How can I save my lemon trees?

Submitted by Anonymous on 1 November 2011 - 12:47pm

We have two lemon trees which I’ve moved into the sitting room from the patio to protect them from winter weather. However, a lot of the leaves and young fruits have dropped off. What should I do?

Matt James says: Leaf drop is a common sign of stress. It sounds like your plants have been shocked by the change in temperature when you moved them indoors. If you position them away from radiators in a cooler spot, they should recover. You should also look at the shoots for signs of red spider mite (tiny cobwebs are a common sign) as that might have caused the leaf drop. Don’t overwater the trees in winter and only use rainwater as they don’t like the lime content in tap water.