Lemon leaves fall: why and what to do, how to revive the plant

Subtropical citrus plants are successfully grown at home today. Lemon is one of the popular plants, but it needs proper care in order to bloom and bear fruit. If the leaves of a lemon turn yellow and fall off, then this is a signal of problems. In order for the plant not to die, it is important to know about the main reasons for such a deviation and how to correct the situation.

Causes of falling ovaries and leaves

There can be quite a few reasons for the appearance of a sign of yellowing and leaf fall in a lemon, but to solve the problem, it is important to correctly identify it.If the plant throws off the green mass, then the rules of care were probably violated, it is in it that you need to look for the cause of the abnormal behavior in the first place. This situation may also be due to the negative influence of environmental factors or pests.

Improper care

Any plant needs to follow the rules of agricultural cultivation. Care is to ensure the correct planting and growing place, sufficient lighting and watering, timely feeding.

Any mistake in at least one of the above points is fraught with problems with the he alth of the lemon.

Overfilling and underfilling

Excessive watering leads to acidification of the soil, resulting in its compaction, and the access of oxygen is significantly hampered. As a result of a lack of oxygen supply to the roots, the shoots die off, which leads to malnutrition of the lemon.Experiencing a shortage, the tree begins to get rid of the green mass and discard the foliage.

With insufficient soil moisture, the earth dries out, as a result of which the root shoots also die. The plant begins to experience problems with sap flow and nutritional adequacy, resulting in a water saving program that results in leaf shedding.

An adult plant is able to live in a state of stress with insufficient moisture for a month, but eventually dies without correcting the situation.

The plant also reacts negatively to sudden changes in irrigation conditions. If, after a long drought, the tree receives sharply excessive watering, then the drop of greenery becomes a reaction to stress. With excessive dryness of the soil due to the absence of a long time of watering, the frequency of moistening should be restored gradually.To do this, the soil is watered with small portions of water with a time interval of 2 hours. After 2, resume normal watering intervals.

Irrigation with bad water

A common mistake novice growers make is watering the plant with tap water. As a result of such actions, liming of the soil occurs, s alts accumulate in the soil, and lemons begin to wither. After saturation with s alts, a white s alt crust appears on the surface of the earth, which makes it difficult for oxygen to reach the root system. At the same time, it closes the drainage hole, blocking the possibility of removing excess moisture. Rain and melt water is considered the best for irrigation.

At home, warm boiled water is used for irrigation. The use of cold liquid is fraught with hypothermia of the roots. If possible, you can make water supplies from a lake or spring, since in nature it is soft and does not contain a lot of s alts.

Poor quality or depleted soil

Lemon intensively consumes nutrients from the soil, therefore, over time, causes soil depletion.

Cold or too hot air temperature

Excessively high temperature in summer adversely affects the growth of lemon. The optimal temperature for plant growth is +17 C, for fruit ripening +21 ^{C. Higher values, combined with low air humidity, cause sheets to fall off. Lemon has a negative attitude to differences, for it it is important that the temperature of the soil and air is approximately the same. Dropping of foliage is often observed in the autumn, when the tree is brought home from the open air.}

Lack or excess of fertilizer

With a lack of nutrients, lemon leaves begin to turn yellow, changes are observed in the vein area. A small formation of flowers and falling leaves indicate that the complex of preparations may have been applied too much.

Wrong place for the plant

When there is insufficient light, the lemon slows down in growth and can wither, so sunny south sides are chosen for its placement. At the same time, in the summer it is necessary to shade the bush, avoiding direct rays on it. The tree does not like permutations, so you should think about its location in advance. Every 15 days it is recommended to turn it a little so that the crown is formed evenly on all sides.

Lack or excess of light

The reason for the fall of the leaves may be poor lighting. When there is insufficient natural light, the plant will automatically start a leaf shedding program. In winter, it is recommended to organize additional lighting with a daylight lamp for 5-6 hours.

Proximity of heaters

The cause of leaf fall in winter is often too high a temperature in the room and excessive dryness of the air.To avoid overheating during the heating season, the bush should not be placed near radiators. If it is impossible to move the pot, reduce the temperature of the battery or cover it with a thick blanket. Regular spraying will reduce the risk of leaf drop.

Diseases

Leaf drop may be due to infection of the plant with a fungus or viral disease. The most common is gomosis, scab, leaf mosaic, cancer, tristeza. The last two types of treatment are not amenable. The most common problem occurs with weakened trees that have been improperly cared for.

Pests

Yellowing of the leaves and their further fall may be the result of infection with parasites, most often this is due to aphids or spider mites. With the defeat of the latter, the plant is covered with a whitish bloom. To combat the pest, a lemon is arranged with a water procedure with washing parts of the plant with warm water and spraying with a targeted chemical preparation, for example, Fitoverm.

When infested with aphids, pests concentrate on the underside of the leaves. In this case, they are removed mechanically and special preparations are used, for example, Tanrek.

Symptoms

You can understand the presence of problems with a lemon by the appearance of the bush. It begins to wither, the leaves lose their glossy sheen and begin to dry. The nature of the behavior of the tree can determine the source of the problem

Blackening of leaf tips

The appearance of a dark area from the edge of the leaf plate is most often associated with low humidity and high room temperature. This situation is caused by excessive watering and the use of hard water. The quality of liquid penetration into the soil should be controlled, often the top layer is covered with a hard crust and does not allow it to penetrate inside.

Spots on the leaves

If the leaves turn yellow and dry from the end, then with a high degree of probability the plant has caught an infection or pests overcome it. By the nature of the spots, you can determine the type of problem:

when the scale insects invade, the leaves become covered with yellow spots, which gradually grow;
when struck by a tick, numerous small dots form on the leaf plates;
with fungal diseases, yellow-brown formations form, eventually turning into scabs.

Problems most often occur when the soil has been poorly worked before planting. For the fight, drugs of special action against infections or pests are used.

Leaf Twisting

Twisting leaves can occur due to watering with cold water.In the summer, this can be a reaction to hot weather and lack of humidity. Often an anomaly is observed with mineral starvation. To do this, it is important to understand what element is missing. This can be determined by the appearance of twisted leaves:

calcium - leaves lose color;
magnesium - blanching is observed between the veins, leaf plates become variegated;
boron - the leaves look withered, while watering does not change the situation.

Twisting problem is also common in plants affected by spider mites and aphids.

Drying of twigs and green leaves

Drying is often caused by problems with the root system. This may be due to excessive watering and the beginning of rotting of the shoots. This situation may also indicate infection with a fungal disease or be a consequence of transplanting into a large pot when the soil was not selected correctly.To eliminate the risk of infection of the plant with a fungus, the plant should be treated with a fungicide.

Dropping color and fruits

If a lemon wilts and drops its fruits, then in this way it can react to a change of scenery. Regardless of the quality of care, when the plant is moved to a new place, shedding will most likely occur. The reasons for this situation may also be the inability of the tree to withstand fruits due to age, soil depletion, the plant's need for more lighting or watering.

How to reanimate a tree

Resuscitation of a lemon tree is not an easy task. The main problem of how to revive a plant is to correctly determine the causes of what happened. If the lemon has dried up due to insufficient watering, then attempts are made to restore the root system. There is a certain algorithm of actions that will help you understand what to do in such a situation.

To begin with, the plant is removed from the pot, and the roots are soaked for 5 hours in the Heteroauxin solution.

Pre-required to clean them from the ground and remove damaged shoots. Next, the plant is planted in a pot, leaving the root neck 3 cm above the ground. The crown is closed with a plastic bag, further providing periodic ventilation. The soil is moistened with a nutrient solution. After 7 days, the tree is sprayed with Zircon and the soil is watered abundantly

We saturate citrus with micro and macro elements

You can revive a plant only when using high-quality soil. After transplantation within 2 months, the tree is not recommended to be fed with fertilizers. To prevent soil depletion during the year, the plant is fed with mineral and organic means. The following rules are recommended:

apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers in spring;
complex top dressings are carried out at regular intervals in summer;
in autumn they remove nitrogen and organic matter, increase the rate of potash fertilizers.

When applying the drug, follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

Properly care for the plant

It is important for the plant to ensure timely watering and periodically loosen the soil. In winter, it is good to provide additional lighting. Fertilizing the plant with mineral and organic fertilizers is carried out on a regular basis, focusing on the season.

Choose the best place for a lemon

Choose a sunny south side for placement. It is desirable that there are no heating systems nearby. The place must be protected from drafts and have minimal traffic.

We establish irrigation and regulate watering

Lemon needs moderate watering. This means that after the soil in the pot dries up, the soil is not moistened immediately, but only after 3 days. Air humidification and irrigation have a positive effect on plant growth.

Fighting infections and insects

To prevent infection, high-quality soil is used and once a year preventive washing of the shoots with soapy water is carried out. Targeted drugs are used to combat lemon diseases.

What to do with citrus after purchase so that it does not fly around

After purchase, the plant is released from the packaging fixing the roots. For an annual plant, take a container with a volume of 0.5-1 l, for a two-year-old plant, you can take 2 l. A drainage layer is laid out at the bottom of the pot, the soil is covered and the roots of the tree are deepened, leaving the neck at the level of the soil.The plant is abundantly moistened and a layer of humus is formed on top of the soil. To reduce stress, the lemon crown is covered with polyethylene or a glass cap. After a couple of days, spraying with "Epin" or "Zircon" is carried out.

How to prepare the plant for transfer from the street to the window

Indoor lemon must be moved into the house before the onset of frost. The temperature drop will become stressful for the plant, so it is moved in several stages. To begin with, the tree is transferred to a cooler room, for example, to the veranda. After a couple of days, he is moved to a room, the temperature of which is also recommended to be reduced to street levels.