Author Topic: Meyer Lemon leaf drop  (Read 1379 times)

baccarat0809

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Meyer Lemon leaf drop
« on: March 04, 2018, 04:40:59 PM »
So, my Meyer Lemon lost all but 1 of its leaves in the lovely cold snap we had a few weeks ago but it hasn't started flushing any new growth yet.

I pruned the tree to shape it a bit, and the branches are still a nice green color, but I'm getting worried as my Key Lime that dropped 100% of its leaves has flushed and filled in its canopy wonderfully.

Citradia

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Re: Meyer Lemon leaf drop
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2018, 05:38:10 PM »
Give it time. Different varieties will wake up at different times.

laidbackdood

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Re: Meyer Lemon leaf drop
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2018, 12:37:57 PM »
Meyer are notorious for dropping their leaves....I find they are fussy with moisture and fert  levels.......they must be allowed to dry somewhat between waterings......watch for saggy leaves in hot weather......Ive grown both in pots and ground and at times iver had more fruit than leaves.....but watering should be relative to the amount of leaves transpiring on the tree........no point in soaking a tree which only has 5 leaves on it. ....make sure you give it a pre spring feed.....the moment you see buds appear.....with a high nitrogen(urea) slow release fert or soluble fert if you want a quick response.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2018, 12:39:43 PM by laidbackdood »

baccarat0809

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Re: Meyer Lemon leaf drop
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2018, 10:55:14 PM »
Well the tree is finally showing signs of coming back to life as some leaves have started to push through - just the very, very beginnings - so the leaf drop lasted 2 months.

I did a general fertilizer application of the HD citrus/avocado mix about 2 weeks ago after I cleared out all the weeds in my tree mulch but will add another round of specialized fert when I get back from my business trip this weekend.

I had high hopes of the tree coming back as the branches remained a nice vibrant green but when I compared that tree to the key lime I have, man, that key lime bounced back sooooo much quicker than the meyer lemon did I was getting worried.

In the long run the only citrus I lost to the cold was a "orange-skinned lime".  I can't remember what the name is off-hand but it was very, very sour, so I wasn't a big fan on taste, but it produced a ton of fruit for such a small tree, so ultimately I'm not worried about replacing that one.

Getting back to them Meyer Lemon, with all the down time the tree had from the leaf drop, if I end up getting any bloom or fruit set, should I pick it off this year to let the tree concentrate on getting healthier and stronger, or is it one of those cases that the tree will only hold the fruit that its strong enough to hold like most citrus?

Thanks all.

dc