I have a lemon tree which I raised from seed (store-bought). It is about 3 years old and around 60-70 cm tall. It has done quite well, and seems to be less finicky than my grapefruit tree. However, in the last few weeks, it dropped quite a few leaves. The dropped leaves seemed to simply dry out and die. They did not turn yellow. They retain their dark green hue but simply get all crunchy and fall off. I'm wondering if this is WLD and I should treat it as such, or if it is something else. The tree sits underneath a heating vent, so occasionally (no more than 15 min a day) it gets hot, dry air blown on it, but I always spray the plant when the heat goes on. I've reduced the watering schedule a bit for the winter. Any help would be appreciated.
I suspect your plants roots are not active (soil temperature 13c or less) and they are not providing nutrient's to the leaves and the leaves are dehydrating. My experience with citrus is they do not like being indoors. They really don't like being near heat sources either. Especially forced air systems. I have had success with my plants in my kitchen Bay window where it stays cool and is away from heat sources. Otherwise I keep all of my potted citrus in my garage where it will go down to maybe 4c or 5c on the coldest of winter days with no ill effects. Greg
Thanks for the reply Greg. I think I may have underwatered my lemon tree, hence the leaf drop. I don't think the roots are too cold, as it is away from the window. Now that I increased watering a bit, the leaf drop has stopped. What's the best time to transplant it into a larger pot?