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Hi All,

My mum bought me a Lemon tree for Christmas and at the time it looked very healthy with a fruit and lots of very fragrant flowers. I've been keeping it in an unheated conservatory since then, which does get cold and I've been watering it once it has dried out.

Over the last week or two, it has lost all of its leaves! The lemon is still on there, and almost ripe now, but I am worried as I read that they are evergreen. Do you think it will recover now that the weather is starting to improve, or has it died? There is still some bright green growth, but no leaves.

Any help would be appreciated.

Dom

If there is still green groeth, then it sounds like its still alive, try scraping back a bit of bark with a fingernail, if its damp and / or green then its still alive!

Have you been feeding it once a week? Lemon trees need a regular feed, if you pop inot your local garden center they should have some feed, there's 2 sorts, 1 for winter feeding and one for summer feeding! We have both a small lemon and a small orange tree, both of which flowered soon after we got them and have fruit on them, we did loose a few leafs until another grape told us of the winter food! Give it a try, it may just work!

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Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

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Apparantly lemon leaves are on offer at Aldi this weeek, but only in selected stores. If not near yopu then this may help:

Citrus trees are evergreen and will naturally drop an old leaf from time to time. If, however, there is a lot of leaf drop, then the first thing to look at is whether the tree is too dry. This is generally the cause, particularly in the lower half of a big pot. The second most common reason is poor light, so moving the tree to a lighter position may solve the problem. Over watering can also cause problems - do not give more water until the surface of the compost is looking dry. Inadequate feeding may also cause leaf drop: this can be rectified particularly effectively with special citrus food..
Should the leaves drop for any reason, do not be immediately discouraged, as the tree will most likely grow a new crop of beautiful glossy leaves in a month or two, and flower soon after.

Don' panic!

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Geordie

Te audire non possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure

Another question.....

How much cold can a lemon tree cope with.

I have a cold unheated porch, that is frost free but does get as low as +4 in the winter! would this be too cold to spend the winter days in!

Kind thanks
HF

Hello there Headfry!
I'm no expert on fruit trees, but I saw this and thought of you!!!

www.crocus.co.uk/pocket_guide/citrus_care.htm

Hope that's a help??

Nicos that has helped, thank you.
really would love a lemon tree but lack a conservatory or heated green house.
Do you know if you can prune them to keep them to say about 3-4 foot high?

Why do you need special lemon feed as opposed to normal liquid fertiliser?

Hi,

I've just got home from work and noticed that there are lots of very small round whitish green things growing, Are these leaf buds, flowers or fruit?

At this time of year should I get the summer feed or winter feed, or should I wait for the summer feed until it is hot enough to put outside?

Thanks for all your help.

Dom

They are flowers, they will turn into fruit, I have about 40 on my lemon tree, and 10 or so on each orange tree.

The citrus feed comes with different nutrients that the citrus plants need rather then normal feed. Normal feed is lacking or doesn't have enough of some nutrients. That is why we have to get specific feed.

As to leaf loss.... Main reasons for this are: too dry, too wet (or watered too often), and lack of nutrients/feed, also not enough light. It is difficult to find the balance... I seem to get mine right and then must let it get too dry as I then end up loosing 3 or 4 leaves at once. But keep on top of it. It does recover as long as you catch it soon enough. Feed will definitly help if you're not feeding it at all.

Hope this helps

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This I belive would be your leaf buds. You wont get fruit without flowers and no flowers until the plant feels healthy with it's leaves. So I'm glad to hear the leaves are returning.

I would use the summer feed now as this is the time of year you want to encourage additional growth and possible flowers/fruits.

Hope this helps and good luck.

__________________
Look not from the mind, but from the soul. For the life that is coming is already before us, waiting to open up the world. Just look more closely. Find the eyes to see. - Celestine Prophecy 1st insight

Visit my blog: http://wheatleyswheels.blogspot.com