Help! My Mexican (key) lime tree dropped about 70% of its leaves. I transported it indoors about a month ago (I am in the DC area) and it actually flowered last week and now suddenly looks sad. I gave it a big watering just today. Planta tells me that once a month watering is enough but other sources say every week. It is in a well draining plastic pot in front of a southeast facing window. Any advice?
It winter or fall. Because this plant is deciduous and that could just be it
0 likes
I’m thinking Ezzeldin ^ is onto something. It probably needs a season of dormancy before it leafs out again.
0 likes
Welcome to the citrus club! Key Lime is not deciduous and is the most temperamental of all the citrus. This is a common problem for those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to live in zone 9 or higher. Every fall we bring them inside and they throw a fit and drop tons of leaves! The solution is more light. Mine have done this every October for as long as I’ve had them. As soon as a grow light gets on them, the leaf drop stops within a week. A half dose of osmocote wouldn’t hurt too. It looks like it needs some nitrogen and iron. That’s another thing, they’re big consumers of on iron and nitrogen.
0 likes Thank you!! I’m getting the osmocote and the grow light will be here around Christmas. Almost all the leaves are gone 😅 so I suppose I’ll just have to be patient and keep it in its sunny spot with TLC. As long as this doesn’t mean it’s totally dead I can keep up the hope it’ll come back!
0 likes If it’s is getting some light by the door, it shouldn’t die. On the bright side, this is a good time for mild pruning to get the shape you want. And within a week of the osmocote going in, you’ll seed flower buds. They truly are one of the most temperamental plants there is. From forums I’ve found that they are such efficient trees that they essentially self prune to correspond with the amount of light they’re getting.
0 likes