Hi everyone, after enjoying a clementine this June, I decided to plant one of the seeds. It germinated very quickly, and today currently stands at a tall and proud four inches. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a soluble plant food (general purpose fertiliser), which is added to the water before watering. This morning, I noticed that my clementine plant has lost two leaves, which have become discoloured at the tip, and fallen onto the soil. There are four leaves remaining, one if which is also becoming discoloured. I immediately put the soluble plant food to blame, and discarded the container. I rinsed the soil through with clean water. I don't know if the fertiliser is to blame, though. Are clementine trees evergreen, or are they meant to shed their leaves in the winter? Is my clementine plant going to be ok? There is no discolouration of the stem, or the other three leaves. Is this normal? The plant has always been stored in my bedroom, which is always warm. Any advice would be appreciated! Ron
They are supposed to be evergreen. I started a key lime plant from a seed and it is still alive but in 3 years it is only 4 inches tall. I've probably stunted it permanently. What did I do wrong? I've read they need good drainage, even moisture, high humidity, warm temperatures, and bright light all year long. They are also sensitive to excess salts in the soil, like too much fertilizer, so that might have been a cause of your leaf drop. But they do need some fertilizer. All together, I would say they are not easy to grow, especially in northern latitudes where we don't get much light in the winter. Good luck, I hope it is better than mine.
Over the past couple of days, a fourth leaf has now become diseased, leaving two healthy leaves remaining (the two at the top). I'm really worried that my plant is dying, is there anything at all I can do to save it?
It was good that you rinsed the soil. Be careful not to overwater it. Does it have good light there? I hope so, if it has been growing there it would be best not to stress it by moving it now. Is the humidity fairly high? If not you could put a saucer with gravel and water underneath it, keeping the water level below the bottom of the pot. Check for spider mites.
Hello!! Your clementine seems to be weak after you fed it with the fertiliser. But you can prevent it from diying by taking special care of the soil. Like Dee said, it was good that you rinsed the soil. You may like to actually change the soil to ensure there will be no traces of fertilizer. Also, it is recommended that you water your clementine well after you fertilize it, as citrus in general (and clementines specially) are very delicate in regards to fertilizer. By the way, it is better that you fertilize them in April/May, when clementines are more "receptive". Good luck! Cristina Diaz The Beautiful Gardens Email Club
