Lemon tree

[newbutkeen]

Hi folks,

The in-laws bought me lemon tree for Christmas, but despite being in a frost free greenhouse and being covered in fleece and surrounded by a sort of bubble wrap tent, the leaves slowly died starting with the new soft leaves then the older ones turning dry and brown the dropping off. I tried to follow all the advice; not overwatering, covering when low temperatures were forecast, ventilating at least for a short while a day, letting as much light in as possible, etc. It did get a black sooty mould on it but following advice I labouriously wiped each leaf and fruit clean with milk and a tissue. Husband and I were in the greenhouse at the weekend clearing out ready for the onslaught of the summer crops when he noticed that the tree had put out shoots, indeed even some small leaves. We quickly cleared out all the dead leaves and checked for moisture. The soil was still damp. Not knowing what else to do, we have put it on the soil still in its pot in the middle of what is to be the tomato bed. The temperatures are getting low but we haven't had a frost. (2.2c last night) Should we repot, feed, prune, leave well alone! Help! When I got it it had fruit and blossom on and was in very good condition. As you can imagine I was really gutted when it appeared to die. Advice please.

[Angi]

I bought a lemon tree last year, and although I live on the south coast I wouldn't think you would deal with yours differently. Always water with rainwater, not tap water, never let it get waterlogged and plant it in a loam based compost, not multi-purpose. I leave mine outside most of the year, bringing it in to an unheated conservatory at the end of October (maybe earlier where you are), and putting it outside in April. They're OK with a bit of cold, not too much, but by now yours should be outside. The only other thing is that they like to be a little pot-bound. I've never fed mine but it has lots of flowers and baby lemons on it. We had slices of our own lemon in some winter Pimms at Christmas. Hope this helps.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I hope your lemon tree is growing again now. I've had one for a few years now in an unheated conservatory and find it drops its leaves when it gets too dry.

I wouldn't put it outside until there is no risk of frost as the new shoots will be very tender and more easily damaged than older wood. Give it a feed of summer citrus fertilizer and top up the soil with a bit of loam based compost.

I gave mine a very severe pruning last year as it had got rather straggly and it has sent lots of new shoots out this spring. I felt rather cruel as it had had 23 lemons last year and isn't a large plant, so the rest will do it good.

They are very prone to greenfly, and scale insect, so you need to be vigilant.

Good luck.

[carole]

I've had a lemon tree for about 4 years now. I live in Cumbria on a hill and so didn;t expect it to last. I also lost a lot af leaves i the first 2 years, but it's still making fruit. It currently has 4 large lemons and many small ones. I always remove some of the small lemons so its not overburdened though. This year new leaf shoots have begin to grow after i gave it a light prune. I keep mine in an unheated (but south facing )porch until the last frosts are over then it goes in to my veg plot in full sun. That seems to be what it likes. Its very prone to scale , so look out for it. they like to hide in the leaf margins and under leaves.

[newbutkeen]

Thanks for all your responses and support folks. I am happy to report considerable regrowth of foliage. I know it will need pruning now but having come so close to losing it, I am reluctant to lose any of it! It has lost it's wine glass shape so I guess I will have to be brave and get in there with the secateurs. Any advice on pruning would be appreciated.