Aries, your tree needs to adjust to its new environment..it's perfectly normal to lose leaves..50% is quite a bit, but after it acclimates it should stop..It sounds like you're doing everything possible..
If your hygrometer is correct, that's not bad considering your heat is on..A humidifer will help, if you plan on buying one.
Also, remember, you're bringing a tree inside from the fresh outdoors..If you can also suppliment the air, meaning, either using a ceiling fan or some type of fan to circulate the air. I keep my ceiling fan on a several hours per day, and a smaller fan in the front plant room..Don't aim the fan on plants though..if you have one w/a rotating head, aim it upwards. I wish I could get my hands on a fan like that, but I'm just using one immoble type..I rotate dirctions after so many hours..btw I don't keep the fan running 24 hours..even a few hours a day helps.
Remove yellow leaves from tree. If leaves look crispy brown, invest in a mister/sprayer and spray daily..Misting helps (a bit) w/humidity and keeps leaves dust free..Toni

I got a humidifier yesterday. So, that should help. Only, the room that the trees are in is a study that has a round celing light (i.e. no fan)... maybe I can put one in later. Thanks for all of the help Toni.

Aries, good for you...what type of humidifer did you buy? The console or a 3gallon type?
I just set my humidfer up today and the humidity has already gone up 15%...Thank goodness..it makes a big difference..
Still, I'd mist the leaves..can't hurt, right? It'll help keep foliage clean for one..and I've found surprises when misting..like unknown flowers on various plants and even occassional insects..Good luck,,Toni

It's a hunter 2 gal. type. It has a wick that doesn't need to be replaced, and microbes that retard bateria and mold growth. It has helped a good bit. I do plan on misting still. Thanks for all of your help.

Aries, I've never seen a humidfer like one you described, but I'm sure it's sufficient. Do you run it all day? How many times does it need refilling?
I don't blame you for misting, I would too. Toni

It's a humidifier that I picked up at wal-mart. It's not full size by any means, and it has to be refilled every two days. It doesn't puff out mist, it actually vaporizes the water molicules into the air. The only thing that comes out of the machine is moist air. It has a fan that pushes the air out of the machine. I only leave it on during the day. My boyfriend doesn't like to run things that could "burn the house down." I even turn off the CFLs if I'm not home... he usually is there when I'm not (the great benefit of college classes). I'm thinking though, that I should run the humidifier at night. I know my grandparents run theirs at night, so it should be safe. Thanks for all of your help Toni.

Aries, sometimes it is frightening leaving things turned on when we're away..I get scared, too..
Especially if you have pets..One time, I had a funnel shaped cone light on in the front plant room..My dog got in there when we went to the store. Thank God we were only gone 20 mins..he knocked it down, the bulb landed on the carpet and by the time we got home the carpet was smoldering. Another 10 mins and the house would have caught fire.
But I keep my humidifer running 24/7..otherwise it takes too long to humidify the whole house..I also keep one upstairs but we only keep that running when we're in bed. It's only a 2 gallon type..

You only h ave to fill it every two days? Is that because u turn it off? I have to fill mine twice a day, that is until the filters soil. Which, w/a pet, and shedding, happens frequently. I wish we never bought this type of humidfer.

Well, good luck..there's all sorts of ways to help w/humidity..Toni

hi guys i have a seedless lime tree and it produced 5 limes this yr but i went out of town and while i was gone the temp droped down to 30 degrees and i brought it in the house and the leaves curled up and started falling off i would say maybe 80% fell off but the stems still look green i was just wondering if you think it will make it or not and what i could do to save it. i also have a lemon tree and a calamondin tree and they are fine it was just the lime that is having a hard time. thank you for your time

Tllans, sounds like you have a Key or Mexican lime which are really cold-sensitve plants.
Do you know which type you have?
30 degrees is pretty cold. Are the leaves that dropped frost bitten? Did they first turn grey?
All you can do now is be patient. If it was my tree, I'd place in a cool, but not freezing area. Sunlight will help, too. Be very careful on watering..let soil dry between waterings.
Have you ever heard of Superthrive? It's a hormone/50Vitamin that does wonders for stressed plants..If you have any, or can get your hands on a bottle, I'd apply.
As long as the stems are green the tree is still alive. Be patient, and keep an eye out..Good luck, Toni

toni it's a bearss seedless lime thats what the lable says. the leaves stayed green they just dried and curled up. i put my citrus plants down stairs in front of the sliding glass doors so the can still get some sun. i havent heard of superthrive but i have a fertilizer i was told to get when i bought my citrus trees it say 12-4-8 it also say specially formulated for where i live. thank you for your help and i will keep you posted

Tllans, I'm thinking your poor tree got frostbite. I wouldn't feritlize right now since your tree is stressed. Give it time to adjust in the area you've placed it in. Hopefully, if roots didn't freeze, you should soon see new growth..Yes, keep us posted, and good luck..Toni

Toni,
Since you helped convince me to get a humidifier, I thought that you might like to know that my citrus have taken off. Both have tons of blooms forming, and the lime is currently blooming. The lime also has put out massive flush of growth since I got the humidifier going. The lemon just started too. BOTH have completly stopped droping their leaves since I have started to run the humidifier from 8am to 10.30pm every day. Thanks so much for your help. And I'm sure my citrus thank you too.
AriesF5

Aries, I'm sooo happy hearing your cirus are doing better..I bet your house smells fantastic w/all the flowers. What type of lemon and lime do you have?
Most of the time it's a simple thing like adding humidity. Do you have pics of your plants? Toni

Toni,
I have a pink eureka lemon and a bearrs lime. They are my first, and I got them back in july on sale for $10. They were close to 4.5' or 5' when I got them. Since the new flush of growth, the lime is about 6.5' tall. The lemon still has a bit of growing to do, but she is on her way too. I'll posts pics asap. I have a few college papers that are bearing down on me at the moment, but no doubt I'll take a break from it all. Then I'll post the pics of new growth. Thanks again for all of your help. AriesF5

Aries, your school papers are of the utmost importance right now so get those prepared then worry about pics..(S)
Good luck on your papers, btw.

Wow, I can't believe how much growth your new trees sent out and at 10.00!! That's incredible. You're doing something right..anyway, good luck on both..Toni

oki. Now that I'm done with my history paper on 1930s socio/political Puerto Rico and religion, I can show you the pics.

Here are the babies the day I brought them in. They looked so full. I think they dropped the leaves b/c I didn't transition them. I just moved them in 1 day. Well, you live and you learn, right?
Lime
{{gwi:644880}}
lemon
{{gwi:644881}}

Here they are after they dropped the leaves.... They look so ghastly!
Lime
{{gwi:644883}}
Lemon
{{gwi:644886}}

Here is the new growth...
The lime has tons of it. She put out at ton of growth.
{{gwi:644889}}
Here is the lemon. She is just starting to catch up to the lime. She has lots of tiny new branchse forming. Hopefully she will fill in too. The web you see is from a spider that I have not been able to catch yet. It is not due to mites, I'm on top of pest issues... ^_^
{{gwi:644891}}
{{gwi:644895}}

And here is my little seedlings... I started them back in Aug.; and for a while, I thought that they wouldn't come up. I'm going to pot them into diffrent containers soon. The soil they have is regular garden soil, so I need to do that ASAP!
{{gwi:644898}}

So this is how they have fared so far. I think I'm doing ok... i just wish they would have held more leaves. Again, thanks for all of your help Toni.
AriesF5

wow aries they are nice looking. well i see new growth starting on my lime tree and my lemon is starting to get flowers on it. some of my small oranges i think got frostbit too they fell off but alot of the bigger ones are still on. but i wanted to tell you i think the lime tree will be ok but i will still keep you posted

Aries, wow, what an improvement..!!! So, you went from full trees to leaf loss to full trees again..
Tell me, is there a window nearby, too? The light surely will help, but natural lighting is also needed.
I see those little citrus babies peaking out..what types did you sow? How old are they? They're so cute. Will you graft when they mature? Toni

Toni,
sorry the reply took so long. Yes there is a window nearby, but it's western light... doesn't supply much. That is why I've got the CFLs on the trees (2 @ 2700K and 1 @ 6500k for each tree. I think the lumen output is close to 6,000 also... when added up. That way they get the wavelengths they need to grow and fruit. Then, they are outside when it is warm.)
The seedlings were started at the begining of August (this year), but they didn't sprout until early September. They are from a grocerie store lemon (Eureka, I believe). Hopefully they survive long enough for me to graft them. That would be nice, but I was also thinking about just letting them grow and fruit from seed. It will be a long labor of love to see them grow long enough to fruit. Maybe by then, my children can enjoy them ^_^

hi toni i wanted to let you know that my lime tree is getting alot of new growth and i see a few flower buds starting. thanks for your help with it

Help again!!!
Seems like my Pink lemon is dieing. The wood on the trunk and limbs has dessicated... just turned brown and dried out. I water regularly (but let dry inbetween), keep the above mentioned lights, himidiifer, and such on. I did give the plants cirus fert. sticks in Nov, and there is LOTS of salt buildup on the bottom of the Lime's drip pan, and none on the lemon's drip pan. Did the lemon keep the salt within the pot?? Is the soil mix slowly killing my baby? Do I need to flush both plants?? I'm not sure what to do, but I don't want to watch the lemon slowly die from a very painful death. Help!!!
Erin