Hi folks, For my birthday in January, a friend got me a 2 foot lime tree (something I'd been wanting for a while). Due to the season, I have kept it indoors, with disastrous results so far. It seemed happy for a few days after coming home (purchased from a local nursery with lush foliage and over 50 baby fruits), but then the fruits began to dry up and fall off, followed by the leaves. Since then, almost all the leaves have dropped, to where now only 6 healthy(ish?) leaves remain. As soon as I began to see trouble, I researched the topic online, so I knew to not overwater, but at the same time, the plant has been drying out at an alarming rate. I have tried partial repotting (to check for root rot; some of the bottom soil was kinda smelly, but the roots are tan and firm), and I have tried keeping it in different rooms. Most recently I set up a grow light to add extra light. At this point, can it be saved? What could the problem be, and how should I best prevent it in the future? I'd love to have a healthy lime tree. Obviously, please let me know if further information is required. Many thanks in advance, Antonio P.S. I am located in Maryland.
The indoor temp was between about 68 and 83 degrees (it's an old house with radiators that tends to create large temp swings). I tried watering just enough that no water came out the bottom of the pot. Since the fruits/leaves were drying off, my initial instinct was that it was underwatered, but a bit of googling got me to a couple of pages advising not to overwater. I had it in two rooms: a living room with a large south-facing window that got ample indirect sunlight, and another room where it gets direct sunlight part of the day and then indirect. Most recently (too soon to see whether it's helping) I added a grow light. The soil is whatever the nursery put it in. I recently changed out the bottom 2-3" of soil, which was soggy and smelly. (I used standard potting soil.) There were no roots in that part. The root mass seemed to be tan and firm, so I did not change its soil. Thanks! antonio
I am not certain, but I would be surprised if you not having problems with cold root direct sunlight problem that is the subject of many post on this forum during the winter. When the soil temp is below 60 F root function is very low--it is zero at 55 F. When the roots are cold they cannot supply water no matter how much is in the soil and the leaves get cooked if they are exposed to direct sunlight. Get a thermometer you can stick in the soil and do not expose the tree to sunlight unless the temp is above 60-- preferably above 65. As for watering-- do not water unless the soil is dry at least 2-3 inches deep and water so that at least 20% of the water flows through the pot. Citrus soil should be very coarse and hold lots of air. Bark chunks and coconut husk chips are preferred substrates--Orchid mix also works well. Skeet
There's no way the roots could be below 60 degrees if the ambient room temperature is over 68 degrees (usually significantly), as ours is a second-floor apartment, so our carpeted floor is at room temperature. Thanks for the soil advice, I will look into it. Meanwhile, can anything be done to rejuvenate the plant? BTW, is adding fertilizer advisable or bad in this situation? (I have never given it any so far.) thanks again, antonio
I would not add fertilizer until you see some sign of growth. If your problem was not cold roots the next most likely is water and citrus prefer to be a little drier than most plants. Skeet
If the soil was soggy and smelly, you probably had root rot and lost some roots so that the tree was unable to supply the moisture for the tree. If you have lost roots, you may need to trim back the top to what the roots can support, that is basically what the tree will do by dropping leaves. Skeet
