hello everyone, just purchased a Meyer lemon with a few budding blossoms and some green fruit on it on Thursday. In the past 4 days it has been losing a few of its smaller leaves. Its not an alarming rate but its got me concerned. The leaves are slightly yellowish green when they drop. I haven't seen any of the big stuff drop yet so Ill keep an eye out I have watered it twice. So maybe its over watering but it wasn't a vast amount maybe like 2 cups but maybe I should reduce the amount. Or could it be from the temperature change from greenhouse to my place. It is by a south facing window that receives allot of light I pulled it back to a south west window which is a warmer location in my house hoping that maybe the roots got too cold by the other window. Also I have a Kalamansi tree in the same spot thats doing just fine seems pretty dormant at the moment but not dropping leaves. So all I know is it was happy when I bought it and now not so happy, I am going to prune the "suckers" since it has alot of them, would it be okay to do that now? Well thanks for your time hopefully someone can give me some insight on my dilemma
Do the leaves fall off with the...the... Oh I'm drawing a blank right now. The little 1/4" to 1/2" part still attached to the leaf? Or does the leaf fall leaving this behind. If it is attached to the leaves it's probably just the tree naturally shedding some older leaves. If the leaf falls without it it's a sign of stress. What was the temp outside when you brought the plant home? -Luke
some fall off with the piece attached and some without, the temp was around 12 degrees Celsius or 51.8 F it has only been small leaves but now some bigger ones. It is inside, I have a grow lamp near it because its been quite cloudy lately I was worried for over watering but I have only watered twice. It has a a few of blossoms on it and fruit too. Here are some pics
Oh yes that's the other thing I meant to mention. You should let it dry out 3 inches down. This is sometime hard to do because you will have the urge to water it everytime you see the surface dry out. DONT! Tue like to dry out. When it does come time to water it you should soak it thoroughly. Run a gallon or two at least through it. In addition to making sure all the roots are good and soaked it will also help to flush out any salt violator which can be a problem with container citrus. Signs of that are leaf tip burn and leaf drop. I'll take a look at your photos later today. You should also check it for common pests such as scale, aphids and spider mites. Hope that helps! -Luke
I felt as deep down as I could and it was pretty dry felt a tiny bit damp but seemed actually pretty root bound do you think that could be a problem? its in about a 7-10 gallon container. Also some of the roots were exposed on the top I read that, that could be a problem if roots are exposed to sun so i covered them up with some new soil. As for insects I have seen one little worm who curls leaves but i killed him and haven't seen anything else like it. It is putting out a bunch of new leaves and buds though "spring" did just hit here so the temperature jumped a lot in the last few days. So I heard that lemons can have regular spring leaf loss? My Kalamansi is doing just fine though!
Well it sounds like you have the checking for water part down, reach down as far as you can with a finger and check. Just be sure to change how you water it now, not just a cup or two of water, but instead a gallon or two or maybe more! Then be sure it has a chance to drain out and not sit in the run off. To see if it is truly root bound you would need to pull it out of the container and visually check. Btw, i am very much an ameteur gardner, there are most certainly more knowledgable people who may have more input. -Luke
I appreciate your help and feedback its just good to bounce ideas off of someone! I will keep you informed on how it goes!
The tree looks healthy. The leaves that were shed appear to be simply old. It's normal for citrus to have some surface roots exposed.
quick question, I have a calamansi tree and its has quite big thorns is that usual? and I was reading thorns could be a sign of sterility is that true ? thanks !
What you refer to as calamansi is more commonly known as calamondin (at least in these parts). The trees that I have seen to date are nearly thornless. However seedling citrus trees are often thorny and become less so as they mature. So thorns could be a sign of a juvenile tree that is not yet able to produce blooms. Perhaps your tree was grown from seed.
I took a look at your pics.. beautiful little tree... looks like it is vital and ready to grow. I think it needs a larger container. a little thinning, and some nutrients, something with extra minerals, especially cal/mag/ and maybe iron... I say Iron because I noticed that the yellowing branch seems to be shooting up.. this is usually a sign of iron deficiency. This may simply be however that the soil Ph is too basic and the iron is just not available to come out of the soil. SO put the tree in a bigger pot with a nutrient rich (add citrus food) soil mix first.... then trim off the erratic top and thin out three or four small branches If you continue to see top growth shoots that are yellow and have a slight but not prominent inter-veinal chlorosis then the iron may still be lacking. good luck Vanessa
calmonid scion? meaning the "graft" is becoming taken over by the original plant? I will take a picture of the calamondin.
Hey all sorry for not getting back in a while here are the "new" leaves as you can see its a huge size difference any ideas on what to do ? http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w104/addy113/CALAMANSI.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w104/addy113/CALAMANSI2.jpg
Larger sized new growth leaves should not be a concern. This appears to be normal for trees purchased at retail. They're often seen on trees that remain unsold for long periods in the stores. It makes me wonder what the growers do to cause the growth to remain small in the initial stages.
