Meyer lemon tree dying?

6 years ago

My new tree is developing brown tips on the leaves that only seem to get worse. Potted in bagged miracle grow soil for citrus and succulents. I also mixed in some orchid potting mix and perlite to assist in draining. I mist the tree regularly and have it setting raised in a dish on a germinating pad to keep the roots warm, my ceramic tile gets pretty cold.

I live in St. Louis Mo and have to bring my trees inside during the winter and I keep having issues year after year. any help keeping them alive during the winter would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

6 years ago

my first thought was also ambient humidity .... how is the house heated ... if forced air.. do you have a humidifier on the furnace??? ... and i highly doubt spritzing it accomplishes mush of anything ... though how long the leaves stay moist.. might indicate ambient house humidity ....

second though ... how close should those bulbs be from the leaves ... back in my day.. standard fluorescents were supposed to be 3 to 6 inches from the plant... i am not current on these new fangled bulbs ... anyone??

welcome to the forums ... there is also a houseplant forum.. where you might find peeps with the same plant ... as well as a container forum where you might find peeps \who grow trees in pots ...

bottom line.. they are trees.. and they belong outdoors ... and ... well.. its not easy ... kepp on trying ...

i also wonder if you really need the heat mat ... it might be complicating watering issues ...

also ... leaf damage like that.. is not uncommon.. in the cold north.. when a tree is outdoors all summer.. and brought in for winter ... just about every cultural variable is messed up ... especially if you repotted when you brought it in ... and repotting alone.. could cause this damage ... an interruption to the roots ability to move water for a given space of time ...

anyway .... its vernal seasonal cycle is winter ... [if thats a term.. lol] .. is winter ... it really shouldnt do much until the spring cycle begins ... and it will shed the damaged leaves.. and put out new ones ... and im not sure your lights are going to change that cycle ....

bottom line.. try not to kill it with too much love.. and get it out into full bright shade outdoors.. as soon as the weather allows ...

ken

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Comments (10)

User
6 years ago
125dF seems pretty hot. Is that the heat mat indicator?
dbarron
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
My solution is to keep them cool, bright, and on the dry side during winter (ie encouraging dormancy type reactions). Then outside for as much time as I can allow when temps are moderate or high.
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Alex
Original Author
6 years ago
it's a kitchen cooking thermometer, 125 is when it alarms. the soil temp is the number above that, 79f.
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Still pretty warm imo.

I agree with dbarron, winter, assuming you're in the northern hemisphere, is a 'rest period' for most plants, even evergreens.

eta: yes Missouri is in the NH. :-)
nel5397
6 years ago
What kind of light bulb are you using? It looks like the leaves are getting burned by the light.
Alex
Original Author
6 years ago
I have two Phillip's going, had a red and blue LED grow light too. When I was reading the Phillip's boxes they don't actually say full spectrum or anything really... so I switched the red and blue LED for a full spectrum bulb just the other day.

The leaves arent getting physically burned by the heat from the lights. Using and infrared thermometer they get up to about 78 or 79. The lights are on a timer for 14 hrs a day, there isn't much sunlight in the room unfortunately.
hairmetal4ever
6 years ago
Could be dry air.
Sara Malone Zone 9b
6 years ago
Citrus are native to parts of the world with humid summers. It is not goinng to be happy inside a house. Yours is doing about as well as it can.
Alex
Original Author
6 years ago
We've got a furnace and no humidifier. I keep some water in the dish and mist it to try and help, the plant is raised so it doesnt sit in the water.

Without the germination pad the soil temp was getting down to 55ish degrees on the cold days but the top was still warm. I had talked to someone about roots going dormant and not being able to feed the leaves, I dont know how true that actually is.

I did repot the tree out of the black container from the nursery,but this was already happening then. The tree looked perfect when it arrived, this hadn't start yet.

looks like I'll be getting a humidifier for now. thanks everybody.