Problem with potted Meyer Lemon from seed

8 years ago

I've been growing two Meyer lemon trees from seed for about the past year. One has been more successful than the other, growing a bunch of leaves. However, recently a couple of the leaves have started to turn yellow and curl downward like you can see here on the lower left:

Another leaf has also started to curl and appears like something else might be wrong with it too, with a somewhat brown tinge near the tip.

I'm worried there may be a pest, because I noticed a lot of tiny white larvae on the soil when I watered (but also thought they may just be springtails from some other posts I've read). You can see some of them collected in a little pocket of pooled water when I last watered. It's hard to see them clearly, but they were moving around in the water.

The other reason I was worried about a potential pest is that the other "tree," which hasn't done quite as well, has only two leaves that both have browning and what appears to be notches in the leaves.

I keep the two trees fairly close together on a south-facing windowsill, which is kept fairly warm overall (though I've noticed the side of the pot facing outside does get a little colder because of the window, so I try to rotate them). I do live in Massachusetts, so daylight this time of year isn't super long or powerful.

Any thoughts? A pest? Or just not watering properly (too much?)? Not enough light?

Featured Answer

Vladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

It may be the soil mix as Kelley says, but I have germinated two Meyer seedlings and both died so it may be that they are weak to begin with.

I f you want to try the 5:1:1 mix, here is the recipe:

· 5 parts pine bark mulch (remove ½” pieces through 1/2 inch screen)

(Some people use Repti Bark instead of mulch. They do not screen it.) Be sure to soak the bark overnight.

· 1 part sphagnum peat

· 1 part perlite (coarse, if you can get it)

· 1 Tb garden lime /gal 5-1-1 mix (measure the 5-1-1 mix)

· Osmocote plus (follow manufacturer’s instructions). This is optional.

· Moisten well and wait at 2 days before using, if possible.

When repotting into a different kind of soil mix, remove all of the old soil mix by dunking the root ball in and out of water. You may have to use a garden hose to gently force the old soil off. Or, use something like a screwdriver: stick it into the root ball and pull down to loosen the soil. Dunk and repeat.

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Comments (11)

johnmerr
8 years ago

whatever you are growing, it is not a Meyer lemon; you cannot grow Meyer lemons from seed. If you just want to grow a pretty green plant, best of luck to you; if you want a Meyer lemon, go to your local nursery and buy one
Nick O
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Haha very interesting - I appreciate the info. This would make my leaf problems pretty irrelevant. But I’m a little confused - these plants are growing from two seeds I took from inside a lemon from a Meyer lemon tree. What type of plant is it then? Will it just never bear fruit?
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johnmerr
8 years ago
No way to know what you may have.... I would not invest my time and energy into something I did not know what i had
Vladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I think what John means is that Meyer lemons do no breed true. In other words, the trees that result from Meyer seeds will not be like the parent trees because the parent trees were hybrids.
Nick O thanked Vladimir (Zone 5b Massachusetts)
Kelley_GA8a
8 years ago
I’m not very experienced, but it looks like your soil mix does not drain very well. I would invest in the ingredients for a 5-1-1 mix (search the threads for the exact ingredients as I don’t want to tell you wrong). I would check both root systems for rot - once you have the new soil, clean the roots by dunking them in water (you can also look up how to fight root rot) and repot. Good luck!
Nick O thanked Kelley_GA8a
Kelley_GA8a
8 years ago
Perfect! Thanks Vladimir!

Regarding the larvae, I wonder if they are fungus gnats, but the adult gnats are typically visible when you disturb the plants/pots. Someone recently reported Mosquito Dunks as being very safe and effective: the tablets were ground up and sprinkled over the soil - watering regularly will distribute the substance. Fungus gnats are usually a symptom of soil that remains wet. I’m fighting them myself, but haven’t tried the dunks yet.
Nick O thanked Kelley_GA8a
eSilviu
8 years ago
No, the larvae are just springtails. Harmless but also a sign that soil is moist for most of the time.
Nick O thanked eSilviu
Silica
8 years ago
The trees you are growing won't be a true Meyer lemon, as Meyer lemon seed does not produce true to the mother tree, however, it will be some type of citrus. Probably a sour lemonish type of fruit. Looking at the first picture, I don't really see anything much wrong with the tree. The lower yellow leaf is just a old leaf that has lived out its live cycle, and is turning yellow because the tree is removing the nitrogen from it to distribute to the rest of the tree, before discarding the leaf. However, a 1 year old seedling tree in the first picture should be 3 or 4 times taller than it presently is. Young seedlings require a higher level of nitrogen to promote good strong growth. The tree in the second photo is a tree I would just throw away, as it has gotten off to a terrible start, and is not worth your time and effort.
Nick O thanked Silica
poncirusguy6b452xx
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Seed grown Meyer lemon trees grow much faster than seed grown Meiwa kumquat trees. All my seed grown meiwa kumquat trees would have died if I did not give them extra light. These Meiwa trees are 53 weeks old as of photograph.
2 seed grown Meiwa kumquat trees above.

Examples of lighting setups below.

Fukushu kumquat and New Zealand lemond both grafted on US897 rootstock under its light setup. Fukushu is les than 5 months old since grafting and New zealand is less than 1 year old since grafting.
Light 16 hours a day = growth and life.

Steve
Nick O thanked poncirusguy6b452xx
Nick O
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks everyone for all the responses! This is very helpful!