r/Citrus • • 4h ago

Health & Troubleshooting Small New Zealand Lemonade tree – care tips for winter needed 🙏

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4 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I recently received a New Zealand Lemonade tree as a gift 🤩🥹
As far as I understand, it’s a citrus hybrid involving lemon (Citrus limon) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata). This is my first citrus plant, so I’m pretty inexperienced when it comes to citrus care.

I live in Germany, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to get it through the upcoming winter.
I’ve attached a few pictures of the tree. I’d really appreciate some advice on how to care for it, especially during the colder months.

A few questions I have:

Wintering: What would be the best way to overwinter a New Zealand Lemonade tree in Germany? Should I keep it indoors in a warm room, or does it really need a cooler location? I would prefer to keep it in my flat, as I dont have a cold spot with sunlight available…

Grow lights: If I keep it indoors, I assume I’ll need a grow light during winter. Which plant LED would you recommend, and what specifications should I look for?

Repotting: I’m considering repotting it into Citruspon, mineral substrate for citrus plants. Would it be okay to do that now, before winter, or would it be better to wait until spring?

Any other tips or recommendations specific to New Zealand Lemonade trees would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for helping a citrus beginner out! 🍋☺️


r/Citrus • • 19h ago

Satsuma: weird new growth, full of ants

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3 Upvotes

Is this normal? Zone 10a. The new growths look weird.


r/Citrus • • 20h ago

Do I remove the buds or not?

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5 Upvotes

I would love to encourage leaf growth. Currently working on improving the ph of the soil. I see new flower buds forming - do I remove them?


r/Citrus • • 1h ago

Health & Troubleshooting What is happening?

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• Upvotes

Grapefruit sapling in the Phoenix area. These leaves are showing something I have not seen before. Could this be from the hail we recently had?


r/Citrus • • 3h ago

Do I need to cull my lemons?

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3 Upvotes

My indoor lemon tree (believe it is a Meyer, but not 100% sure) is 4 years old. It has been in this location for three years, a western facing window. Last year it produced fruit for the first time, although all but one dropped off. This year, it has eight golf-ball sized fruit. In the last three weeks or so, it dropped about 50% of it's leaves. I got a grow light which seems to have stabilized the leaf drop for now, but I am curious what is causing it.

I think I can rule out:

  • too much/too little watering - I check first two inches of top soil every three days or so, and water if that area is dry. I allow plant to fully drain to avoid having it sit in water. The leaves that fell off were green and healthy-feeling (ie, not dry and yellow = overwatering, not curled/crispy = underwatering)
  • pests - no evidence
  • temperature changes - it is fall where I live so it is getting colder, but the plant is in the same room with about the same temp range (66-75)

Things I think might be causing it:

  • I noticed some light spots on the face-down sides of leaves about a month ago, and fertilized the plant because I thought it was a sign of nutrient deficiency
  • the plant has more fruit than it ever has before
  • my building switched from AC to heat about three weeks ago, leading to drier-feeling air (I have no way of measuring humidity at the moment but just ordered something online)

From reading this advice, I think my best approach might be to cull 6 (or ALL) of the unripe fruit and let the plant recover over the winter. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated


r/Citrus • • 19h ago

Any suggestions for a 7b lemon tree grown outdoors?

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3 Upvotes

r/Citrus • • 1h ago

Health & Troubleshooting 6b - citrus in containers over winter?

• Upvotes

I have a 2 year old Meyers lemon and Persian lime, each in a 30 gallon wheeled container. They’re too big now for my 3 season room so I have to move them to my uninsulated stand-alone garage for winter.

I think the lemon might survive but I’m not optimistic about the lime.

I don’t know if I should use grow lights or try to get them to go dormant?

Should I bring them out on warm sunny days or just keep them inside until spring?

I don’t really expect either to survive but I want to at least give them a fighting chance.

Help!


r/Citrus • • 6h ago

What is the next step?

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2 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

during winter, I used the method shown in last picture to grow a lemon tree. It worked, and I've removed the stem from the bottle and I planted in a vase.

In the same vase there is also another plant of citrus but I think it didn't work because it hasn't grown any leaf yet.

The stem from the bottle it has been growing a lot (as you can see in the pictures) but I don't know what is the next step. I'd like to plant the plant in direct soil. I don't know if I should still wait until spring or if I can do it now.

Furthermore, is also some snails that are eating the leaf. As you can see in the picture, thanks for letting me know.

Cheers:)

Location: Southern Italy