Hi, I have purchased my fist citrus this summer and everything was going great until last week. I have started to bring in my calamondin in the night and every third day to get it ready for indoor life this winter. In the past week the leaves have started turning yellow at the bottom and dropping off.


They stared to fall off about one or two a day and have progressed to five yesterday and four this morning just from moving it. I expected some leaf drop from lower light levels but it keeps getting worse. Overall the tree still looks great aside from some leaves curling. It has new growth, lots of fruit and a couple flower buds appearing.








I think that my biggest problem is watering. The tree is getting root bound, but I cannot repot it until the spring. I just can't seem to get the watering schedule down. I tried the skewer in the soil, but I can never tell how wet it is from this. I have heard of water meters doing more damage than good. How often should the tree be getting watered indoors (approx 5 days apart?)? I never lost any leaves all summer. I have heard that you will kill your first five citrus until you get the hang of it. I really don't want to do that because they are expensive! Any tips would be great help. Thanks




this seems to be the area that the leaves like to fall from.

How old is your tree? A citrus leaf has a life span of approximately 2 years. The leaves on the bottom of your tree are the oldest leaves on your tree. I have 127 trees, and many of the trees are presently shedding lower leaves due to age. First they turn yellow, curl and drop from the tree. This is a normal process. When a citrus leaf blade requires more energy to live, than energy it supplies to the tree, the leaf is dropped by the tree. There is no welfare plan for citrus trees. A containerized tree can be transplanted at any time of the year, when the transplanting is done carefully and properly. I have 125 containerized citrus trees. Over the years, I have probably transplanted a tree just about every week of the year, without any problems. Lastly, if your tree is actually "root bound", the tree (any tree) that is root bound will constantly have problems. A root bound tree eventually gets to the point where additional fertilizer, watering, or care will not cause the tree to produce additional growth. The oxygen (soil aeration) in the root system becomes greatly reduced, while the carbon dioxide levels raise to a toxic levels, and problems set in. There is no way to know if your tree is root bound unless you slip the tree from the container and examine the roots. - Millet

I am not sure how old the tree is. I bought it only a few months ago from a grocery store. It is about two feet tall. I did slip the tree out of the pot this weekend and the roots are swirling around the pot. My problem with repotting is that I need to keep the pot this size for the winter. My wife is an interior decorator and our Hobbys collide. I have to keep the pot in a rattan pot cover in the house or I can't keep the tree. I took me over two weeks of searching to even find a pot cover she agreed with and this pot just fits into the opening with no room to spare. Is it possible o trim the roots this time of year? The tree has been growing quite a lot since I bought it, but the roots are swirling in the pot.

Where do you live (I'm guessing some part of Canada)? If you are exposing the tree to direct sun while the roots are cold (below the mid 60s F) it can cause the tree to drop leaves.

Watering frequency can vary widely, even with the same tree in the same container due to the climate and growth of the tree, but even more variation comes from the type of soil in the container. With fairly fast draining soil that I have for my seedling trees, I can go almost a month during winter but only 1-2 weeks in summer. The finger is still the best moisture probe, just make sure the soil is dry in the top 2-3 inches.

I live in southern Ontario, not far from the border. The potting medium is whatever the nursery grew it in. It looks like sand, purlite, peat, and woodchips. I did have it in direct sunlight when indoors, shade outdoors for the past two weeks. I think I will try to move it to the living room where the light is very filtered in a bay window through a tree and California blinds. I am guilty of over watering I assume as I was watering every 3 days in the heat of the summer ( low 80's) and still have been watering every five days or so now.

Hello all. Sorry for posting my problem on this thread, but I have some similar looking leaves drop off of my key lime as the ones Crazy Canuck is holding in his hands. This is a rooted cutting that I purchased in April (of twig size, really), so I am sure that these leaves are less than a year old. In general, the key lime's leaves are much less green than my meyers, which has been treated the same and located next to each other all summer.

Also, my meyers leaves are very dark green, however they are curling under. Not a cupping up of the tip or the sides as I have seen on threads in the past, but curling under and in some cases causing a spiral. Does anyone have any insight to this? They have all recently been repotted (the curls were already there) in CHC mix of Millet's, unfortunately without calcium nitrate due to inavailability. I did add espom salt to the final rinse, though. The local supplier indicated that they won't be placing an order til mid October, and then when it comes in is anyone's guess. I will have to buy a 50# bag, which I am willing to do (I have two apple trees that could benefit), and I plan on top dressing or making a solution upon arrival.

Well, now I did get off subject, but any input on the two leaf issues or the calcium nitrate approach would be appreciated. Thank you, Barbara

Also, the meyers is also a rooted cutting, same age as the key lime. Thanks, Barbara

Hello,
to give any guess, it would be helpfull to know, were the trees are placed now. How warm is it, how often do you water, how often do you fertilize, light, sun how long and how warm are the roots...

When the curling occurred, they were on my south facing porch steps with mostly sun with about 2 hours of filtered sun in the middle of the afternoon. With fall approaching, overnight temps have gone down into the high 40's, so I have brought them in at night. After repotting, I have since kept them inside in a bright corner which has eastern and southern windows, although probably only 2 hours of direct sunshine in the afternoon where they are located on a table.

The soil temp has been ranging from 65 to 74 F, as measured by a meat thermometer. I did not get the thermometer until I repotted in Millet's mix, so I cannot comment about soil temps when the trees were outside. Ambient temps were in the 70 to 80's, though. The meyers roots did not look robust, but they did have healthly white tips when I repotted.

I have only watered when dry down 2-3 inches, however, they did get caught in an all-weekend rain event while I was away. They did have good drainage, though, and were sitting up on blocks for additional root protection. I figured that this may have actually been a beneficial flushing of the soil for them, although I believe that weekend was on the cool side (60's). After that weekend I did start noticing fungus gnats, though, in many of my plants, which is partially why I repotted and brought indoors. I have not noticed any bug problems since.

I have provided regular water soluble fertilizer at half strength, and have the Dyanamite slow release with micros in the soil (the mix that Skeet has mentioned in the past). I use epsom salts (1 teaspoon per gallon) about once a month, depending on when the trees actually need watering and in conjunction with the water soluble fert mentioned above. The trees last flushed in July, and I do not see any signs of swollen buds that would indicate that a new flush is imminent.

Well, that's all I can think to say. The meyers leaves remain curled, but the only ones that it has lost have been a few of the ones that it had when I got it. They don't appear to be getting worse, but they are not straightening out, either. The lower (older) ones are more curled than the newer ones. Thank you for your input. Barbara

My guess is that there is nothing much wrong with your tree. As the tree's root system is producing healthy white root tips, any curling of the leaves is probably environmental. Curling of citrus leaves is not all that uncommon. I would make one comment concerning your monthly addition of Epsom Salts. There is a recommended 2:1 balanced ratio between the elements calcium and magnesium. Most irrigation water sources contain both of these ingredients, but few growers have knowledge of the chemistry of the water used to irrigate their trees. The addition of magnesium (Epsom Salts) may or may not be required. However, the constant addition of Epsom salts will surely result in a calcium/magnesium imbalance. I mention this in passing, I do not think this is the cause of your present "concern". - Millet

Millet, I guess the Ca/Mg ratio that you mentioned does concern me a little, due to the fact that I did not have calcium nitrate for the CHC mix preparation and I did use epsom salt in the final rinse. I will definately hold off on my use of additional epsom salt until I find my most recent analysis from the borough (its around here somewhere!), and get my calcium nitrate from the local supplier. When I do finally get my hands on some, should I make a solution or provide a top dressing? The only calcium that was added was in the form of dolomite, which may or may not be readily available to the trees? Thank you for your input. Barbara

Dolomite should be added to the CHC/peat moss medium at the time of blending the mixture, and at a rate between 0 - 10 pounds per cubic yard (0 - 0.4-lbs. per cubic foot which equals 0 - 182 grams per cubic foot). Dolomite is a chemical mixture of calcium and magnesium, and usually near the correct ratio. Therefore because you added dolomite when you made up the CHC/peat moss medium, do not add additional Epsom Salts. Further, it is dangerous to arbitrarily apply extra chemicals to a container in the attempt of preventing a deficiency that does not presently exist. An over supply of an nutrient additive causes problems, and therefore is not a benefit to the tree. About the calcium nitrate that was not add to the final rinse, do not worry about it at this late date. I purchase calcium nitrate in 80-lb. bags, therefore if I can assist you with a small supply to use in a final Cation Exchange soak, let me know. I would charge you only for the postage, the calcium nitrate will be no charge. The following growth medium and nutrition program will grow excellent citrus. To 1-cubic foot of a potting medium made from 4 parts CHC to 1 part peat moss add 252 grams of Osmocote 17-7-12, plus 25 grams STEM (Soluble Trace Element Mix), plus 0 - 168 grams dolomite. The amount of dolomite needed depends on the amount of calcium in the irrigation water. If your irrigation water contains 40-PPM Ca and 20-PPM Mg, you will not need to add dolomite. If the irrigation water supplies 25-PPM calcium and 10-PPM Mg dolomite should be blended in at the rate of 67-grams per cubic foot. - Millet