howdy all

quick question about the leaves of my meyer lemon. it has dropped quite a few of them over the last week or so - which i expected due to transplant shock and all that. some of the leaves, however, look a little sick. a few are developing brown patches and a pale yellowy-green colour. i know it is natural for them to drop leaves after repotting, but is this discolouration expected also? i know the colouring may indicate a nutrient deficiency, but with it being recently repotted i don't want to fertilize right away. i have sprayed the leaves with epsom salts as normal (1/2 teaspoon per litre), and a solution of superthrive and water today (experimenting with the superthrive, want to know if its useless or fantastic!)

there is no evidence of pest. all of my citrus are in a potting mix of about three parts bark chips, one part ericaceous compost and one part perlite - drains brilliantly, and i let them dry out suitably before rewatering. the meyer will probably be due for watering in another 3 or 4 days by the feel of the potting mix - would it be worth fertilizing then? i use a citrus fertilizer, 25-6.5-12.5 with trace minerals copper, iron and magnese. i also have iron sachets that i was planning to use in the spring with the new growth.

just wanted to know if i should leave well enough alone or give it a little nudge with something extra

i have uploaded a pic - any thoughts?

danny

There is no reason to expect significant leaf loss after careful re-potting.
Your leaf picture looks to me more like some kind of over-fertilisation or chemical burn. The Epsom salts solution could be too strong if it lands on leaves in sunny conditions.
Be careful not to under-water with your free-draining mix. Citrus don't like to be permanently wet because of under aeration and it encourages foot-rot diseases, but they also don't like being completely dry especially after fertilisation. Only the surface should be allowed to dry out between waterings.

hi, thanks for the quick reply

i have only used epsom salts foliar spray once on the meyer as it is quite new - yesterday evening, and the leaves were yellowing with brown spots before then

when i bought it quite a few of the leaves had brown tips, which i think meant they were overfertilized and the air was too dry in the garden center. most of those are gone now - they only seem to be on one side of the plant - other side seems healthy with next to no leaf drop.

it was in a poor way when i bought it, and it desperately needed repotting. seems happier now, leaf drop pretty much slowed to a trickle. am always very careful to water at the right time.

it has a pretty bare branch now, will it grow leaves there once it has settled for a while?

dan