Hi Everyone, I am a rookie gardener struggling to properly take care of a new-to-me Meyer Lemon plant. The tree (which I would call a bush at this point due to its limb organization) is from Monrovia nurseries and was given to me as a Christmas gift just a couple of months ago. It has been living inside my apartment next to the brightest window that I have and appeared to be happy up until a few weeks ago. When it first arrived, it bloomed and then quickly shed its flowers (I wasn't concerned about that, because I'm not expecting it to fruit at this point, and it was most likely getting acclimatized to its new living conditions). I noticed that the tree was dropping a lot of sticky, clear sap onto the surface where it was sitting and after investigation, I found that the tree was infested with a pest that I identified as soft brown scale (with some help from Google). It must have come from the nursery with the scale because I don't have any other plants at home that would have passed the bug along. The infestation was so significant that I couldn't prune away the affected areas to save the rest of the plant and it seemed like the next most common suggestion was to wipe down the surfaces of the plant with rubbing alcohol. This seemed crazy to me, but I followed the suggestions and manually removed hundreds of scale bugs and then wiped the whole plant down with rubbing alcohol. It seems that this was a bad idea - not that I'm overly surprised - and now the poor plant has lost all its leaves. The leaves didn't turn a different colour or show evidence of being 'eaten'; they simply wilted and fell off. I live in Vancouver, and we are past our freezing temperatures now, so I have moved the tree outside onto my balcony with the thought that it might have been overheated inside the apartment. From what I've read, optimal winter temperatures for Meyer Lemons are anywhere from 2C-10C, so it should be fine to stay outside. So far I have only been watering the tree, and not adding any extra nutrients to the mix. Now I am trying to keep my tree alive and nurse it back to health. A few questions which you may be able to answer for me: 1) Living in Vancouver, the plant will get more 'overcast cloudy bright light' than direct sunlight - do I need to invest in a light to supplement the rays that the plant isn't getting? And if so, any suggestions on a good light? 2) Should I be re-potting this little guy into a bigger pot so it doesn't get root-bound? I've been reading that a good potting medium for these trees is 1 part CHC (coconut husk chips) and 4 parts peat moss - any better suggestions out there? If I do re-pot, how big of a pot should I move up to? 3) What is a safe/reliable watering, misting & fertilization schedule? I've read that 5-1-3 fertilizer is probably best, but I'm up for other suggestions if you have another idea. 4) As you can see from the picture, there is no single 'trunk' that will be growing straight up to form a tree. Is this okay? Should I be planning on pruning it a certain way when it gets bigger? Should I learn to love it just the way it is? :) 5) Any suggestions on how to prevent/get rid of this type of scale if I haven't managed to fully rid the plant of the little buggers? I'm grateful for any assistance you can offer. Thanks!
I would take advantage of the tree's lack of foliage and spray it with insecticidal soap to ensure the eradication of the scale. Follow the instructions on the label and spray at least twice, with a 10-14 day interval in between each application. I would first remove the decorative moss in the container to allow for full coverage of all plant surfaces. I suspect the leaf loss is due to some other stress to the tree rather than from the scale, though it certainly did not help matters. Possible causes are exposure to drafts (warm or cold), under- or (more likely) over-watering, and temperature-related issues. The latter occurs when the tree is exposed to strong sunlight while its root system is still cool. Root activity slows down with cooler temperatures and ceases at or below 13C. Leaves are shed when they can no longer be supplied with moisture to carry on normal leaf functions. At this point the tree will not need much moisture so keep watering to a minimum. Likewise withhold fertilization until the tree begins to recover. Don't bother to mist as its effect is fleeting at best. Pruning is not recommended except to remove dead and crossing branches; I find pruning to shape to be quite ineffective anyway as these trees seem to have a mind of their own. I would wait until the tree recovers before further stressing it with root disturbance from a repot, though you could ease the root ball out of the container for an inspection. Look for healthy, whitish roots. For indoor growing, light from a window with a southern exposure should suffice.
