... but if the temp and humidity remain too low, the plant with go dormant. The plant will adjust to the lower humidity!
Yes, but not indoors....and plants that go from outside to inside are the situations I am referring to... Remember citrus easily grows in tropical hot humid climes and does well enough, I am speaking from actual years of experience, though I do not consider myself an expert.
Citrus grow well in outdoor dry heat, because the humidity outside is still higher than that of a centrally heated house. A centrally heated house usually has drier air than deserts. Inside, it is important to maintain good humidity with citrus, using gravel trays and/or humidifiers. I have seen three reasons for your trees being as they are in the past. 1)Root problems. Those leaves look thirsty - I do not believe they are getting the nutrition and water they need. I would ease it from the pot and check the condition of the roots. 2)Underwatering through fear of over watering. 3)Bad scale or spidermite infestation. Have you checked them thoroughly for pests?
I grew up in Acapulco area; tropical humid,... the worst. However, temperatures are always above 80 degrees F; Banana trees are able to condensate water from the air. I never saw orange's leaves cover in water, unless it was from dew. I am not trying to give you a hard time. I'm just trying to help. The citrus flowers are growing on a central air set at 65 degrees F. outside reaches 15 below zero. Take a look through the window. I took this pic today in the morning. My banana trees are also growing without humidifier. Although I had consider buying a cheap one. Only because they clean the air by filtering it. Further more my citrus brought from outside this painful gift. It is called horse sadle
It is a caterpillar that has a black spot on is back; so the name of it. It is very found of my citrus leaves
