Meyer Lemon Indoor during winter. Should I fertilize at all?
John W
8 years ago
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keithdphan
8 years agoJohn W
8 years agoRelated Discussions
When should I bring my Meyers lemon indoors?
Comments (37)I decided to leave them out. Just spend a few hours in a still hot sun to position them from the winds. It's just still too mild to wanna move them. At worst in the extended I see temps in the 60's and low in the 50's. And they get unobstructed southern sun all day long. When I move them, they go into a sunny, big garage, but it's hard to keep up with the watering..., bad enough in the winter. I was considering fertilizing for the last time of the season (they haven't been fertilized in over a month), but figured the excessive rains would just leach the fertilizer out. I spent time tilling the soil and introducing more gypsum. I don't use a gritty mix but they get so darn dry in more peat/perlite based soils. Spent time hosing them down well. Been a dry Fall so far so all the rain in appreciated. I do notice that plants seem to respond better to RAIN than water out of a hose. Didn't use to believe this but in my experience tropical plants grow better with regular rain that can't be made up from irrigation. Is it too late to consider fertilizing? (I don not fertilize at all in the winter as they are kept quite cold.)...See MoreMoving Meyer lemon inside for winter
Comments (5)During winter months I don't feed mine at all unless they are actively growing and in a long hours sunny warm or full light spot, like a greenhouse. Many feed theirs if they are under artificial lighting set-ups that keep them constantly growing.. In lower light levels situations, I found that fertilizing pushes spindly weak growth susceptible to spider mites and other bad pests.. Also too, the type of soil you are using will accumulate salt deposits causing rapid decline in the vigor of your tree unless you plan on flushing your mix out at least once a month. This too will make your tree susceptible to pests. Don't worry if it drops leaves, as long as you are not over or under watering it. It will try to adjust to the light and temp levels indoors...Sometimes this happens and other times it does not.. Welcome to this forum and I hope you stick around) MIke...See MoreIndoor Meyer Lemon/Calamondin Orange
Comments (2)My setup that worked wonders. You can also do this in a closet with a pole lamp or hanging lamp. You will need to remove most of the fruit. If there are no leaves then all the fruit must go. You also have your area listed as zone 9a but you live in Canada. Is this possible. Steve...See MoreCalling in the Meyer lemon gang of experts for advice on winterizing:)
Comments (39)**Update at the end.** Good evening Mike, thanks for stopping by! I'll have no idea of what the PH of my water supply is. How do I go about finding that out, and in what way does it affect how I care for my trees? I won't fertilize if you think I shouldn't, but ... will it cost me my 5 lemons? I know it's silly, but we've been watching them grow since the beginning of the summer, and I would hate hate HATE for them to drop now. If I don't fertilize, won't my tree get rid of them? Yes, you are remembering correctly, when I repotted my trees they had HUGE root rot damage and there were really not a lot of roots left and almost no capillaries. Now, I know that they grew a big amount of the small ones during the summer, but it's pretty safe to say that these pots aren't full of roots, yet. Do you think it's one of the reasons it took so long to my pots to dry out? Or was it simply because the pots were not above the saucers like they are now? I haven't notices a big difference in my leaves since the watering, but to be honest I've been so busy today that I haven't had much time to watch my trees. I'll take a good look at them tomorrow morning, and I'll tell you if I notice a difference. Thanks for watching that small video! I'm glad you think that they drain well enough for 511 filled pots. It's not complicated to post a video, there is a "video" button right next to the link button when you make a post. The only thing I had to do is upload my video to Youtube first, because it asks you for an html link. Quote: "If I have just the couple of trees that you have, I would water them in the bathtub with the shower head every time they need water. A nice handheld shower head is so awesome for spraying the leaves down every time too..Just constant water on your leaves during the early a.m while watering can keeps mites away for sure.. " Now, Mike, DON'T YOU START! I am NOT carrying these trees up one floor and through my whole house all the way to a bathtub to water them! Absolutely NOT, and I don't care what they whisper in my ear when I'm close to them, LOL! i'll post pictures of the trees tomorrow morning :) Thank you for all your help, Mike, you are always so positive and uplifting, and your posts always make me smile :) . Atheen 10/8/2015 Update: Frankly, I didn't see my trees perk up like they used to when it rained outside. I was expecting a bigger response from that long awaited watering. I still have a few leaves that are slightly curved upwards on the smaller tree. They don't feel as supple as the other flat open leaves. I hope I didn't irrevocably screw up again by waiting to water to long... Fingers crossed that they don't turn yellow or fall down....See Moremksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
8 years agoJohn W
8 years agoJohn W
8 years agoJohn W
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
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