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New lemon tree problems?

Hi guys, I bought my first lemon tree this year from a garden centre, healthy looking with lots of different size fruits and flowers on it.

I potted it into a terracotta pot and am now struggling to find the right garden spot, I live quite high up so we do get wind, but it's obviously been a very wet, grey month so I'm struggling to find a good spot and it's dropping fruit and flowers.

I'm not sure if it needs more light,less wind or less rain...I can choose a spot with lots of sunshine but its more open to some wind, if I choose a sheltered spot it doesn't get as much sun.

I guess I'm not sure which is more important, wind shelter or more sunlight?
Also I have mulched the pot but should I cover it so the rain isn't just washing through it daily?

I did put good drainage in the pot and have got citrus feed which I've used twice in the five weeks since having it.

Maybe its a problem when we have these wet summers and not something I can do much about, I don't know I'm just anxious at the moment because I've never had one before.

Any help would be amazing.
I'm in Cornwall so it's really mild but just damp, and I am inland so it's a sea wind. 
 

Posts

  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hello Kirsty and welcome to the forum.

    I think this is a question for @Nanny Beach and @Obelixx  but citrus are pretty hardy trees.  They just don't like frosts.   Everything else they love:  fertiliser, water, sun.... and lots of TLC.  I think they prefer being in the ground than in a pot, however large.  It is a tree after all.

    I hope you get to enjoy the fruits of your tree.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited July 2023
    Citrus plants need feeding with a higher nitrogen ratio in summer to keep their foliage healthy and they need good watering all summer but don't want to be sitting in water so you need a good quality loam based compost such as John Innes no 2 or 3 and then a mulch to retain moisture.  Switch to a feed that's higher in P & K with some trace elemnents such as magnesium for healthy flowers and fruits for feeding from autumn to spring.

    They like humidity for their foliage so your damp conditions are not a problem but they also need full sun and some warmth to do well.  If that means yours has to be in a windier spot you can compensate by regular, adequate watering and maybe misting.   If you have hard tap water, try and save rainwater or else use an ericaceous version of the compost.

    Unles syou have a Meyer lemon which is the hardiest, you need to take yours into a greenhouse or conservatory for winter and keep it at minimum 7C.   If you can't do that then remember that warm houses in winter will dessicate the foliage so you need to stand it in a tray of pebbles in water and mist it daily.

    See here for more info - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/citrus/growing-guide    
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Thanks for the bump Tui34. Mostly I agree with Obelixx, but shes in France,so probably different conditions. I am in the SE UK warmest corner,also high opposite south downs, windy,and 10 minutes away from the sea. All of ours are in pots. My back garden is north facing, however,it's pretty big,(detached) bungalow,so sun somewhere from sunrise till about 6pm. It's a mix of soil based and citrus compost. Sorry disagree about preferring to be in the ground or full sun, mine don't like it at all. They are actually in semi shade underneath a eucalyptus
     The lemons go into a greenhouse usually end of September,you can substitute porch, garage,shed, below 12c they will loose their leaves. Beast from the east,they were in a small lean to greenhouse,with bubble wrap and heater, unknown temperature here night and day,they lost their leaves,but they all grew back in spring. Don't make the mistake of taking it into a centrally heated house,it is a tree,and they hate dry air. Where did you buy it,any chance of a picture? We have calamondins, mandarin,(and a 30 years old grapefruit hubby grew from a pip. 
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