Hi All, I live in Connecticut & have a very young Meyer Lemon Tree (sapling). I purchased the tree near the end of the summer. I replanted it into a 10 in wide pot in all purpose Miracle-Grow Potting Mix (the only thing I found in the local HomeDepot) and kept in it the sun (75-90 degree F weather) on my condo's balcony. It was thriving well; new leaves sprouting, new stems growing, ect. I watered once every week, since it sitting in the sun dried the soil quickly. When the temperature started dropping, I moved it indoors. Its been sitting in front of my glass sliding patio doors in full sun for a few hours a day. The temperature inside stays at a constant 70 degrees F. I water about every 3 weeks. Since moving it indoors, my plant has not been doing very well. Its leaves are curling and drying, and eventually falling off. As of today, only 3 small leaves remain. There are no bugs on the tree and I have replanted it into a smaller pot thinking that the other pot might have been too big. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why my tree might be dying? Can I save my tree? I have grown very attached to this tree even in the little time that I have had it. I would very much like to keep it from completely dying.
Hi there, all is not lost :) Some things to consider... 1. Don;t water on a routine, Stick your finger into the compost, and water only when it has dried down the first couple of inches. 2. The potting mix you have it in is seriously inadequate. Get a better mix, or go buy a bag of perlite or other course potting ingredient. You should have about 3 or 4 parts perlite to one part compost. Having too much compost in the mix will kill the tree quicker than anything. The need for new potting mix superceeds the stigma of repotting at this time of year. Do a search on soil mixes on this forum to find out which one you would like to use. Check the roots when repotting. 3. The tree needs high humidity. Put it in a gravel tray, or buy a small humidifier - again, you can search humidity on the search function and get answers. 4. They don;t like a change in environoment, and should be introduced to new environments gradually, so it might be pouting a bit after moving from outdoors to indoors. Meyers do have a reputation for being pouty, fussy plants! Post a pic if possible :)
Check the temperature of the center of the pot it needs to be 70F+ if its not then it must get no direct light at all, it is very important in citrus, air temperature is not that critial as long as it goes cold enough at night during the winter to make it flower next year , humidity is needed as well, but dry roots are best, far dryer than in the summer, to feed the tree (very important to stop leaf drop) you need to fertilise it with a good fertilier by spraying the leaves with fertiliser at least once a week as it will not fed much from its roots as you cant water them or they will be too wet
Thank you both for your responses. I do believe that the combination of the lack of adequate soil, fertilizer, & heat/humidity is what is killing my plant. Winters here are terrible & dry. My only natural light source comes from my sliding glass patio doors and my small bedroom window. The temperature of the soil is below 60 degrees F. Should I water with warmer water or place near a heater to raise the temperature temporarily until I can purchase better soil mixes & fertilizer? Can i trim the stem down after the leaves fall off & replant in better soil? Am I too late? Below I have posted pics of my little meyer tree. They are as follows: 1st- 1 month after purchased, 8/29/08 2nd- 3 months after purchased, 10/06/08 3rd- 5 months after purchased, 12/15/08
It wont do much good to water with warm water, with so few leaves it will not need much water, i would not water unless it is dust dry on the top and dry a bit down, adding warm water will still prevent oxygen to the roots. If you can find a way to heat the roots , they are best more like 70F, to heat it as a temporary thing i would try something like on top of a light, or television or a power supply transformer, the heat given off will warm it a bit, or a few chrismas tree lights around the pot I have a tree that is kept warm by a small fishtank air pump i use for hydroponic cloner, the pump is just sitting on the surface gently warming the compost If it recovers, it will just regrow leaves but it may be in the spring , i would not prune it at all
It is looking rather sorry for itself! Do not place near a 'heater' as the air will be desert dry and harm it further. As starloc suggested, but a heat mat, put the plant on something that generates heat (be careful with watering!) or wrap a string of xmas lights around the pot (experiment with how many coils around you need, check temps regularly) If it is in sunlight, and the soil temp is under 60F, the leaves will shed. Keep it above at least 65F to be safe. Increase the humidity, and DO NOT fertilize until it is back on getting healthy again. Water only when needed, as starloc said without the leaves it will not require much water, but on the same note don't kill the roots by drying them out completely. I would check to make sure the roots aren;t rotting. They should be cream and healthy, not black and mushy. Citrus, for all they can be fussy and high maintenance, are extremely resilient, and bounce back from even the poorest conditions if given a little love. Don't give up on it, it just needs a chance to sort itself out and it will start sprouting new life :) Do not prune it. Never prune citrus unless absolutely necessary.
Hi Aesir22 & StarLoc. Thank you both again for your help. I have wrapped the pot in christmas lights. I have not watered it in days, and the last time I checked (abt 2 weeks ago when repotting) the roots were white/creamy colored. I dont recall seeing any dark or moldy-looking spots, & I put my pruning scissors away promptly after reading your responses. Starloc, you mentioned that if it does recover it will regrow its leaves in the spring. Does that mean that my tree wont bear fruit or blossoms after a full recovery? I also read somewhere that a wooden bbq skewer stick would be useful in determining when the soil should be watered again. Is that a good tool to use? Again, many thanks in helping me out with this. -emi
The stick could work, but use your finger instead if you can - it will give you a greater knowledge of how wet the potting mix is. Flowers and fruit aren't the concern at the moment - getting the tree through the hardship it is currently in is priority 1. Fruit and flowers will come back eventually, but you need to give it time to build its core strength back up. Leaves are what it needs right now, and they will probably start to appear a little bit after the growing conditions are set right.
Let me add a few words if I may... my Meyer lemon was transplanted out of doors in March until I repotted it on December 17,2008, due to subarctic temperatures, you may have heard that Vancouver BC, had a very nasty cold snap going on for almost a week... and Whistler's Gondola incident... the plant is now in a bright window facing SW in the garage. The lemon tree was pruned in the spring... only when I saw areas of the new growth, with no adverse affect. The shape is now uniform, however, the plant lost most of it's leaves last winter... when it was placed in the house.... so do not panic. The medium I used a year ago was the problem, 100% coir... keeps the roots wet and encouraged mould/fungus... as well as lower humidity... not good until acclimatized.. The two winters past, I had the lemon tree in a greenhouse, and it was loaded with blossoms in January... and plenty of fruit by Sept. Not so this winter, no greenhouse... The flowering is not happening but the plant looks beautiful. Incidentally, I would encourage you to repot the plant in a smaller venue... and over the years repot as needed for growth requirements. You will also need to adjust for lower humidity levels while indoors... It would be better to mist the leaves , than wet the roots.... On the other hand, on Dec. 09,2008... I dug up 3 Kumquat, one Grapefruit and another lemon variety unknown to me, and they are now thriving in a sunny, low humidity venue...potted in sandy soil...I even pruned the grapefruit as it was too large for the room! The joy of rearing favourite plant specimens, is truly rewarding... and the lemon tree should endure decades of growth, bloom and fruit, while under your care. I will submit a photo of my Meyer lemon in the spring. Good luck!
