Author Topic: Meyer lemon tree-yellowing leaves  (Read 925 times)

skippitydodah

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Meyer lemon tree-yellowing leaves
« on: December 26, 2020, 12:35:16 PM »
Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum. I hope this is the right place to post this.

I have a potted Meyer Lemon tree that is one year old. I live in the state of Illinois in the U.S. I had the tree outdoors all summer and moved it inside about 1-1/2 months ago as it is winter here. The tree is planted in espoma organic potting soil with a fair amount of sand mixed in. I have good drainage. I have been watering the tree approximately once every week and half. I use a moisture meter and only water it when the top 4" of soil read 3 to 4 on the meter. The tree did drop about half of it's leaves over the last month but it did the same thing last year so I wasn't too concerned. I did re-pot the tree about 2 months ago as it had grown quite a bit over the summer. Back in September the tree had flowers and two lemons which never did turn yellow so I removed them after I moved the tree inside.

Right now the tree has flowers coming in. I have been using Jacks Citrus Feed for the last year with good results. Now in the winter I am using it more lightly than i did in the summertime.

My concern is yellow leaves. I am attaching photos of the leaves. I tested the PH and it was 6.5-7.0. Any suggestions as to my problem? My thanks to you for any help.








Millet

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Re: Meyer lemon tree-yellowing leaves
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2020, 06:08:48 PM »
skippity, there is nothing to worry about.  The yellowish leaves are just old leaves that have outlived their lives.  They are turning yellow because the tree is removing nutrients from the leaves to reuse in other sections of the tree, nothing is wasted, then the leaves will be discarded.  A citrus leaf has a life span of approximately 18 months. When a leaf can no longer fulfil all that is required of it, it is quickly discarded. There is no welfare plan for old citrus leaves.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2020, 06:14:59 PM by Millet »

skippitydodah

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Re: Meyer lemon tree-yellowing leaves
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2020, 08:35:37 PM »
skippity, there is nothing to worry about.  The yellowish leaves are just old leaves that have outlived their lives.  They are turning yellow because the tree is removing nutrients from the leaves to reuse in other sections of the tree, nothing is wasted, then the leaves will be discarded.  A citrus leaf has a life span of approximately 18 months. When a leaf can no longer fulfil all that is required of it, it is quickly discarded. There is no welfare plan for old citrus leaves.

Hi Millet. Thank you for your response. I am a newbie when it comes to growing a lemon tree. I'm glad to hear that it isn't a problem. On we go... :)

Millet

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Re: Meyer lemon tree-yellowing leaves
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2020, 01:01:35 AM »
Skippity,  welcome to the forum.  Hope to see you around here for long time.

Olivier

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Re: Meyer lemon tree-yellowing leaves
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2021, 07:24:49 AM »
It seems like my yuzu tree is currently removing old leaves, same as what was posted in the original post in this thread. The older leaves are yellowing while the new growth is still green and shiny.

I just wanted to confirm with the more experienced citrus grower here just to make sure I'm not ignoring a problem on my tree. Thank you