Lemon tree...a fool in his garden

(forgive the musical pun...)

Hi everybody

I've been given a beautiful little lemon tree for Christmas, but having gone through all the threads, I'm not sure if I'm fighting a losing battle in trying to keep her. Could I possibly pick the experienced brains here? thank you so much

Problem / concern: the tree has been steadily losing leaves since I got it, and the soil it came in was bone dry. I've watered, and mounted the pot on a cross-frame of chopsticks so it can drain out. I'm not sure if the pot is large enough (see pic). She's about 20 cm high and the pot is about 14 cm in diameter.

Temperature: my building is insanely warm due to really poor construction, so the prevailing temperature is about 22 degrees C, with humidity between 15-20%. There's only so much I can do to regulate it

Light: I face south west, but the windows are coated with some weird treatment, so even though I have her right next to the window, I'm not sure she was getting much full spectrum light (the internet is dangerous for a horticultural numbskull like me). I bought some Wolozek Grow Lights, but not sure how long / which colour emphasis has the best chance of revival?

From what I can work out, she needs a cooler temperature, but the slight dilemma is I'm 10 floors up and the balcony is awfully windy? Would it make sense to pop her outside during the day and bring her in at night?

Dust: I'm also in a ridiculously dusty area, so I gently wiped the leaves clear with a moist kitchen towel. Is there a limit to how often one should do this?

Frame: she came with a little trellis frame, but being a complete novice, I've no idea whether I should keep that or not, or replace it. The lemons on her are quite heavy to my totally untrained eye

So basically, in the best traditions of the Lemon Tree song, a fool in his garden would be awfully grateful for any tips around all of the above, or am I better off trying to find a home where she might actually be able to survive?

thanks so much

LT

 

No expert I'm afraid I just bumble along and if it works.....welll .


In the Spring my Lemon Tree gets moved outside until Autumn. During this period it receives Summer Feed.

In the Autumn it gets moved into our unheated North facing porch. When the temps. dipped recently to a whole week of -7C nights I threw a sheet of horticultural fleece over it. At this time of year it is given Winter feed although, I had to admit , not very regularly.

Keep a close eye out for scale insect on the leaves and stems. This I can say I do.

Before I inherited it from my late dear Dad it use to spend the Winters in his unheated greenhouse without any additional protection !! So that proved to me that they are alot tougher than we initially thought.

Although I'm not as I said an expert, I personally would consider harvesting the fruit. But best to wait and see if a more knowledgeable Citrus grower pops by.





Ps. On a closer look at your pic I think the compost/ soil could be too wet imo. Don't look closely at mine as it's full of weeds!!

 

I'm not sure how they create these fairly small plants with big lemons on, I get the feeling its a trick they use when propagating them for sale, they look good at the time.

Personally, and you will hate me, I'd cut the lemons off and use them.

As you say its too warm for overwintering, not sure what you can do to alter that or solve the light problems, I do think most people struggle growing citrus plants as house plants, I'm not saying its impossible but I doint think I could get one to hold on to its leaves in the house over winter.
Just give it as much light as possible and as cool as possible without getting frost.
Could you form some kind of wind break on the balcony and only bring it in on frosty nights?
You can get green wind break material that slows the wind, but allows some through.

Water only when dry, and you did the right thing trying to improve the drainage.

 

Phew ,I'm glad you agreed with me about removing the lemons @pete. Thought I was stepping on thin ground there.

 

Hello LemonTree, welcome to GC and the wonderful world of citrus growing Put her on the balcony..definitely! Even if you have to protect her from the wind, the cooler temps will suit much better than being indoors. The only time you might need to whizz her back in is when the wind is arctic, or sharp frost is forecast. With the cooler temps, she'll need less water. Wait until the surface has dried out and give her just enough to dampen the rootball. A weak liquid feed once a fortnight should be enough during winter. If you do remove the fruit, then you can liberate her from the trellis and start to form the branches into the shape of tree you want...e.g. single stem with a rounded crown, or multiple stems in a goblet shape.
(@pete...do you think 'they' achieve the fruit by bending the stems pretty savagely onto a trellis? ).
The advantage of a small tree is that you can keep the leaves and stems pest-free fairly easily. As long as you're wiping the leaves with a cloth or tissue dampened with water, you can do that as often as you like

 

I dont really know how they do it, but the plants on sale often really dont look capable of growing the amount of fruit they have on them.
I know most are grafted and some are not, I get the feeling that they are grown with a free rootrun and then potted up a few weeks prior for sale complete with fruit and a damaged root system, often they have been pruned as well, I find.