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| Hi,hope someone can help me before its to late. I have a Dwarf Meyers Lemon Tree ( potted for patio ) I bought it last spring,its been out doors on my deck all summer and did beautiful,it blossomed and doubled in size,when it was time i brought it in,after about a month it started to loose its leaves,the soil is moist,it gets morning sun,good light,the room is 68 degrees,i looked it all over to see if there was anything on it its clean.This is the second plant thats done this,am i not doing something? I also have a Dwarf Citura Tangerine tree,its doing great no problem in the same room,whats my problem? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Check the undersides of the leaves for scale and or spider mites. Also, cut way back on watering at this time of year. I let mine get really dry before rewatering. Anything you can do to increase indoor humidity around it would also be helpful. Citrus are not the easiest indoors, which is way I started overwintering mine in the garage years ago. You might also consider posting on the CITRUS forum (pics are helpful too). Good luck. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 24, 11 at 8:42
| what they said ... but my guess is the change in light intensity has caused the leaves to fall off .. even in a window... especially double paned ... light intensity is very low.. and this time of year.. very weak ... supplemental light is probably necessary ... i highly agree.. the plants need to nearly dry .. in between waterings ... pix would really help ... size info.. media info.. etc ... in my house.. with forced air.. ALL TREES SUFFER ... especially in a month or so.. when the humidifier is struggling to maintain 30% humidity ... tree leaves just cant cope with that ... ken |
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- Posted by Lady_Bug09 4 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 24, 11 at 10:06
| I have checked for spider mites theres nothing i understand i should put peat moss in the soil is this right? |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 24, 11 at 10:46
| peat moss holds too much water for most trees ... think cactus mix ... are you thinking of repotting a severely stressed plant ... that might just be enough stress to put it over the edge ... you are on the verge of loving them to death ... let them dry.. let them acclimate .. and tell us about the light situation ... do you see any viable buds on the branch tips???? over the hills and thru the woods to grandmas house we go... see you tomorrow... happy thxgvng ken |
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| Lady Bug, take a look at the thread linked below. It is part of a multi-part thread that has had around 2000 responses so far (making it, by far, the most popular thread on GardenWeb, so far as I know). I believe reading at least what Al writes at the beginning of the thread will be WELL worth your time! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention
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- Posted by Lady_Bug09 4 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 24, 11 at 12:30
| I put alot of info together and this is what i did,don't know if right or wrong.First i wash the lemon in cool water really good then I took real good potting soil along with cactus soil and about 2 cups of peat moss mixed it really good and planted the lemon in the soil,i didn't water it theres moisture in the soil,then i put it back in the window where it gets lots of light.the growing stem is good and green but theres no leaves,i guess all i can do now is wait.This is the 2nd plant i've had this problem with,hopefully i can save it.Don't understand why the Tangerine dosen't have this problem there both citrus. |
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| Lady Bug, the major problem with peat moss is that it increases moisture extremes. When the peat moss is moist and there's water available, it hold too much water and can cause root rot. When peat moss dries out, it can resist rewetting attempts and actually repel water, leading to a drought-like condition. Al covers some of the other problems with peat moss (especially in significant amounts) in his post. As he explains, adding other ingredients to peat moss (cactus soil, for instance) doesn't necessarily take care of the problems. |
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- Posted by Lady_Bug09 4 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 24, 11 at 12:59
| So should i replant the lemon in just cactus soil or is it to late its gone? |
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- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Thu, Nov 24, 11 at 13:51
| These guys have given great advice. If you re-pot again, try 3 parts perlite to 1 part cactus soil. Stick a wooden skewer or dowel deep into the container to determine when to water. You can also stick a "wick" into the drainage holes and allow it to dangle below All of this info comes from Al's container gardening Thread linked above.
Josh |
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| Meyers do not handle changes in light, temp, humidity well; they do a little better, if you can make the adjustment gradually; i.e. sun to partial sun, to shade, then indoors. In Zone 4 I would probably opt for leaving them outside, covering with a blanket or light tarp with a 75 watt bulb inside on cold nights; and only bringing them inside on the coldest nights, then back to the sun as soon as the temperature gets above 30 degrees F. The tree will do better outside always, as long as the temp. is 30 or higher. When you make rapid light changes, the tree drops the leaves it had grown for sunlight and tries to replace them with more efficient leaves for low light. I understand that I am anthropomorphizing here, but I hope you get the idea. For the rest of this Winter, I would leave it where it is and in the mix you have; it might not survive another shock at such a young age; as the tree grows it will store more carbohydrates in the trunk and branches that allow it to "suffer" more without major damage. When you can put it out in the Spring, that would be the time to make another change in the mix. BTW, if you posted this on the Citrus forum, there are lots of folks there that could help you better than I. |
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