North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[hector black <hblack@twlakes.net>]

Sounds kind of strange, Mike.  Our skins are about as thick as regular
lemons on potted plants.   Hector  zone 6 middle TN  Indoors winter, full
sun outside in summer.

----- Original Message -----
From: "miekal and" <dtv@mwt.net>
To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 3:53 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Potted citrus


> Ive had potted citrus look totally dead, even to the fingernail test,
> for 3-4 months & then all of a sudden they come back to life.  If you
> are having disease probs, usually I have problem with brown scale,
> which is hard to control indoors (I dont like spraying dormant oils
> indoors) & in the summer I control it easily by pressure spraying my
> citrus collection (I have about 15 various in 5 gallon buckets) with
> water, it doesnt completely remove the scale but it does get rid of
> most of it.  Less is more in my mind.
>
> Just ate my first meyer's last week, the skin was way too think 5/8".
> Is this common with all meyer's lemons or does it have to do with
> potted culture?
>
> mIEKAL
>
>
> On Thursday, February 6, 2003, at 05:17 PM, kathryn stout wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > My potted Meyer lemon lost all its leaves last winter
> > indoors (MA, Zone 5). I would not say it was due to
> > disease. Both my potted citrus trees (Meyer lemon and
> > Valencia orange) drop a lot of leaves whenever they
> > are moved, especially when I bring them indoors in the
> > fall. Drastic shifts in "climate" (temperature,
> > humidity, light) cause leaves to fall. Last winter I
> > also neglected (didn't water) the trees, to the point
> > they got very dry. (Try watering more and see if that
> > "leaf disease"  doesn't clear up). Potted trees that
> > are potbound are hard to get to take up enough water.
> >
> > Anyway, by April when I usually move the trees
> > outdoors (under protection of an overhanging roof) the
> > lemon had lost all its leaves. I repotted both trees,
> > both very potbound since I had not repotted or
> > root-pruned in several years. I pruned back enough
> > roots to put them back in the same pots with several
> > inches to  spare for fresh soil and compost. I
> > repotted them, watered them thoroughly, and left them
> > under the overhanging roof. By May they were growing
> > new shoots and leaves and were ready to place in the
> > sun. After that they grew back beautifully.
> >
> > Moral: unless the branches are shriveled dry and dead
> > (no green cambium under the bark) assume that they are
> > still alive, and will regrow new leaves if given the
> > chance. Citrus doesn't normally go dormant and drop
> > all its leaves in a favorable climate (e.g. Southern
> > California, where I grew up, surrounded by orange
> > trees). But if you are growing it in a pot, in an
> > unfavorable climate, subject to extreme shifts of
> > temperature, humidity, and light (such as outdoors in
> > October, nights 30-degrees F to indoors with electric
> > heat and dry air) you have to expect some dropping of
> > leaves. (Not usually all of them at once though. It is
> > actually normal for outdoor citrus to drop some leaves
> > too--just not all at once.)
> >
> > (I keep the trees outdoors as much as possible, down
> > to 30-degrees F. Those temperatures are "winter" for a
> > citrus (a So. Calif. winter). I've noticed the trees
> > bloom about two months later after a month with
> > 30-degree nights (in Calif. they bloom in late March).
> > Here my potted citrus bloom twice a year, once indoors
> > (between Dec-Feb) after their October chilling, and
> > once in June (after the April chilling).
> > I'm not sure but I wonder if greenhouse citrus, kept
> > at a constant 60-70 degrees, blooms at all.
> > My trees are so much happier and healthier outdoors,
> > the only reason I bring them in is to keep them from
> > freezing solid. They've survived snow once or twice.
> >
> > I used to think the relatively low indoor light caused
> > leaf dropping. But I've given up trying to rig up
> > growlights, which only stimulate strange-distorted
> > growth that has to be pruned off later. Surprise, they
> > seem fine on just window light (I have a lot of
> > windows).  But they do need a lot of watering. Also if
> > they get chilled sometimes they curl or stiffen up
> > their leaves--turn the heat up and they look fine.
> > (Rhododendrons do it why not citrus).
> >
> > Yes both my potted citrus bear fruit. I seem to recall
> > that the lemon did not fruit this  year--though the
> > orange did. It may take a season for a citrus tree to
> > recover to the point of fruiting again after losing
> > all its leaves--but with root pruning and fresh soil
> > and compost and lots of water, the recovery is faster.
> > In fact both trees are growing stronger
> > than before. The lemon is blooming this winter
> > indoors.
> > I expect it will fruit next year.
> >
> > Kathryn Stout
> > Zone 5
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Richard O'Barr <aatopgunaa@mindspring.com> wrote:
> >> Has anyone had the experience with a potted lemon
> >> losing its leaves in the late Fall from leaf disease
> >> and then producing a crop in the spring? My Lisbon
> >> lost its leaves but the Meyer did not.
> >>                Topgun
> >>                Zone 7
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
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