Why do indoor lemon leaves fall off? Lemon has dropped its leaves: what to do

Causes of leaf loss

Indoor lemons lose green leaves for the following reasons:

• insufficient lighting;
• excessive soil moisture in the pot;
• lack of sufficient nutrients in the soil;
• dry indoor air;
• excess of applied fertilizers;
• improper transplantation into a new container;
• insufficient amount of water;
• low ambient temperature;
• sudden change in growing location;
• temperature changes.

Lemons are conditionally deciduous plants. Loss of foliage in winter is not a natural process, but a symptom of the influence on the plant external factors. The presence of one problem causes slight loss of leaves and their yellowing. If lemon leaves fall off, it means there are several negative factors.

Effect of light

One of the most common causes of leaf loss in indoor trees is improper lighting. The main time of lack of light for lemon is winter. During this period, the fruit requires more ultraviolet radiation, because the air in winter is cold and less humid.

Rules for lighting lemon in winter:

• Location. The plant feels better on a windowsill on the south or east side. It is forbidden to grow indoor lemon near heating devices: They will cause drying out and loss of foliage.
• Use of mirrors. To prevent the leaves from drying out, they are placed around the plant. So they reflect Sun rays. As a result, the lemon receives a sufficient amount of ultraviolet radiation.
• Lighting. If it is not possible to provide indoor lemons with natural lighting, artificial lighting is used. To do this, the plant is illuminated with special ultraviolet lamps or daylight fixtures.

If a lemon has dropped its leaves warm times years, change his place. Choose a window sill that receives direct sunlight for at least 3 hours a day. In summer, the plant is taken out onto the terrace or balcony.

Watering

Homemade lemon drops leaves due to overwatering. This causes water to stagnate in the soil and waterlogging occurs. The soil becomes insufficiently loose. Roots don't get required quantity oxygen. This causes stress in the plant, which is determined by the fact that the leaves have fallen.

As a result of waterlogging, the roots and capillaries of a houseplant die. Root nutrition deteriorates, which affects the condition of the tree crown. New shoots are not formed, and there are not enough useful elements to maintain old ones. The leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off. Waterlogging also causes fungal diseases of tree roots and branches.

Lack of moisture

A small amount of moisture added also negatively affects the lemon. Drying and curling of leaves is a symptom of drying out of the soil layer. Dead leaves of domestic citrus fruits gradually fall off, and there is not enough moisture for the development of new ones.

If there is a lack of moisture in the roots, their ends die off. The circulation of juices in the trunk and branches deteriorates, the plant enters the stage of stress and dies. Flowers and ovaries do not appear.

To restore the condition of the lemon. if the leaves are dry, restore watering. You cannot suddenly introduce moisture into dried soil: this will lead to an excess of water in the root system and, as a result, disease.

The lemon tree is being revived gradually. Before watering, spray the foliage so that the crown is saturated with moisture. Then gradually add moisture to the soil. Its quantity is increased with each new application until restoration normal condition lemon.

Climate

Young citrus requires constant spraying of the crown under normal conditions. The suitable temperature for the development of indoor plants is 18°C-20°C. In the hot season, plants are sprayed 2-3 times a week.

In winter, the number of procedures depends on the power of the heating devices. If the air is warm and the plant dries out and sheds its leaves, spraying is carried out daily. At cool temperatures, 2-3 procedures are performed per week.

If moisture is not added on time and the air is dry, the leaves will fly off. To revive it, the plant is regularly treated. Also, indoor lemon is placed away from heating devices or covered with a cloth during the day. The lack of moisture will be stopped by purchasing an air humidifier.

Cold air

In winter, lemon feels normal at a temperature of 12°C-14°C. In colder air, the plant sheds its leaves. Growing lemons on an unglazed balcony or street in winter is prohibited.

To restore the plant, it should not be suddenly brought into heat. Lemon does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature, and therefore will lose more more leaves from the crown.

The room temperature is increased gradually. During care, carefully monitor the condition of the leaves and shoots. If they look better, the temperature is increased slightly. The tree is also protected from drafts.

Soil depletion

The soil for growing lemons must contain:

• zinc;
• potassium;
• cobalt;
• iron.

The plant also requires regular application of phosphates and natural fertilizers from humus, deciduous soil, peat and ash. They are needed for the active growth of shoots, maintenance of the crown, and the appearance of ovaries and fruits.

Signs of a lack of nutrients in the soil:

• the appearance of yellowness on the leaves;
• crown wilting;
• change in leaf shape;
• drying of shoots.

If the soil is not saturated with minerals in time, the tree will lose its foliage and the fruits will stop developing. To prevent the bush from dropping its leaves, fertilizing begins regularly.

In summer, apply twice a month mineral fertilizers and organic matter. In cold seasons, fertilizing is applied once a month. If the tree does not bloom, phosphorus is not added.

Pests and diseases

Lemons also lose their leaves when infested with pests:

• Shchitovka. It feeds on tree sap, which causes a lack of it in the foliage. The symptom of the disease is small holes on the leaves.
• Aphids. It feeds on substances from leaves, which causes them to wither and dry out. Identified by the presence of small black dots.
• Spider mite. Appears during the flowering period. Identified by the web on the branches.

The actions of pests cause the plant to dry out and its leaves to fall off. Used for fighting chemicals, and traditional methods. A decoction of garlic and onion peels help well.

To get rid of aphids, wipe the green leaves before they fall off. A soap solution can also be used for spraying against pests.

To combat fallen leaves, preventive maintenance is carried out so that it does not drop the lemon. Also indoor plant requires crown formation and regular transplantation into a large container.

Citrus fruits are exotic plants. It needs a warm climate, plenty of sunlight and water. There is a special art to growing lemons at home. Caring for it requires patience. This plant is considered a deciduous shrub, but if the lemon has dropped its leaves, it means there were mistakes in care. It is important to react quickly so that the indoor lemon does not die.

If homemade lemon drops leaves, urgent action must be taken

Causes of leaf falling

Incompatibility between subtropical plant and climate is the main cause of problems associated with citrus cultivation.

Why does a lemon shed its leaves?

1. Insufficient lighting. Owners of homemade lemons most often encounter this problem in winter: the plant does not have enough natural light due to the short daylight hours, the leaves of the lemon fall off.
2. Flooding. Too much water leads to acidification of the soil, it does not allow air to pass through. The roots of the bush do not breathe, the green mass is not provided with all the nutrients, so the leaves fall off.
3. Small watering. If there is little water, the earth dries, and with it root system.
4. Skinny soil. If you plant young shoots in soil with a low mineral content, then the tree will have nowhere to get the strength to grow. Over time, the soil becomes depleted, so it must be fertilized.
5. Cold. The tree should not be overcooled. The optimal temperature for wintering the plant is above 10 °C. Take care of temperature conditions, otherwise this will be the reason why the lemon's greens fall off.
6. Dry indoor air.

The last reason most often appears with the beginning heating season: Batteries dry out the air. This is reminiscent of a salt desert climate, which is very harmful to any plant except cacti. If lemon leaves turn green due to dry air, you should:

1. Place the tree away from the radiator and heater.
2. Adjust the temperature in the room (cover all radiators with fabric).
3. Use a humidifier, trays of water, and spray the plant.

To accurately determine why lemon leaves fall, you need to know the characteristics of this plant and the rules for caring for it.

Mineral deficiency

During the period of flowering and fruit set, this citrus most actively consumes organic substances and minerals from the soil. The plant is limited to a pot, so care should be taken to provide additional feeding. To ensure that the citrus blooms profusely and its parts do not 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 out at the edges. The greenery will lose its elasticity and fall off, the bush will shed its flowers. It is better to fertilize every month.

Errors in replanting

The plant should not be disturbed during the period of flowering and crop development. Choose a tub larger than the previous one so that the root system can develop freely. This process will become stressful in any case. Most likely, its leaves will be directed downwards. You need to diligently care for the tree after replanting, then you will definitely not see the leaves dropping.

Mistakes made when transplanting lemons can lead to problems with leaves

Pests

If you follow all the rules of care, and the lemon still drops all its leaves, the likely cause is diseases and pests. The plant is susceptible to attacks by spider mites, aphids, scale insects and mealybugs.

The first sign of the spread of pests is that the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out, and the lemon sheds its green mass. Ticks spread most quickly in hot weather. If cobwebs are detected 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 greenery, treat soap solution.

There are a lot of drugs that effectively exterminate pests without harming the plant.

Lemon treatment

There are several ways to revive a plant. What to do if the greenery begins to crumble:

1. In autumn and winter, increase the light on the lemon. Place the pot near the south window and use artificial lighting(fluorescent lamps) with reflectors.
2. To avoid problems with oxidation or drying out of the soil, the soil in the tub should always be slightly moist. You should not suddenly water a tree after a drought, otherwise problems may increase.

Growing citrus fruits in apartments requires a competent approach and maintenance on the part of flower growers, otherwise you may not see the fruits, instead you will see how the leaves of the lemon fall off and what to do in this case also remains a mystery. Keeping a lemon tree in an apartment is not that difficult, but sometimes the tree looks unsightly and gets sick, so you must take action and treat the indoor plant.

1. Some growing features indoor lemon
2. Why did the lemon drop its leaves - causes and solutions to problems
3. Common diseases

Some features of growing indoor lemon

For the most part, citrus crops are subtropical, where favorable conditions They grow in winter and summer. Growing lemon Tree in an apartment it is worth remembering that in summer you need a lot of diffused sunlight and moisture, in autumn - irrigation is reduced, while simultaneously reducing the doses of fertilizing and fertilizers.

In winter it is not always possible to create optimal conditions, that’s why the lemon’s green leaf blades fall off, in some cases the tree sheds all its leaves, and it happens that the leaves fall off in the summer. Not everything is so sad, the situation can be improved, but in order not to wait for all the leaves of the lemon to fall off, you need to find out the reasons why this happens:

• insufficient lighting;
• excessive and frequent watering;
• lack of moisture;
• poor and poor soil for nutrients;
• dry and hot air in the apartment;

Why did the lemon drop its leaves - causes and solutions to problems

The lack of light in the room where the lemon tree grows leads to the natural processes of the plant to reduce the green part. Citrus crops are susceptible to this phenomenon, as are some related plants. As a rule, at home, lemon leaf fall begins due to inappropriate or uncomfortable growing conditions. In autumn and winter, you should increase the lighting time, for example, using lamps for seedlings or placing a pot of lemon near a south-facing window.
Excessive moisture leads to wetness and acidification of the soil, which acquires a dense structure, oxygen practically does not circulate in it and access to the roots is sharply reduced, and various decay processes begin. Small roots begin to gradually die off, biological processes are disrupted, as a result of which the lemon turns yellow and sheds its leaves.

Insufficient moisture leads to the soil drying out, the roots die, the beneficial microelements are not in the green part, so you can often see a picture of a lemon dropping its leaves in the summer. The tree comes into stress and begins to actively get rid of leaves in order to somehow retain the available moisture. Lack of watering is especially dangerous for young plants than for lemons five years old and older, which have a much greater moisture reserve. Moreover, after a long drought abundant watering will put the lemon in a state of stress, so dropping leaves in this case is the norm.

To prevent the foliage from turning yellow and then dropping, you need to know how to properly care for lemons at home. Avoid sudden temperature changes, do not dry out the soil, water as needed. If for some reason the earthen lump in a pot with lemon is dry, water it gradually, without flooding, in small doses at intervals of several hours. After a day, gradually increase the volume of water to normal until all the soil is saturated.

Lemon is actively consumed during the growing season nutrients, therefore, soil depletion is unacceptable. Feed the tree in a timely manner using special complexes for citrus fruits. You should not resort only to fertilizers of organic origin, prepared with your own hands; citrus needs a balanced composition of elements. If, of course, you are confident in the quality and usefulness of the prepared homemade fertilizer and the lemon blooms, smells and bears fruit, then feel free to feed it. A lack of microelements (boron, zinc, molybdenum, etc.) leads to lemon leaves turning red, yellow, brown, drying out at the edges and crumbling.
Dry and hot air at home is not suitable for cultivating lemon. Insufficient humidity, heat only contribute to the shedding of leaves. Move the lemon away from your apartment radiators in winter or cover the radiator with a thick cloth and regularly spray the green mass with a spray bottle. Don't forget about the shower, which loves lemon so much.

Concerning low temperatures, you should not keep lemon in a room where the temperature drops below + 10 °C. otherwise, you may see leaf fall. This difficulty arises for owners of winter greenhouses, where it is not always possible to regulate the air temperature. citrus tree You shouldn’t leave it in drafts, so you don’t have to wonder why the lemon tree turns yellow...

Common diseases

Leaves may fall off if the lemon is damaged by fungal infections or pests. The most common source of the problem can be aphids and spider mites, as well as a disease called gommosis, which causes yellowing and shedding of the green mass of the tree.

Use Fitoverm, wipe with soapy water, or buy Aktara, which is practically odorless and will perfectly rid the plant not only of aphids, but also of scale insects. Dilute 1 gram of the drug in a liter of water and spray it on the lemon.