I was gifted a key lime a month ago. It lost all of its leaves except 5 before it travelled from Winnipeg to my home in Sask. I placed it in a southern exposure and its now full of buds that are beginning to flower. I’ve only ever given it lukewarm water when I couldn’t feel any wetness an inch down, however she still only has 5 leaves. I haven’t transplanted it yet and not sure if I should or wait till spring. Do I thin out some of the flower buds or leave them? Will the leaves come back. What do I do with it now
That is a pretty normal reaction of a mature key lime to stress and changes in its environment: drop most leaves, then flower, then make shoots with leaves. If there are no other symptoms then you should be fine. Generally I do recommend thinning the fruit as they tend to try and overproduce. If you thin the fruit you will usually get bigger and better quality fruit as well as reduce the stress on the plant. You should also fertilize if you are keeping the plant in a warm location with lots of light. Citrus are heavy feeders when conditions are right. One last thing, I see a vent close to the plant. If heat is coming out of that vent it may dry out the leaves and cause damage. You might want to ensure the vent is not open much to avoid hot dry air damaging the leaves when they do appear.
Thanks so much, I was hoping it was just stress. To thin the flowers; they’re in a bundle should I remove all except 2-3? See picture, it’s flowering like crazy! Should I transplant while it’s stressing?
How much to thin the fruit is quite subjective. The more you thin the fruit the more nutrients the plant has to stage a recovery, but the fewer fruit you get. Definitely do not transplant at this time. Transplanting can be quite stressful to the plant if the roots get damaged.
I would remove all flower buds that don't have leaves attached to them; your tree is currently in no condition to support any fruit. See related thread: Calamondin help needed | UBC Botanical Garden Forums.
Ok, thanks, I’ll remove all the buds right away. Read the entire thread of “calamindin help needed”. Glad to see it’s thriving now, hope mine comes back