So recently we got 3 citrus trees(A Key Lime, Valencia orange, and a Eureka lemon if it matters), due to being in USDA Zone 6b they are currently inside.
The orange and lime tree have basically lost all of their leaves and the lemon tree is rapidly losing them. I believe it is a watering issue due to the mix being extremely slow draining but I am not sure due to it affecting the trees at different times. They are all planted in 5 gallon buckets(with holes at the bottom and a bucket underneath to catch the excess water) with rocks at the bottom. They are planted in a mix of a tiny bit of Miracle Gro raised bed mix, coco fiber, and topsoil.
Any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated! Have a great day and stay safe everyone!
@Richard or @Luisport knows plenty about citrus they might be able to help. Word wrap has been applied to help with the formatting of your post. Looking forward to the replies. My experience growing citrus in zone 6 is limited but i have had some. My trees did not lose their leaves even in winter. They lost some but never all of them. Typically they bloomed in December or January usually. The room in the winter i kept them was at least 50 degrees F. Did the leaves turn yellow before falling off? If so water may well be the culprit. When my citrus was thirsty its leaved cupped up slightly and when they had enough water they flattened out.
Welcome to the forum!
They did not seem to turn yellow, just dried out and curled as far as the lime tree goes, same thing seems to be happening to the lemon tree. The orange tree I do not know since it basically lost everything really quickly. I am a bit scared to water since even a sixth of a gallon each with a tiny bit of fertilizer mixed in caused it to be extremely wet and overwatered(at least I think)
These are what the curling leaves look like, they looked the same on the lime tree. I wonder if it could be a citrus disease(whatever the one thats devastating Florida is) but I do not think any of the trees were grown in a citrus state
Citrus shed some leaves thats normal but there is little new leaves when they do typically. As a side note i grew trifoliata oranges outside which lost their leaves every winter.
This is a few branches leafless. No sign of new growth, probably a light issue but I am not sure. With the orange tree the new growth was basically half black so I pinched it.
Used normal loam topsoil mixed half and half with 10 year old composted cow manure. Did not care for the strong dirt like smell in that room but the trees sure loved it. These 2 pots were huge about like half a whiskey keg each. The citrus trees were 8 feet. When they bloomed it smelled like heaven.
Just dug the dirt up yours is good enough. It’s not the best way to do it but it’s what i did. Dont worry throw some rocks in there to im familiar with the ozarks. That clay loam is not a bad thing unless you use only that. Your dirt keeps trees from drying out its why i use it with big trees. That dirt will grow any tree from that area. If you get out in the woods and get some of that dirt from under the leaves that stuff is great.
Alright I can try it in a few minutes. I find it odd that the leaves would dry out with wet soil. Citrus fertilizer would work instead of orchid fertilizer right? I only have citrus fertilizer. Edit: Apparently it was watered last night by a family member so it might need a day or 2 :/. If I do not reply for a while assume it was a reply limit lol Edit 2: 19 more hours
