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HELP - Lemon Tree Dying?

16 years ago

Hello,

My lemon tree that I have been growing from seed over 8 years ago, and have had numerous lemons the past 3 years has taken a turn for the worse. Last summer we had several weeks of cold damp weather and several inches of rain. I tried to repot the tree and when I did half of the rootball had fallen off. Root rot, maybe? After the transplant most of the leaves had fallen off, and there was about 2 dozen golfball size lemons on the tree. Those lemons are still there and that was about 6 months ago and the tree still looks sick. There has not been any twig die back since then and the tree is now indoors in a south facing window. Should I attempt to repot? Let the soil dry completely out? It is still alive but the leaves feel leathery and curled.

Any advise on what to do, or not to do to save my tree would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (3)

isaac2009
16 years ago
To me it sounds like the orginal soil mix may have been a bit heavy for this to happen.
In your repotting I hope you used a lighter mix so the water can flow more freely.
I would back off on the watering a bit. consider the soil mix, and perhaps add a bit of bottom heat, but not much you could cook the tree. Use a temp. meter get the root zone up to about 70f-21c
You've done a great job in raising it from seed.
fumirous
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your response Isaac.

I think your right about the soil being to heavy -- I have been using a good potting mix soil all of these years and after the soil got wet it beacame very heavy especially moving it indoors.

Should I repot now, or wait until the tree goes outside this spring? I heard using coco husks or something similar to that, but do you have any ideas as to what potting mixture I should use?

Thanks again.
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Well a couple of issues. 1. it was most likely stressed from the transplant. that is usually the #1 reason we see plants suffer post purchase. 2. the gravel, rock, broken pottery in the bottom of the container is probably the single biggest myth for container culture. It actually does the opposite from what all who suggest it are saying. Not your fault I just wish people would stop suggesting it. What happens is all the soil fills in the gaps and now you have raised the perched water column even higher. 3.top soil or dirt should never be used in a container. your tree might make it if you change the soil but dont do it now. wait to see if it recovers. get that guy into the best sun you can and watch your watering. Mike
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You have probably made some of the classic Meyer lemon errors. First, when you dramatically change the light conditions a Meyer will drop most, if not all its leaves, to replace them later with leaves better suited to the new light conditions. To move a Meyer from outside to inside without the leaf loss, you need to move it from full sun to partial sun for 2 weeks; then to full shade for 2 weeks; then indoors; reverse the process when putting it out in the Spring... and please DO put it out, if you can; you will be rewarded with a happy, healthy plant. Second, when you bring it indoors to a sunny window, the plant gets warm; but the roots generally stay cool; and citrus roots don't like to grow into cool soil... the solution is to put some sort of heater to warm the soil, or to put the plant a little further from the window. pH of 7 for the soil (neutral) is okay; but Meyers prefer a lower pH (5.5-6.5) Try adding a little vinegar to your water/fertilizer to lower the watering pH to about 6..I will assume you have already done what is recommended here by so many; i.e., planting in the 5-1-1 mix and using Foliage Pro and Osmocote Plus for fertilizers.
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don_in_ct
16 years ago
Fumiris,

Pardon me if this is late! I would say you should check to make sure you haven't put the tree into too large a container. I have an orange I started from seed about 35 years ago, and by keeping it pruned, I still manage to winter it in a 22 inch diameter pot in the living room (the tree, not counting the pot, is about 5 feet tall, but only because I prune it relatively ruthlessly a couple times a year).

If you do choose to repot, and notice that the rootball is still confined to only half or so of the container, I think you should downsize. Not doing so means there is a good chance you will either underwater or overwater, since the tree will not be accessing the water that may or may not be in that extra soil.

Regarding soil choices, I would go with a good "soiless" mix potting soil.

Don

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