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Desperate to save lemon plant
shamm68elsZZlSP
Posts: 4
Last month I created a post on my Lemon plant that kept getting attacked by some brown aphids.
Took advise and on other sites.
Cleaned it as much as possible, re-potted into a bigger pot (terracotta), new soil of Citrus compost and some feed.
I also put it in the loft room away from central heating and watered it just the once.
To my horror the leaves went VERY dry. The soil felt damp but my Wife reckons it was dry.
I removed all dry leaving two small fresh leaves.
I brought the plant back downstairs and to my horror the remain small leaves are also dry.
I cannot win. Am i starving it of water? I read once a month was enough in winter.
I have given it new compost. Perfect for citrus. Before the soil must have been at least 10 years old and yet its worse than ever. I fear its beyond saving if not already dead 
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You did the best you could after the attack, maybe a little too kind for winter, but not enough to kill it.
The trouble is that citrus can have green looking leaves, when actually they are already dead, but you don't know until they dry up and fall.
Now is the time for leaves to have fallen, so a pint of rain water every other week ( no food) for at least two months before you can officially decide it is dead. If you see new growth that is the time to feed.
Hope this helps @shamm68elsZZlSP
The problem with terracotta pots is that they absorb an awful lot of water themselves so it's hard to tell how much a plant in them is getting. I tend to keep terracotta for cuttings and plants I know don't like soggy compost . For a permanent pot I paint the terracotta with 3 or 3 coats of clear acrylic varnish to seal the terracotta and prevent it soaking up water as this is what causes damage when the pot is frozen and then thaws. The expansion and contraction of the frozen water leads to flaking and cracking.
I have my 3 citrus plants - lemon, limquat and yuzu - in large plastic pots. I keep mine in an unheated polytunnel in winter so they have plenty of light. From autumn to spring they are in fruit and then start to flower again, just in time for being put outside against a south facing wall so they get full sun and shelter from cold, northerly winds and pollinating insects can get free access. I feed them with a specialist citrus feed which is high in P and K and also contains trace elements which all help with flowering and fruiting. I water them as needed when the compost feels dry to a finger pushed down to the second knuckle.
Come spring, when frosts are more or les over, I put them out and switch to a high nitrogen feed as this is good for healthy foliage. I keep them in saucers so they have a chance to soak up as much water as they need instead of it just rushing thru if the compost is too dry. In really hot spells, they may need watering every day.
The trouble is i have to keep the plant indoors where there is Central heating, which I will say is only moderately on and by the patio door which gets minimal sun in the winter. The opposite of the room is no better