Young leaves fall off a lemon, what to do. Causes of falling leaves on a room lemon
Lemon belongs to the subtropical culture. This citrus loves warmth, sun and moisture. However, during the cold season, the lemon tree requires less watering and nutrients. such an exotic plant as a lemon, often face various problems. One of them is associated with leaf fall.
Causes of leaf fall in indoor lemon
There are many factors that cause this disease:
- Lack of light and moisture or excessive watering.
- Leaves fall off due to nutrient deficiencies. An urgent transplant of the plant into fresh soil is required.
- Too high or low temperature in the house.
- The plant sheds leaves when the temperature drops or from drafts.
- The development of fungi and bacteria on the leaves. This can happen with excessive watering and spraying the leaves during the cold season.
- The appearance of tubercles on the leaves along the veins. This indicates an infection of the plant with a scale insect (false shield). These sucking pests suck the juice from the leaves, after which they fall off.
- Leaf damage by spider mites. These pests also feed on plant sap. Often the leaves are simultaneously affected by fungi.
- Scab is characterized by the appearance of small tubercles on the leaves. This leads to their deformation, destruction and subsidence.
- Bacterial cancer of the plant is characterized by the appearance of small watery spots on the underside of the leaves. In the epidermis of the leaf, malignant tumors resembling a sponge grow. This often occurs with excessive watering and spraying.
- Read the article "" and learn how to properly care for a tree so as not to bring it to problems.
Ways to fight and preventive measures
In the cold season, due to a decrease in natural light, the lemon tree may undergo excessive leaf fall. Therefore, in autumn and winter, the plant should be placed closer to the light, or special lamps with LEDs and a reflector should be used for illumination.
Excessive soil moisture causes rotting of the substrate, inhibits the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the root, which also causes yellowing, disease and leaf fall.
Detrimental to lemon and lack of moisture. Dry soil slows down the flow of sap in the plant and leads to the death of the root system. Leaves lose turgor, dry brown spots appear on them and soon fall off. No less harmful to the lemon and dry air. Often this causes folding and yellowing of the leaves.
Excessive dryness of the soil requires certain measures to be taken when watering a lemon. It is impossible to moisten the soil too abundantly after a long drought. This has an adverse effect on the development and growth of the plant. The lemon tree does not like "stressful" situations and in these cases sheds leaves. Therefore, you should not bring the soil to excessive dryness, and then fill it with water. It is necessary to constantly maintain the soil in a moderately moist state. If the earth is still dry, moistening is carried out with small portions of water for two to three days, until the entire soil is completely saturated.
Lemon leaves also fall off due to a lack of minerals in the soil. They should be added periodically. Among the organic fertilizers needed by the plant, the three most important can be distinguished: nitrogen, potash and phosphate. Also, the leaves will begin to fall off due to a deficiency in the soil and trace elements such as selenium, zinc, molybdenum, iron, manganese and others. Fertilizers must be applied to the soil at least once every 5 months. And microelements feed the plant once a month.
Preventive measures
Negatively affects lemon leaves heat in the house and dry air in a room heated in winter. To avoid falling leaves, you need to follow these recommendations of flower growers:
- A flowerpot with a lemon tree should not be placed near hot radiators.
- Spray lemon leaves on both sides with water.
- It is useful to periodically arrange a warm shower for the plant.
AT winter time, if conditions permit, the lemon tree can be kept in a room with a lower temperature than in the room. However, do not forget that at + 10 ° C or less, the plant may begin to fall leaves.
If the cause is pests
The spider mite causes significant damage to citrus trees. He settles at the base of the leaves and feeds on their juice. You can find it on the characteristic web. If measures are not taken against this pest, the leaves on the tree will soon turn yellow, curl and fall off. To combat the tick, special means are used. One of them is the drug Fitoverm. You can use sulfarid paste. Flower growers recommend dousing the crown of small lemon trees hot water.
The aphids that have settled on the lemon should be fought using the Tanrek remedy. This small insect quickly occupies all parts of the tree. The pest feeds on juice, which leads to deformation, drying and falling of the leaves. For prevention, it is recommended to wash the crown of the tree with hot water. Often in the fight against aphids, a solution of green tea is used. Effectively destroys this insect and garlic infusion. To do this, the garlic is crushed and poured with water. Three days later, the lemon tree is sprayed with this infusion.
Sometimes it is very difficult to determine the disease of a plant. In this case, it is recommended to use a complex preparation. There are a lot of them on the market today. Here is not the whole list of effective fungicides: Effector 70WG, Score 250 EC, Quadris, Antrokol and Fundazol.
To prevent the occurrence of pests and the development of diseases, the lemon should be examined daily, the crown should be washed with soapy water once a month, and a warm shower should be given to the tree once a week.
In this case, some mistakes were obviously made on your part. It is necessary to analyze the current situation, take a critical look at the growing conditions and quickly correct the mistakes. Consider three options that involve a sharp loss of foliage:
- Lemon was recently bought in a store (greenhouse).
- The plant has been growing at home for a long time, but suddenly "leaf fall" began.
- The plant "walked" all summer in the fresh air (in the country house, on the balcony), and in the fall, having got back into the apartment, it flew around.
So let's analyze each case.
Citrus flew around after purchase
The most likely cause is the stress of a plant that has fallen into a difficult apartment environment for it after a comfortable life in a greenhouse. Citrus fruits are very susceptible to sudden changes in light and temperature and, in particular, to a decrease in air humidity. Remember that these plants are native to the tropics of India and China, so their reaction to dry air and a dark location is understandable.
How to fix the situation?
- It is believed that from a newly acquired plant, before putting it on the windowsill, you need to remove almost all the fruits, leaving a minimum of small ovaries, otherwise the lemon will give all its strength to the fruit and wither.
- First of all, you need to provide the lemon with a very well-lit place: in winter - a window sill facing south or east, in summer - a western or northern window (or close to the southern window sill, but not directly on it). In addition, in winter, it is imperative to provide additional illumination with a fluorescent lamp during the day for at least 12 hours. This measure gives very nice results the leaves stop falling off.
- Next, you need to set a comfortable thermal mode. In winter, the lemon should be at rest. To do this, the temperature of its content should not exceed 18 ° C (for other citrus fruits, even less - from 10 to 15 ° C). In summer, lemon grows well at temperatures up to + 25 ° C.
- After purchase, it is desirable to treat the plant with an anti-stress preparation. As such, use the drug Epin - Extra or HB-101.
- Provide lemon with optimal watering as the top layer dries, using settled water at room temperature. He will also like regular spraying from a fine spray gun.
- Do not forget about regular top dressing 2 times a month with special fertilizers for citrus fruits.
Citrus suddenly flew around after growing successfully in an apartment for a long time
- Check if the growing conditions have changed dramatically (rearranged from window to window, aired on a frosty day, poured with cold water).
- Pay attention to the presence of pests on the leaves. Spider mites, mealybugs, scale insects - all these insects (although the tick does not belong to insects, it is arachnid) can quickly lead to the death of even a large specimen of a plant. Treat the lemon with Fitoverm (or Actellik) by mixing it with some kind of stimulant (Zircon, for example). Carry out treatments three times with an interval of a week, in parallel, spray all adjacent plants and soil with an insecticide. Wash pots, window sills and glass thoroughly.
- If the plant has not been transplanted for a long time, transplant into a slightly larger pot and add fresh soil.
Citrus flew around after being transferred from the street to the window
- After bringing the lemon home, immediately dip the pot in warm (40 ° C) water so that the roots begin to absorb moisture. Otherwise, the leaves in a warm room begin to evaporate intensively, and the roots in the cold ground do not provide them with moisture. As a result of imbalance - leaf fall.
- Be sure to treat the lemon with insecticides against pests that can get on the plant from the street and multiply quickly.
Let's say you notice that the leaves of a room lemon curl and then fall off. The reason may be a banal lack of sunlight. Remember: we are dealing with a subtropical plant. This category of home greens cannot be kept in such conditions for too long. Lemon leaves begin to actively curl, wither and fall off. That is why a place is determined for this shrub in the southern part of the house or apartment.
Of course, if we are talking about a young plant, it is undesirable to immediately place it in a stressful environment. The tree should get used to bright sunbeams gradually. Shade it at first, or even put it in a darkened area of \u200b\u200bthe dwelling. Then for a few hours a day, simply remove the shelter.
Why do lemon leaves turn yellow, many flower growers are interested. If it is the lack of lighting that stimulates such a process, it is not difficult to correct the situation. Just choose the best place for a yellowish indoor shrub. Keep in mind one more thing: a homemade lemon does not like to be disturbed often. Experts do not recommend rearranging a pot with a plant from place to place, otherwise a dried shrub can throw off leaf plates.
Over and under watering
Why lemon leaves fall - lovers often face this question citrus plants. The whole thing can be in the features of watering. It would seem that this tree requires excessive moisture, and in part the way it is. Hence the desire of the grower to fill the flower with water. But be careful: if you overdo it with the irrigation of the substrate, it simply clogs, the plant stops receiving the necessary substances.
In addition, the very quality of the soil will noticeably deteriorate, it begins to turn sour. Sometimes a tree sheds leaves if it dries out, and then you began to actively water it. Such stressful situation and produces a similar effect. In turn, insufficient watering is no less dangerous for the flower. In the absence of moisture, it simply loses leaves and dries.
Soil depletion
When asked why a lemon sheds leaves, an experienced grower can easily answer. If you have little experience in growing citrus plants, all this is fixable. A frequent cause of discarded foliage is precisely the meager supply of nutrients in the ground. For example, you do not apply fertilizer to the soil for a long time. After some time, the lemon can shed all the leaves.
Understand: the lemon grows in artificially created conditions, and only you can feed it to influence the intensity of growth and fruit formation. Otherwise, don't be surprised if the lemon's leaves and flowers turn yellow and fall off. To avoid such an outcome, you need to feed the soil with nitrogen and organic mixtures in the spring.
In the summer, the plant forms fruits, and the vegetative mass grows quite actively. The lemon tree needs more nitrogen, phosphorus, mineral and organic fertilizers (they can be alternated with each other).
In autumn, the shrub is gradually preparing for hibernation. It is not worth overloading it with nutrients, it is enough to carry out potassium top dressing.
Dryness and heat at home
A lemon tree at home can bear fruit for years. But there are other cases as well. For example, if almost all the leaves of a lemon fall, what should be done? Lemon care at home also involves temperature control. Sometimes flower growers forget about it.
Despite the fact that the plant is considered subtropical, excessively high temperatures at home will not bring anything good: the leaves curl or fall off the lemon. AT winter period It is not always possible to control the temperature in the room. The tree should be moved away from heat sources - batteries or radiators. Useful for lemon during this period will be a shower, so regularly try to spray the plant.
cold room
Lemon leaves curl and fall green when the room temperature is too low. Temperatures above +10 degrees are even more or less acceptable, but when the temperature falls below this mark, you are unlikely to be able to protect your plants from leaf fall. Yellowing of the leaves at home sometimes also occurs due to the cold in the apartment, so try to keep the lemon tree away from drafts. Otherwise, the lemon will shed its leaves, and it will be quite difficult to decide what to do.
How to save a lemon
You need to properly care for indoor lemons. Position the plant pot in the southern part of the house and provide additional lighting if necessary. For example, turn on the lamps for a short time in the evening. When watering, do not flood the citrus tree, but try not to let the earthy coma dry out.
Pay special attention to regular feeding.
Nutrient mixes need to be alternated. If you wish, buy special complex compositions at the flower shop. In autumn and winter, fertilization is stopped. Another important point is pest control. In order not to have to remove the fallen leaves later and save the shrub that has dropped all the green mass, carefully inspect it from time to time. It is also desirable to treat the tree with special insecticidal substances as an effective prevention.
Citrus fruits are exotic plants. He needs a warm climate, plenty of sunlight and water. A special art is to grow a lemon at home. Caring for it requires patience. This plant is considered a deciduous shrub, but if the lemon shed its leaves, then there were errors in the care. It is important to respond quickly so that the indoor lemon does not die.
If a homemade lemon sheds leaves, urgent action must be taken.
Causes of falling leaves
The incompatibility of the subtropical plant and the climate is the main cause of the problems associated with the cultivation of citrus fruits.
Why Lemon Sheds Leaves:
- Insufficient lighting. The owners of homemade lemons most often face this problem in winter: the plant lacks natural light due to the short daylight hours, so the leaves fall off the lemon.
- Flooding. Too much water leads to acidification of the soil, it does not allow air to pass through. The roots of the shrub do not breathe, the green mass is not provided with all the nutrients, so the leaves crumble.
- Small watering. If there is little water, the earth dries up, and with it root system.
- Skinny soil. If you plant young shoots in soil with a low content of minerals, then the tree will have nowhere to take strength for growth. Over time, the soil is depleted, so it must be fertilized.
- Cold. Wood cannot be overcooled. Optimum temperature for wintering plants - above 10 ° C. Take care of temperature regime, otherwise this will be the reason why the greens fall off the lemon.
- Dry indoor air.
The last reason most often appears with the onset heating season: The batteries are drying out the air. It resembles the climate of a salt desert, which is very harmful for any plant except cacti. If a lemon falls green due to dry air, you should:
- Put the tree away from the battery and heater.
- Adjust the temperature in the room (hang all radiators with a cloth).
- Use a humidifier, water trays, spray the plant.
To determine exactly why lemon leaves fall, you need to know the characteristics of this plant and the rules for caring for it.
mineral deficiency
During flowering and fruit set, this citrus most actively consumes organic matter and minerals from the soil. The plant is limited to a pot, so additional feeding should be taken care of. In order for the citrus to bloom profusely, and its parts not to fall off, phosphates, nitrogen and potassium salts, zinc, iron, cobalt and other minerals are used.
If the plant does not have enough food, the leaves will change color, droop and dry around the edges. The greens will lose their elasticity and fall off, the shrub will throw off the flowers. Top dressing is best done every month.
Mistakes in transfer
Do not disturb the plant during flowering and crop development. Choose a tub larger than the previous one so that the root system can develop freely. This process will be stressful anyway. Most likely, its leaves will be directed downwards. You need to diligently care for the tree after transplanting, then you definitely will not see that the leaves are falling.
Lemon Transplant Mistakes Can Lead to Leaf Problems
Pests
If you follow all the rules of care, and the lemon still dropped all the leaves, the probable cause is diseases and pests. The plant is attacked spider mites, aphids, scale insects and mealybugs.
The first signs of the spread of pests - the leaves begin to turn yellow, dry out, the lemon throws off the green mass. The tick spreads most quickly in the heat. If a web is found at the base of the leaf, the bush should be treated with an insecticide. If you find aphids, you should do the following: cut off the affected greens, treat with soapy water.
There are many drugs that effectively exterminate pests without harming the plant.
Lemon treatment
There are several ways to revive a plant. What to do if the greens began to crumble:
- In autumn and winter, increase the illumination of the lemon. Place the pot near a south window and use artificial lighting (fluorescent lights) with reflectors.
- To avoid problems with soil oxidation or drying out, the soil in the tub should always be slightly damp. You can not sharply water the tree after a drought, otherwise there may be more problems.
Growing citrus fruits in city apartments is no longer surprising - they not only serve as ornamental plants, but also delight their owners with crops. Perhaps the most popular exotic can be called a lemon. Like any representative of the plant world, this tree sometimes feels unwell - let's figure out why the lemon leaves fall and what to do in this case.
Lemon leaves fall - the reason for leaving
If a homemade lemon sheds leaves, this indicates that there are factors that provoke discomfort. Immediately you need to think about what exactly has changed in the environment and caring for the plant. There are a number of standard reasons why a lemon sheds leaves:
- Drafts and sudden changes in temperature from normal to low or high. It is optimal to keep the air in the winter months at 17°C, and in the summer at 22°C.
- Low air humidity, for example, in hot summers or during the heating season, can also serve as a provocateur of the disease.
- Over-watering can be detrimental to lemons.
- Lemon also reacts negatively to excess fertilizer.
- Another reason why a lemon sheds leaves lies in sudden changes. For a lemon, the usual rearrangement from a bright place to a dark one, from a balcony to a room, etc. can become stressful. Leaves may fall due to transplantation, which is why lemons are initially planted in spacious flowerpots designed for plant growth.
Lemon leaves fall - the reason is pests
In most of the above cases, the lemon sheds its leaves quickly, preventing them from losing their appearance, if the lemon leaves gradually turn yellow and fall off damaged, then the matter is most likely in diseases or. With excessive spraying in the cold season, the lemon becomes a breeding ground for fungi and bacteria - as a result of which the leaves begin to rot. Pests are evidenced by tubercles and growths like warts, spots of a different nature, ruptures of leaf tissues. Over time, diseased leaves fall off.
Lemon sheds leaves - what to do?
It is clear what to do if a lemon sheds leaves as a result of an illness - according to characteristics Diagnose and treat with pest control sprays or fungicides. Another question is what to do if a lemon dropped its leaves for no apparent reason. It is too early to say that in this case the plant died. Lemon may well recover if it is not tested for strength with fertilizers, active watering and other experiments. To begin with, eliminate drafts and extremes in temperature, water the plant no more than once a week, just to keep the soil from drying out, do not rush with fertilizers - they are only good for a healthy plant. If rearrangements have been made, return the plant to its original place and be patient.