First if all, you should have been fertilizing this tree. It has gone 90 days without any nutrition, and its a young tree. Is this tree in a container or in the ground? What USDA zone is this tree in? For a brand new tree even if in the ground, should be watered every 3 or so days at his time of year. A new tree does not have a very large root system to search out water.

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Hello thank you Silica. (I don't know how to reply directly to your comment on this website.) Regarding the fertilizer, I have given it the liquid plant food once a month ago. Other than that, I haven't given it any other fertilizer. The tree is in a container. I am growing this tree in Toronto, Ontario outside on my balcony. The plant gets sun for the whole day. Do you think the brown branches and the shrivelled leaves are from lack of water?

Here are some pictures. I didnt know how to post them with the thread.

Norwoodn, I'll begin adding fertilizer every time I water. I think you might be right about a lack of nutrients and minerals and I'll try adding some fertilizer next time. In my fertilizer it says that it contains 10% nitrogen, 0.1% iron, 15% phosphoric acid, and other minerals ad nutrients. I have heard that lemon's require a lot of nitrogen so maybe this is the problem that my plant has. Thank you for your response!

with all the fertilizer you want to be sure that your soil drains very well.

or there will be excessive salt buildup from the fertilizer, which will damage the roots and leaves.

also flush with water periodically to prevent salt accumulation. Fertilizer is salt.

roots need Oxygen to work properly, so soil drainage is equally important to fertilizer.

To further with norwoodin's thoughts, I would not fertilizer with every watering, unless the amount of fertilizer applied was 100 PPM or less.

Citrus are prone to root rot, especially if the soil mix retains too much water. Watering on a once a week schedule may cause over watering or under watering, depending on the soil mix, environmental conditions, pot size and other factors.

What soil mix do you use?

I suggest you pull it out of the pot and examine the roots for root rot: bad smelly roots, roots that break easily and/or are mushy.

My fertilizer is 10-15-10 as 10% is Nitrogen. I did the calculation for 100 PPM of nitrogen and I got 1 gram per litre. When I water, I don't pour a whole litre but more like 500 ml. So that would mean I need 0.5 g of fertilizer per each watering. Is this correct? Regarding the soil, I am not sure what it is. I bought the plant with it already being potted. I am debating whether or not to repot it because I want to see its roots for root rot and move it to a bigger pot. Is it a good time to repot? When I water, I make sure not to overfill or see any water on top. I water just enough to wet the soil. The pot itself has drainage holes on the bottom with a tray and the water can easily drain out.

Your Feed ratio should be 5-1-3 I use 24-8-16 Miracle gro with 20-0-10 grass feed to get close to the 5-1-3 ratio. Since you have few leaves you might want to hold off on feed till you get growth. you probably have plenty in your pot already.

Peters Professional High Efficiency Fertilizer, 25-5-15

Steve

Yeah the soil does have the little green pellets. Is it safe for me to repot the plant at this time? I heard you had to do it throughout spring. I want to see if there is any root rot.

10-15-10 is NOT a good fertilizer for citrus. Like Poncirusguy wrote, find a fertilizer with a nutrient ratio higher in nitrogen and potassium and low in phosphorous plus containing trace minerals. Again as poncirusguy wrote, a fertilizer with a 5-1-3 nutrient ratio is prefect. When you water water thoroughly , until water drains out the bottom container holes. Use a fast draining medium.

All these people gave you excellent advice. I hope you understand what they are saying and apply it as soon as you can. Good luck))

Hey guys,

I have further researched what may be wrong with my lemon tree. The last leaves that fell actually persisted a while. They were withering but still hung on to the branch for a day. My branches are dying back. I think these symptoms indicate that the tree has experienced some frost damage. Right now, it's in a really sunny spot and the weather is hot in Toronto. It is 27 degrees Celsius in Toronto and will persist about 20 degrees Celsius for the rest of the week. I also understand that I will need to prune the tree from the dead branches. I understand about the fertilizer and the Nitrogen to Phosphorus to Pottasium ratio.

This is my final question. Is it safe to prune the tree now when the weather is warm or should I wait a bit longer?

Anyways, thank you for your help. I am still learning how to grow and take care of my own plants and wish to become an avid gardener.

Nevermind, I already pruned it.