Temps here have just taken a dive to about - 4/5C overnight so I've turned my fan heaters on to keep the the temps at about + 7 (high 40's F)

In my 4ft x 2ft lean to greenhouse I've got a very small Limequat and Calamondin, a small Kumquat (max 1ft tall) and a 3ft Tahiti lime.

After 2 days the leaves on the Tahiti lime are drooping quite a lot and getting worse.

It's not lack of water in the container.

I thought of spraying the leaves.

Has anyone got any ideas what to do?

Hi Nick,
I think it is the root temperature problem Millet has been talking about. If your roots are below 55 F, they are not functioning at all. If the leaves need water because the sun is heating the leaves or if artificial heat is drying out the air-- the roots can't help -- the leaves will droop and eventually drop.

If you don't have any other place to put them, could you do something to add moisture with the heat. I don't think spraying the leaves a once or twice a day is going to help. Or focus more on raising the soil temp--that would be the best solution.

Skeet

Hi Nick, all you have to do is raise the temperature of the root zone to approximately to 65F (18C) . If your lean-to greenhouse receives sunlight (direct or diffused), the surface of the leaves heat up quickly, and requires water from the root system to enable the leaves to cool down. If your trees roots are at or near 55F (12.7C) the roots are unable to function, thus cannot supply the leaves with the required moisture. Thus the leaves wilt. 55.4F (13C) is absolute zero for citrus roots. If you are not able to raise the temperature of the growth medium, then you can place a large curtain in front of the trees to keep the light from warming the leaves. It is all about balance. Warm soil + warm leaf temperatures = balance, cool soil + cool foliage = balance, cold roots + warm leaves = Out of Balance. - Millet

Skeet, seems we were both posting at the same time. Take care. - Millet

Thanks for the info and advice

The heater was at the top of the greehouse so after reading your posts I moved the heater to the floor last night by the container.

This morning the drooping didn't look any worse and only 1 leaf had falled off. So fingers crossed.

I think with the small size of the greenhouse and a fan heater raisng temps more than the low 50's F and keeping them constant is going to be difficult. I can usually maintain 43 - 53 F.

Maybe I could wrap the container in bubble wrap.

Any other tips would be great

Thanks

Nick

Hi Nick

using soil heater cables might work/help, they are suppose to keep the soil temp at 75 and will heat the volume you have.......

From the small green house I am trying, sealed buckets of water also help keep the temperatures constant

Frank

Fan heaters is not the best to use. Over a perod of time, they will produce an dry uneven heat .

I was wondering more about the soil temp problem.

If the soil temp is below 55.4 for just an hour, just before dawn, is this going to cause problems?