Lemon tree temptation!

[starloc]

They only need a low percent of full sun to live as they are under canopy plants naturally but the more sun the better,

at this time of year if i have them in the UK (in the house) I place them with direct sun onto the plant pot and the tree up higher so it gets only diffused light

here in Bulgaria I am now putting them outside in the sun every day as it is almost 20C in the sun but then putting them in the house all night, they lived from September to a week ago in a room with direct sun on the lower parts of the trees (trunk and pots) and diffused light on the tops, temperature was very low maybe -15C for a few days but mainly -5 to 5C, trees near the window got frost damage on leaves but not branches, the middle of the room trees were fine, no strong light, no water (watered 29th September) , no heat apart from sun on the pots

Plastic pots are much better for citrus, moisture evaporates through the terrcotta ones and cools the roots, the non terracotta ones are so thick that the roots dont warm from the air

As Skeggijon says put the plastic one in another pot to make it look better, stand the plant it on something inside, something that lets the water drain out such as another small plantpot and leave an air gap all around it so it has decent air flow and never stands in water, you will loose some warming effect on the pot though

best thing to fit to any citrus in the winter is a small heater mat, pet bed heater or similar under the pot to warm the roots to about 20C to 30C , if you do you will have no leaf drop in winter

If you repot it at this time of year it will probably die, they need to be in active root growth to repot them,

Dont panic if a few leaves deop, people panic and water them.....they can usually go for months without water. at this time of year a few leaves falling off is usual, and if they have the petiole on most of them then it is normal as it is dropping older leaves getting ready to grow, no petiole on the leaf it is unhappy

[SkyChild]

20 to 30 degrees seems high! But then my house is always ROASTING and I've sadly boiled a good few plants so a lemon tree is possibly the way to go for me!
*mental note to go to Aldi today*

[starloc]

The roots do like to be warm and the plants dont mind it but cooler is better for the leaves, maximum root activity is about 27C , remember if on a heater mat the bottom is hotter than the top,

if in the house with no heater mine tend to have roots about 18C (ok but not rapid growth) but if watered that would be about 8C (10c lower) that is too cold for the roots to be happy especially if strong light hits them so watering with warmer water and an hour in the morning and at night per day standing on an electric radiator makes them remember they are alive

[SkyChild]

Went to Aldi and bought one that look robust and a nice shape, with one lemon on already (still a bit green)

Currently sitting in my kitchen.

Hubby somewhat confused as a lemon tree wasn't on my plan for the garden nor the kitchen XD

Think I just about got away with it by distracting him with the fact that it was half the price of the Dobbies one...

[starloc]

People often wonder how a lemon will stay on a tree, they can take a year to grow and turn yellow ( cold helps them to turn yellow) and I have left them on the tree more than a year after they turned yellow and they were still fine to use, not quite as good after a year of being ripe on the tree but still far better than a shop bought one

[SkyChild]

That's good to know, starloc I'm hoping I'll have a couple more lemons by the Summertime to make home-made lemonade.

Do they produce more fruit if you put them outside in a sheltered sunny spot?

If I feed it tomato feed/comfrey mixture will it be ok or does it need a specific feed? The label said citrus fertiliser. We have soft tap water, but I read somewhere that rainwater is best for them - will it make much of a difference?

Thanks for all the advice so far guys!

[starloc]

Tomato feed is bad, it used to be recomended but people had a hard time keeping plants healthy , better to stick to a citrus fertiliser and many of them are rubbish! , unlike many plants citrus need a massive amount of nutrients and more importantly micronutrients ( missed out of many feeds ) , chempak is good, citrus center is good, global orange groves is good
It is very ddifficult to usse things like comfrey, use it as an extra to boost things maybe but best to use a real blended citrus fertiliser as a good one controls the pH as well that is important

this is a good one and only one type to buy mail order

CITRUS FERTILIZER

Outside they will do best of all, but only oncee there is no chance of any frost at all , Late May/start of June but once outside they will be much happier than in the house, wind is not a problem nor is direct sun , in a very rainy year I tend to cover the top of the pots with a plastic bag round the trunk to stop rain in the pot continuously ( even though rain water does not cause root rot as much due to the peroxide content

Water.....I often use tap water in the UK , hard water I think as the kettle gets full of lime , the problem with tap water is the chlorine so fill a bucket and let it stand overnight at least to let some evaporate, I then tend to chuck a boiled kettle of water in to make it 20-25C, add the fertiliser and then submerge the plant pot in it until bubbles stop ( never over 10 minutes ), then lift it out and let it drain out making sure holes on the bottom of the pot are not covered by standing the pot on its base

Rainwater is better as it contains oxygen in the form of peeroxide that stops root rot, I use well water here in bulgaria and its great as well but does need some hot added as with any water, I also buy bottles of mineral water sometimes in the summer as 11L works out about 50p I use the bottles as mini greenhouses at this time of year over plants in the garden

A good extra for the plat would be a handfull of slow release fertiliser as well as the citrus feed, lasts a few months and keeps nutrients topped up if its too wet to re water with the usual fertiliser