To answer the original question it seems as tho the plants are just super stressed, and when they get stressed they drop their leaves and fruit to survive. They are getting much different conditions than they were at HD, where they outside or inside a greenhouse in HD? I am going to guess that they were inside or at least shaded, they had to be hardened off in before just putting them in full sun. This is done by SLOWLY introducing them to the sun for a short period of time gradually working up to full day sunlight. Stop fertilizing and watering until you know for sure they are dried out. Than completely soak and repeat the cycle. Citrus will survive slightly dehydrated better than they will flooded. The meter you are using measures the electric conductivity of the soil so if it is littered with fertilizers you will get false readings. Are you able to post pics of the trees and their pots? I would suggest a re-potting and pruning, but as you said you are new to gardening and this may scare you a bit. Do you have any friends with a green thumb that could help you with this? Don't expect any flowers or fruits till next year as said since the plants are so stressed, but you never know with some TLC and luck you may get some winter blooms. Again pics would really help, and good luck!

Hi All, I need some Meyer lemon assistance. I received a dwarf tree in the spring from QVC thru mycitrustree(dot) com. I had some beautiful blossoms in the summer and now have 2 lemons about 3 inches and 3 1/2 long. It was kept outside and watered as needed in addition to Mother Nature. I live in NJ and it was about to dip into the 40's one night so I brought it into my basement two weeks ago. I watered it before I brought it in and it got a soaking rain too. It's in a pot with drain access and it still moist. It has also now begun to bud on all end branch A LOT. My original question is some random leaves are turning yellow. They are not dry or curling and have no pests. The leaf veins are also not turning white. I am a nervous first time fruit tree mother. I did not give any fertilizer since I received it in the spring. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! Barbara-Ann

I would say you have two distinct problems. The thrips may be affecting your fruits; there are ways to control them or limit the damage, as they normally infect the plant at or soon after the bloom. The problem with your leaves certainly looks to me to be mineral deficiency, most likely manganese and iron, this would be more likely given your location, and aggravated should you have soil that is above 7.5 pH. Addition of chelated minerals either through soil application or foliar can cure this. You may also have a general nutrient deficiency, particularly Nitrogen. You should be feeding your tree a good quality citrus fertilizer with a ratio at or near 3-1-2 NPK three times per year... maybe January, May, and September. Meyers are very heavy feeders, and a good part of your problem could be that your tree has finally exhausted all the nutrients in the soil. The fact that your kaffir seems fine is probably only because the kaffir is sooo resistant and tolerant of lots of imperfections.

You look into trees that are more toleratant to wet feet if you wish to plant now. The citrus could be removed and put in a pot but this is not a good time to be stressing the plant further IMO. I would hope some folks closer to your area can chime in here and offer some ways that they have dealt with it. I would say that doing a raised area ios not that difficult but will require time and labor and money. If some one has poor drainage here (rare). I suggest going up 2 feet or so, but till in as deep as you can go into the gumbo first with some combination of quality compost and maybe some well shredding (fine pine bark mulch). Sometimes sold as a soil conditioner. I get Landscaper's Pride for my garden center but there may be many other usable brands in your area. Look for a good nursery and or a soil and compost place that knows what they are doing (not just sales people), again need help from folks that are closer to you to pitch in here. You could for a temp fix poke small holes close to the outer edge of your lemon mulch layer about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter about 2 feet down and fill back in with the soil condioner or good compost to help the existing roots to get some better air and to help dry out the sub-soil somewhat. It is not a fix all but may help some for the time being. I know that most folks want everything as soon as possible but if your soil is poor draining there are not many short-cuts to help cure it. Organic matter will help over the years but it usually takes years with out literally starting from scratch and tilling compost by truck loads which is the closest thing to a quick fix I am aware of. Some folks have talked about the expanded shale option but don't know if that is offered by the truck load (by the cubic yard) in your area or not. I hope this offers some ideas and is of some help. Happy Growing David