Hello! Need advice for my improved meyer lemon tree please!
I've had it for about 8 months, originally outside but currently inside for the winter. Its been loosing leaves since I've gotten it, and I've been feeding it plant food (and egg shells and coffee grounds) but nothing really seems to be working. It still seems to be fighting to live though and I really don’t want it to die.
I water it about twice a week, not very much water about a cup maybe. I have it on a grow light for 9 hours a day using red light. I put it in generic store brand all purpose inside/outside dirt. It does have a hole in the bottom and drains fine. There are currently a lot of gnats in the soil but I've been using fly tape to take care of it.
Any help is appreciated! Please and Thank you!
by SickleStars
4 Comments
Coffee grounds are very acidic. Remove them and any debris and dead leaves and water and with two litres to wet the most likely hydrophobic soil.
One cup of water is no where near enough to entirely saturate a 16” pot. When you water your plants- you want to soak them until it’s draining out of the bottom. More water- less often.
As for your plant- there is still hope if there’s green.
I would stop giving her fertilizer as she’s not going to be growing much during the winter months (coffee ground and egg shells included)
Try to give her as much light as possible. A south window is ideal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Citrus/comments/iwp5ad/fall_tips_for_new_growers/?share_id=76WVwpWg4NGCjasdV7hIp&utm_name=androidcss
This has some good info. Stop fertilizing. Organic granular fertilizers are not instantly available. Liquid fertilizer is immediately available. You dont need to fertilize right now because it is probably plenty fertilized already, and growth is slow right now.
I think it has buds? If so you might get more leaves. But while it is no leaf it doesnt need much water
A few notes here, but first an unfortunate fact:
Citrus are sun-loving trees that grow prolifically in Mediterranean climates – long, hot summers and mild winters. In orchards they receive 8+ hours of sunlight every day, even in winter. It’s very very very difficult to grow lemon trees (let alone to have them produce fruit) in climates that get frosty over winter – even more difficult to grow them indoors. Grow lights are honestly not sufficient for trees of decent size, they need full sun and heat! Warmth warmth warmth. They will not grow significantly or produce fruit without warmth.
That said, I would suggest you consider your tree an experiment – don’t expect it to fruit: in these conditions it is essentially just “trying to survive”. You may still have fun learning about growing citrus! But, unfortunately, the conditions are very different to have it grow significantly or produce any fruit. They really need to be outdoors, getting sun, wind, heat, pollination, etc. in order to produce.
A few other things you will want to consider:
– Does the pot have drainage? Be sure that when you are watering, you water enough that it drains out the bottom of the pot.
– This is a very large pot for what is probably a very small root ball. Size the pot to the root ball, a few inches or so bigger is fine.
– Fertilising is only required a few times a year, even less for a tiny tree like this – and it needs a lot of water and sun after fertilising to help it actually synthesise the nutrients. Too much fertiliser is an issue – it will burn the roots and cause nutrients to become “locked-up” or unable to be used by the plant. I would fertilise an indoor plant… once a year, *maybe* twice. Certainly you don’t need to be adding coffee grounds or eggshells – throw them in your compost, and use the finished compost instead! Will be far far more beneficial.
Overall, repot into quality soil in a much smaller pot, use a well-draining potting mix, place it in an area that gets as much sun and warmth as possible, stop fertilising it! And do not expect it to produce fruit indoors. Overall, lower your expectations – consider it a fun experiment where you can learn about how citrus is best grown, and perhaps plan for the future for deciduous fruiting trees that do better with a winter dormancy 🙂