Best soil for an indoor potted Meyer Lemon tree
alex_g76
7 years ago
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Laura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Got a potted Meyer Lemon, worried about longevity indoors
Comments (16)Imo, 2-3 inches of space around the roots is sufficient for at least a year for that size plant. There can be a problem putting a small root ball into a very large amount of potting mix, if the roots don't fill that whole space within a year, the soil not filled with roots can stay too wet. Potting mix works best when filled with some roots but not too many. I know it's kinda a Goldilocks thing, not enough soil, too much soil, just the right amount of soil!,lol, but I think 2-3 inches for you should be fine for the next year. After that year, gently slide the plant out a little to see the roots, if they've filled up the pot all the way to the edge and you can still see about half or more of the soil between the roots it's still good for a few more months. If you see mostly roots and very little soil, then it's time to repot again. And just up one or two next sized up pots. I agree with Steve on the drain holes though, most pots don't have enough. It will hurt nothing and benefit the tree a lot to add more drain holes. I think your dwarf spruce had more issues with just being inside than any watering problems. Pretty much all conifers do not do well inside. Even though they sell dwarf spruce as indoor live Christmas trees, they need to go outside after Christmas. Two to three weeks is about all they can tolerate being inside. They do just fine in the snow. You will find growing your Meyer lemon inside challenging at the very least. Like spruce, they also prefer being outside, but can't deal with snow, so many folks in cold areas do over winter them indoors. However those 3-5 months inside can be very stressful for the citrus trees, and they then get to recover outside all during the warm months. Also, Meyers are notorious for dropping leaves when it's moved to a new location, especially a lower light location, which indoors will be, even in front of the window. So don't panic if it does lose leaves, it will grow new ones which will tolerate less light. It's how it copes with a new environment. You will need to be careful to not over water it until the new leaves emerge. Not saying you can't do it, but it won't be as easy as say a philodendron. Light, light and more light will probably be your biggest issue. Second may be insect issues, if the tree isn't totally clean of them before you bring it inside. Check it very carefully, and use a magnifying glass as mites are really small. I'm sure others here who have grown them inside will have more advice for you shortly. Good luck with your tree. :)...See MorePotting Up Meyer Lemon tree - Soil??
Comments (3)What state are you in by chance? Most homes where i live (Nebraska, Zone 5) have tinting on the windows (slight, but enough to make a difference). This results in not enough light for a citrus tree, you have to supplement. I have 1 Meyer Lemon, 1 Ponderosa Lemon, 1 Eureka Lemon, and 1 Kaffir lime tree potted that i keep under grow lights in my basement all winter long. I feed them every three months with a slow release citrus tree fertilizer, as they get pretty hungry. To pot them, I blended up Cactus potting mix, bone meal, blood meal, worm casings, and a bit of mushroom compost. They took to this really well over the summer outside, and have done pretty well over the winter, though i suspect they would prefer more light....See MoreIndoor Meyer Lemon Tree in distress!
Comments (4)if you take it outside.. full shade ... for a few weeks.. to harden it off to sun ... trees need to near dry in between waterings ... if you have been keeping it too wet.. like many houseplants prefer.. that is a possible problem ... transplanting an already stressed plant.. only heaped stress upon stress ... only time will see ... ??? .... lol .. time will tell ... let it near dry in between waterings ... unless you water so heavily.. that water run out the bottom ... then i highly doubt you need all the fert you are giving it ... you are just not washing it out the bottom ... lastly.. you are not thinking in tree time .... you say youve increased water.. and decreased water ... but unless you give it months in between... i doubt you could see a difference .... on some level.. you may be loving it to death ... put it somewhere.. stop moving it.. let it near dry between waterings .. insert finger .. and basically ignore it for a month or 3 .. ken...See MoreIndoor dwarf Meyer lemon tree grow
Comments (0)Hey all, starting a new thread here to avoid completely hijacking the one I initially posted some questions in. I just got a 2-3 year old Meyer lemon tree that is about 3 feet tall, and I'm looking to grow it fully indoors in my apartment. I understand this may not be ideal but I do have decent sized south-facing windows that get a lot of light, so I'm hopeful I can manage to get at least a handful of lemons. Picture of the setup is below, this weekend I'll move it upstairs where I have the same windows with all 3 shades always open. It's honestly looking a bit sad currently, the branches are much more droopy than when I first got it (and it was shipping in a box for an entire week). The blossoms are drying out, one fell off this morning. I just picked up an IR thermometer, with my thermostat reading 75 the soil temp is 60 and top of the leaves is 66, seems like an OK difference to me but I'm not sure what's ideal. Haven't repotted yet, it's in a 5 gallon plastic pot for now and I'm looking at moving it to a 5 or 7 gallon fabric pot when my new soil is delivered on Saturday. Looking for tips or anything else that would be useful to measure, I want this tree to be the best it can be (without needing an insane amount of maintenance) and I'm not afraid to get scientific with it. Thanks to everyone who has helped me so far and to anyone else who takes the time to read and respond!...See MoreLaura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agocalamondindave
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoVladimir
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agoVladimir
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agocalamondindave
7 years agoVladimir
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoVladimir
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agoLaura LaRosa (7b)
7 years agoVladimir
7 years agoalex_g76
7 years agomary
7 years agoVladimir
7 years ago
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