Lemon plant

[shivvy]

All the leaves have fallen off my lemon plant and all that is left is the stem and the spikey branches. Some people have told me that this is this normal for this time of year however the plant is indoors so surely the autum fall of leaves shouldnt affect it?
Is there anything I can do to sort it out?
Thanks.

[Clanad]

Your plant is (obviously) a citrus plant and as such leaf loss in late fall/early winter is common. The plant will respond to shorter days and resultant less sunlight even though potted and inside. Most folks think the temperature is controlling in natural cycles of plants, however, although many plants are affected somewhat by lowering temperatures, it's the loss of hours of sunlight as stated.

I would inspect the plant for aphids. They will appear as small dots about the size of a period in this sentence. They will move however (hopefully, unlike the periods in sentences). They can be treated easily with various sprays obtained from your garden store. They are not likely to be present, however, if all the leaves have fallen since they require cover and food provided by the leaves.

Best of luck!

[shivvy]

Thanks Clanad. There isn't a single leaf left on it and I am pretty sure there are no aphids on it. Is there something else I should be doing or will the leaves come back themselves? If so, when will they return and, should I continue to feed it the citrus plant food over the winter?
Thanks.

[Clanad]

No, don't feed the plant until green growth reappears. Once the days begin lengthening (December 22) the plant will return to the verdancy that's disappeared...

I would keep the soil slightly moist, perhaps a little water once a week is all though...

[shivvy]

Thanks so much Clanad.
I was in a shop today and saw lemon plants with leaves and fruit on them. Do all lemon plants shed their leaves like mine ie will the ones in the shop lose their leaves soon too? If not, what can I do this time next year to prevent the loss of the leaves?
Thanks again!
PS - I am sure (like me) you have noticed the nonsense, nasty posts that come up way too often on this site unfortunately. However, isn't this a good example of answerbank working as it should?!

[Clanad]

Thanks, shivvy... your observation is the reason I continue to visit the site. I suspect that many of the plants you see in shops are under lighting systems that provide artificial sunlight. If the plant was on the equator I don't think it would go through the photoperiodism process. I'd qualify that by saying that guess would apply to plants that were bred and raised in that environment. I'm not an expert in botany, but I've experienced the same reaction with some indoor plants as you are with your lemon...
By the way, if my advice is correct, in the spring when the plant comes back, check to see if there are any whitish deposits on top of the soil. If there are, a neighbor that raises lemon plants advises that the potting soil needs flushing. She does this about 3 or 4 times a year. She simply takes the plant, contianer and all outside and lets a large volume of slow running water flood the plant. she uses a rule of thumb of 4 times the volume of the container in which the plant resides. The "salts" are from fertilizing and some residual minerals contained in almost all water. She has experienced the leaf drop we are discussing as well. She does keep the plant in a cool, semi-darkened room to simulate winter conditions and keeps the plant away from dry, warm heat such as comes out of our central heating systems... She also advises that misting the plant when it starts up again in the spring...Good luck!

[katerich48]

At the risk of confusing the issue ...I have just been outside to check my lemon plant and it still has all its leaves - it's about 3 years old...I also have a clementine tree and that has all its leaves too.. also strangely enough some blossom seems to be growing on it...I live in Central London (if this is any help) Maybe its because it's milder here - although its bloody cold out there at the moment...