Background info: Bought a 1.5' meyer lemon tree in the spring of 2014. It had 1 small fruit. i quickly replanted it in a bigger pot with quality soil, and it stayed on my east facing balcony. after a few weeks, it started burning leaves. i did some research and i decided that due to the high summer temps (33*c, 41*c with humidex) the soil was drying faster than i thought. i added red mulch chips to the top layer to keep as such as the moisture in. it thrived throughout the summer, blooming tons of flowers and growing the original fruit to full maturity in a matter of 2 months. also 5 new fruit started to grow. fast forward to october. brought the tree inside because the temps were starting to drop. stayed healthy for a month, then started to grow mold on the mulch chips and mold gnats started to take over. decided to get rid of the mulch and top layer of soil to rid the mold. decreased watering as well. no problems, tree was healthy again. now late december green leaves are starteding to drop. one fruit has dried out. some leaves are starting to brown at the tips. top 2 inches of soil is dry, and further down remains damp. soil temp is 74*f. not in direct sunlight. i have 2 or 3 branches completely bare. any insight would be helpful
I actually have the same problem... No signs of mealy bugs? (I didn`t realize till it was a bit too late...)
When you bring a tree inside the light it can get is severely reduced which is probably why you have leaf drop ( need a grow lamp if you aren't south exposure) also your soil should be very fast draining like have chunks of wood in it like an orchid blend mixed with sea soil, the tree wants as much light as you can give it especially in the winter so a bright sunny window is a must!! If its struggling remove any fruit or blossoms they are just stealing energy that the tree should be putting into growing or recovery, you may have already killed it by removing it from the light and over watering it. It sounds like your roots may have rotted out, citrus like to dry out between watering as well. I left mine out side till November and will put it back out any day now. I suggest if you want to save it change the soil ( put in well draining soil ), give it as much sun as possible and don't over water it maybe even put a clear plastic bag over it completely to increase humidity. Think where a citrus tree grows, california or florida so try to recreate that for your tree ( lots of sun ) with fast draining soil. Good luck but it sounds like your tree may already be on the outs. Id suggest going for more tolerant citrus like Yuzu ( i leave mine outside all year ), calamansi ( can handle close to freezing mines already back outside after 2 months inside) Satsuma ( can handle temps into the minuses) or even Kumquat can handle being outside all year. Good luck
I have a problem similar to your beginning issue., where you thought the lemon was experiencing too much heat. So I have this plant whose leaves look sunburned. I did mulch it this morning, but it looks a little worse this evening. Could you tell me what temperature is too hot (It has suddenly turned hot here 35C +) and what I can do about it. I thought I should move it or shade it or just panic :) This is my first ever attempt at growing a patio tree. I am in Zone 7 (SE USA) Should I leave it? Move it? I don't have fertilizer specific for citrus--I will look for that tomorrow. I tried spraying kelp on the leaves (my standard form of encouragement in the veggie garden & greenhouse). Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks
How long has it been outside and can you post a photo? Also when you first put it outside did you slowly acclimatize it or just put it straight into the sun, also think where lemons grow California, Greece etc so heat is not an issue you may have sun scald or fertilizer burn
I can send a pic tomorrow. Meanwhile, it has been outside for at least a month--of cool rainy weather. Then summer arrived all at once. The leaves have round orangy-brown spots surrounded by a yellowish halo (plus a couple very dead leaves). I know that it was really hot (sunstroke weather) yesterday. And I think I probably did all the wrong things, like move it to earlier afternoon shade.. I would guess sun scald more likely than fertilizer burn. After reading various forums, I added some mulch and left it in it's original place where it gets some late afternoon shade from the greenhouse. Somebody said put plastic over it to keep it humid??? It was beautiful until yesterday.
The less fussing the better as long as it doesn't lose all its leaves it should recover, citrus want full sun so once it's acclimatized it can handle it also did it's leaves get wet in full sun that can roast them too!
Thanks for your comments. It does look a little better this a.m. I think I uploaded a pic but I am not sure how that all works yet.
Citrus tend to like drier conditions - too often people treat them like houseplants and water them on a set schedule which tends to lead to overwatering. It's best to treat each plant as an individual and water only when it needs it, not when you want to water it (this goes for any plant). My citrus are kept outside for the summer months so I let them dry out and then - maybe once every 7 to 10 days, depending upon how much rain they get - water them good and allow the pots to drain completely; don't place a tray under the pot as this encourages the roots to sit in water between waterings. I also find they do best in part sun, part shade (a more natural setting as very few plants naturally grow in full sun); I don't recommend full sun as this can cause burning, especially if the plant is not used to sunlight, and unfortunately a lot of these "patio plants" are not exposed to sunlight prior to being purchased so they will burn. During the winter months when mine come inside and they do tend to lose some leaves, or some yellowing, because of this move but I maintain the watering schedule or will even reduce it (there is no rain in the house). FYI, they are placed under grow lights to help maintain the natural light levels. And I would recommend NOT mulching as this will retain too much water and you will rot the roots I find this system works well; some of my potted citrus I've had for over 6 years and they regularly produce fresh lemons/limes throughout the year
Just a quick update for all you wonderful people who took the time to give me good advice. I decided it was not in the right spot, so I took it out and buried the pot in the garden where it gets lots of sun and has good drainage. The leaves continued to fall off, but new ones have showed up, so I'm happy :) We've had cooler weather during this time and rain. Do I need to worry about shade as we move into drier hotter weather? Thanks
Part sun and part shade is a good mix for most citrus, or about 6-8 hours of sunlight each day (unless you're a cactus, most plants don't do well in direct hot sun all day). If you're worried about too much sun and there is no natural shade (other plants, buildings etc. that will provide a few hours a day), you can always create some shade by placing a sun umbrella over the plant or even some plywood beside the pot that will create some shade - might look strange but it does the trick. FYI, I place my plants outside in the spring once the temp is above 10C (50F) at night, and they will stay outside until the night temps drop back down in the fall. This allows them to naturally acclimate to the conditions and as the sun get stronger the plants can adjust; reduces the stress caused by sudden changes or by being placed in direct / natural sunlight.
