Hello, I am new here and this is my first post, I do hope someone can assist me. I live in the north of England, GB and I was given a nameless dwarf lemon tree last Christmas, after re-potting in accordance with the instructions that came with the plant, I have fed it with citrus fertiliser (winter variety first and latterly, the summer version). The plant was in my kitchen, a warm spot that never gets cold and within weeks I was experiencing serious leaf drop so I moved it to the conservatory. Another fairly warm room although it faces north; the leaf drop continued and also the stems of the plant began to take on a very strange colour. they are essentially green as normal but are heavily streaked in a beigy brown colour that travels the entire lenght of all the stems. Having tried as many remedies as I could find I eventually put the plant outside on a low wall near the conservatory and I stopped feeding it - although I continue to water of course. The leaf drop has now stopped and the plant has a good number of blooms but the stems remain with this strange striped appearance. My question is this, is my plant irrevocably damaged and can anyone advise what may have caused the occurence? Thanks in advance of answers.
The streaks are probably natural aging. Citrus stems start green then get streaks of tan until they eventually turn gray. Don't know what caused your leaf drop if the soil never got below 60 F --repotting can do that. Bigggest problem for most beginners is overwatering-- don't water unless soil is dry- 2-3 inches,
Many thanks for your assistance, I wasn't aware that the streaks are part of a normal process and I appreciate the information about watering, you may be right that I have over-watered. I'll be more vigilant in measuring the dryness in future. Again, many thanks.
