Hi, I live in Las Vegas, NV and have had my Kaffir Lime tree for 4 years. It produces tons of leaves and we've never had any problems with it. Generally, we take it in for the winter, because although it's very rare, the temp. occassionally gets down to the low 30's at night. While we were out of town last week, it SNOWED and the snow stuck around for 2 or 3day (unreal for Vegas!) Anyway, by the time we got back, the tree had dropped about 2/3 of it's leaves and looks horrible. We've got it inside now, in a sunny window, where it usually does well. My questions are these: will the leaves grow back on the existing limbs? Should I prune out the limbs that have little or no leaves? Or should I just leave it alone? Any suggestions? Thanks for your help, I'm very worried about my favorite tree!
If the cold weather did not kill the branches AND ESPECIALLY the roots, it will probably throw out buds at the leaf axils. Most plants, however, have roots that are even less hardy than the branches & your cold weather may have done in the roots. If that happened, it doesn't really matter if the branches are alive or not. Just wait and leave it alone, don't prune. If you see no change in the next 4-6 weeks or a continual decline, it's probably done. Simon
