Lemon and Lime Tree Leaf Drop After Moving Them Inside the House

Newly planted citrus. If a good soil mix or compost was mixed with the soil at planting time it might be good for a couple of years. But eventually the tree will grow better if it is growing with a woodchip mulch on the soil surface. I think the wire mesh is for protection from rabbits.

Q. Last year we wanted a couple of citrus trees, so I bought a lemon and lime, both dwarf trees. I put them in large pots and wheeled them into the house as the weather turned cold. They didn’t get any extra light other than light from the windows. Maybe that was a mistake. Over the last couple of months one of them lost all its leaves. Should I have given them extra light?

A. Leaf drop can be caused by a lot of different things including inconsistent watering and going from cold temperatures to warm temperatures, not just a lack of light. A better place to put them would have been the garage where it’s cold even though there is less light. These trees need to be outside as much as possible for their best health.

When there is a slight freeze they will drop leaves. When the temperature is lower than this or lasts for a long time then small limbs will die.

            Move containers with fruit trees into non-freezing temperatures just before freezing temperatures occur and move them back outside as quickly as possible after the threat of freezing temperatures are over. At low temperatures fruit trees need less light. Inside the house the trees will need more light because it is warm.

            The threshold for freezing damage to begin with true lemons and limes is at 32° F or just slightly under it. If there is wind, freezing damage is more extensive. The garage environment keeps temperatures warmer and keeps them out of the wind.

            At temperatures just above freezing their need for light, water and fertilizer is quite small. As air temperatures get warmer, their need for light fertilizer and water increases. As air temperatures become colder, plants require less and less light, water and fertilizer. This is true for all plants including seedlings.

 Inside the garage the temperatures will be cool to cold but usually more than freezing. If you need to you can always put a space heater inside the garage to keep it from freezing. But remember, warm temperatures speed up all the plant processes.       If you put these trees inside the garage then water them only when they need water. This is easy to judge because the containers are lighter and so they are easier to lift or push around. You can use a soil moisture meter stuck to about four inches deep also. Don’t fertilize.

            Inside house temperatures are too warm for “outdoor plants”. They dropped their leaves, but they will most likely put on new leaves once they are moved outside and get some warmth