What to do if your lemon leaves fall off

Lemon takes root well in a pot at home. It is even capable of blooming and bearing fruit in an apartment. Despite the fact that even a novice citrus grower can cope with growing citrus, the plant is demanding in terms of care and growing conditions. If they are violated, it begins to hurt and dies.

One of the most obvious and dangerous symptoms that a plant feels uncomfortable is leaf falling. Citrus fruits are evergreen plants and this phenomenon is not typical for healthy trees. The cause of the problem may lie in a violation rules of care or plant damage by pests. How to identify the cause and save the lemon - read on.

Falling leaves due to care errors

The evergreen lemon is not characterized by massive leaf fall. It is normal for 1-2 leaves to fall off, since the lifespan of one leaf blade is on average 3 years. Thus, the lemon leaves fall off one by one, and new greenery grows in their place.

If the plant begins to fly around en masse, this indicates that it is under severe stress. This is often due to violation of the rules for caring for it. To understand what to do if a lemon’s leaves fall off, it’s worth understanding the reasons for this phenomenon.

Why does a lemon shed its leaves?

1. The room is too hot or too cold. Lemon is not suitable for climates that are too hot or cold. The permissible temperature for citrus plants varies between +18…+27°C. Optimal values ​​are +21…+24°C.
2. Sudden temperature changes. Lemon can't stand this. If you take it out into new conditions without pre-hardening it, it will begin to shed its leaves. Exposure to drafts is no less dangerous.
3. Fluid stagnation. With excessive watering, lack of drainage and drainage holes, liquid stagnation occurs. The soil changes its composition and no longer receives enough oxygen. The roots of the plant begin to rot and fall off. This is reflected in the crown.
4. Overdrying of the soil. If there is insufficient watering, the earthen ball cracks. The roots do not receive moisture and nutrients. They begin to dry out and break off. This leads to the death of the plant.
5. Using ice water for irrigation. Citrus fruits are watered only with water at room temperature. When using a liquid whose temperature differs significantly from the soil, the plant experiences stress, which provokes leaf fall.
6. Soil depletion. The lemon produces foliage, flowers and fruits at the same time. Therefore, during the growing season, the plant consumes a large amount of nutrients. If there is a deficiency of any of them, the foliage suffers. First, spots appear on it, then it dries and curls, and then falls off. A similar problem occurs if the lemon has not been replanted for a long time. In old soil, insoluble compounds are formed that deteriorate its composition and prevent the absorption of nutrients.
7. No wintering. Under natural conditions, once a year the lemon goes dormant. At home, it is not always possible to create suitable conditions in winter. In this case, the plant does not have time to “rest” before the growing season and the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off in spring or summer.The problem is especially serious if artificial lighting is not used during the cold season.
8. Lack of lighting. The indoor lemon tree is light-loving. If there is not enough light, the leaves will begin to turn pale and crumble. In summer and spring, natural light is sufficient if the lemon is on a south or southwest windowsill. From the end of October the plant will need additional artificial lighting.
9. Early flowering and fruiting. If the lemon bloomed earlier than 3 years after landings, then all the inflorescences are cut off. Otherwise, all the plant’s energy will be spent on flowering, and it will begin to shed its leaves.
10. Dry air. For lemon, it is important that the humidity in the room is at least 70%. In the warm season, to create optimal conditions, it is enough to spray the tree daily with a spray bottle. During the heating season, the air is so dry that to restore the balance you will have to use a humidifier or containers of water. It is especially dangerous to place the plant near heating devices - under the influence of hot air, the leaves can fall off in a few days.

The dropping of green lemon leaves is often a tree's reaction to stress. A provoking factor is considered to be moving into a room with new conditions (for example, when a plant was brought from a store), replanting with damage to the root system, a sudden change in temperature, watering after a long drought, etc.

Note! Beginning citrus growers often think that indoor lemons can lose their leaves in the fall for natural reasons. This opinion is erroneous, since citrus fruits are evergreen plants that retain leaves all year round.

How to resuscitate

If the leaves begin to dry out and fall off, but there is still greenery on the tree, then first of all, you should reconsider your care and identify possible causes.

Sometimes it is enough to eliminate errors in care. This applies to cases where the citrus tree has not had enough light, fertilizer, or been replanted in a new pot for a long time, or the air is not humid enough.

In case of other problems, the tree will have to be revived:

1. Filling the soil. In this case, the lemon is removed from the soil. The roots are cleared from the soil and inspected. All rotten areas are torn off. The root system is dipped into a light pink solution of potassium permanganate and planted in new disinfected soil, which is moistened with a small amount of root formation stimulator. Temporarily reduce watering to 2-3 times a week. A small amount of liquid is poured under the root, sometimes adding a few drops of Kornevin. The tree is sprayed daily, adding Epin to the water once a week. These conditions are maintained until new leaves or shoots begin to form.
2. Dried soil. You cannot immediately water the lemon with large amounts of water, as this will cause the leaves to drop. They begin to moisten the soil in small portions, pouring in 100 g of water every 2 hours. Next time, water the plant every other day, also in small portions. Next, use the usual scheme. To help the tree recover, it is sprayed twice a day for the first week, adding a little Epin to the morning solution.
3. Stress after a change in conditions, hypothermia, restoration of citrus after a draft. To revive a lemon, it is transplanted into new soil, watered with Kornevin solution and sprayed with Epin.Place a bag on the tree and place it in a well-lit place, but not in direct sunlight. Every day the plant is ventilated for 10-15 minutes and sprayed with a spray bottle. Once a week, add Epin to the water for spraying. Use bottom watering, pouring water into a tray under the pot. After the leaf fall stops and new leaves or shoots begin to form on the plant, the duration of ventilation is gradually increased, and then the greenhouse is completely dismantled.

Advice! Indoor lemon will recover faster if you use artificial lighting.

Diseases and their treatment

The shedding of leaves by a citrus plant is not always associated with violation of care rules and unfavorable indoor conditions. Often the problem occurs due to diseases affecting the lemon. In most cases, it is easy to detect them; it is enough to know the characteristic symptoms.

Most diseases are easily treated at an early stage. If symptoms are detected too late, the plant most often dies.

Gommoz

Hommosis is a fungal disease that affects the branches and trunk of a plant. The proliferation of fungal infections is provoked by excessive air and soil humidity, damage to the bark, deepening of the root collar, and excess nitrogen.

The symptoms of the disease are as follows:

• brown spots form on the branches and trunk;
• the affected areas die and crack;
• gum appears from the damage (a sticky, quickly hardening, golden-colored mass).

With gommosis, sap flow is disrupted, which is why the leaves do not receive enough nutrients. They wither and fall off.

What to do to save lemon from gommosis:

1. All spots on the plant bark are cut off with a sharp, disinfected knife.If there are too many lesions on the branches, they are removed.
2. The cut areas are treated with a three percent solution of copper sulfate. Then the entire plant is sprayed with the product.
3. The cut areas are covered with garden varnish.

Treatment is repeated three times with an interval of 7 days or until the signs of the disease disappear.

Root rot

Root rot is another fungal disease. It affects the roots, so the problem is usually noticed when the lemon begins to shed its leaves.

The cause of the disease is considered to be waterlogging of the soil, watering with cold water, deepening the root collar, and planting in contaminated soil.

To get rid of the disease, the following methods are used:

1. The tree is being dug up. The roots are cleared from the soil.
2. The root system is inspected. Remove all affected parts.
3. The roots are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate. You need to soak it in the solution for at least half an hour.
4. The tree is transplanted into disinfected soil.

For a week after transplanting, avoid watering the lemon at the root. Instead, the crown is sprayed daily. A week later, the lemon is watered with a root formation stimulator.

Tristeza

Tristeza is a viral disease. Its first symptom is loss of foliage. Then the shoots and bark of the plant die.

Weakened lemons become infected with the disease. It is carried by insects and some types of citrus fruits.

Tristeza has no cure. The infected plant dies.

Melseko

Melseko is another incurable disease. Its main symptoms are dropping leaves and turning the cut branches red. Develops with improper care.

Anthracnose

Anthracnose is a disease caused by a fungal infection. It often attacks plants in the home and causes them to drop their leaves.

The list shows its signs:

• leaves turn yellow and fall off;
• the plant sheds inflorescences and buds;
• young shoots die off;
• Red spots appear on the set fruits.

To cure a plant, all affected leaves and shoots are plucked from it. The tree is sprayed with “Fitosporin” or a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. The treatment is carried out at least 3 times.

Pest Control

Pests - another possible reason for the falling off of indoor lemon greens. Knowing the basic rules of treatment, saving citrus will not be difficult.

Insects feeding on plant sap cause leaves to fall off. They deprive plants of moisture and nutrients. Three types of such pests are most often found in homes.

Spider mite

Spider mites are small pests that often attack plants at home if the indoor air is not humid enough.

The presence of spider mites is indicated by curled leaves covered with cobwebs. The pest itself is also easy to detect on the underside of the leaves.

Fight spider mites as follows:

1. The tree sings under the shower with warm water. The soil is covered with a film to prevent chlorinated liquid from being absorbed into it.
2. Lemon is sprayed with soap solution, ash infusion or insecticide. Particular attention is paid to the underside of the leaves.
3. After three days, the plant is washed again in the shower, washing off the remaining soap solution.
4. The procedure is repeated at least 3 times.

Aphid

Aphids feed on plant sap, causing leaves to fall. It infects lemons with entire colonies. Due to the abundance of insects, they are not difficult to spot.

Aphids are located on young shoots and on the underside of leaves. Affected areas wither and die.

How to get rid of aphids:

1. All leaves and shoots on which a large number of insects are found are torn off from the tree. Withered leaves are torn off.
2. Lemon is washed in the shower. The ground is covered with a bag.
3. Each sheet is wiped with a soap solution with the addition of hot pepper or ash. Do the same with young shoots. The solution is poured into the soil.
4. After 5 days, the citrus is wiped with clean water. Then the dreams are sprayed with a soap solution. The procedure is repeated 1 more time.

Shields

The larvae of scale insects (small bugs) attach to the bark or the underside of leaves along the veins. They are covered on top with a durable chitinous layer.

To eliminate them, the following procedures are carried out:

1. If possible, remove areas of the plant with a large number of scale insects.
2. Prepare a mixture of equal parts of kerosene and water. The resulting composition is used to wipe the parts of the plant on which scale insects remain.
3. The tree is hermetically sealed with a bag for 2 hours.
4. After 2 hours, the plant is washed in the shower.
5. If necessary, repeat the procedure.

How to revive and reanimate a lemon if it has dropped its leaves

If all the leaves on the lemon have already fallen off, do not throw it away. First, they inspect the tree and feel the shoots. If there are non-dry, elastic branches with a green layer of bark underneath, then it can still be saved.

How to revive a lemon if it has dropped all its leaves:

1. Lemon is dug out of the ground. The roots are examined. If there are a lot of healthy roots (they should be moist and light at the break), then remove all dry and affected parts and continue working with the plant.
2. Cut off all dry branches. The cut areas are treated with garden varnish.
3. The roots are dipped in Kornevin or another root formation stimulator for 4-6 hours.
4. The lemon is transplanted into new disinfected soil. The soil is moistened with a root formation stimulator. The branches are sprayed with Epin.
5. A bag is placed on the tree. Every day it is sprayed with a growth stimulator. For irrigation, water is poured into a tray.
6. A pot of citrus is placed on a southern windowsill, shading it when the sun is active, or fluorescent lamps are used.
7. The plant is ventilated daily for 10-15 minutes.

When leaves and shoots begin to form, the duration of ventilation is increased. Gradually the greenhouse is being dismantled.

Conclusion

If a lemon drops its leaves, it is worth looking for the cause of this phenomenon, since leaf fall is not typical for evergreen citrus fruits. The reason may lie in violation of the rules of care, disease and pests.

To save a lemon tree, the causes of the problem are first identified and eliminated. Then, if necessary, resuscitation measures are carried out.