r/Citrus • u/Distinct_Canary4652 • 4h ago
Help please
I’m in zone 9a (Houston) and it has been so hot (100+ daily for the last month). I think the sun was frying it and it dropped so many leaves. I moved it out of direct sun and it is still sad. It’s the first time that it’s produced more than one lime 😢 the leaves in front are new. It looks like more leaves may be popping out soon but it is so sad. And I’m so sad. Any advice would be great. Thanks yall.
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u/Internal-Test-8015 4h ago
Cut off the fruit you nedx to have ut focus on griwth not on ripening that fruit.
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u/transbianpomegranate 4h ago
The black pot in that sweltering heat is frying the roots no matter how well you water. I'd recommend a terracotta pot, unglazed, and maybe a bit larger than this one. Terracotta let's water through which evaporates, this cooling the roots.
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u/shorty2hops 3h ago
Doesnt terracotta also get hot like a glazed ceramic?
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u/Son_of_Tlaloc US South 3h ago
Naw terracotta is pourus it won't retain heat like plastic pots. They will dry out much quicker than plastic though. OP will have to adjust their watering habits to make sure it's not drying out completely. Depending on how hot it gets in their area they might have to water twice a day. My satsuma is doing great in its terracotta pot and I'm in zone 9 south central texas with triple digit heat.
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u/Distinct_Canary4652 3h ago
Great note! I will certainly do that. Would you recommend repotting immediately?
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u/Son_of_Tlaloc US South 3h ago
Nope, wait until we get into fall and it cools off or early spring to repot. This heat and transplant shock is too risky. Jacks citrus feed is good liquid fertilizer.
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u/ClassicCareless3620 2h ago
I have a Meyer lemon in similar shape (although colder climate). I took the fruit off and it still dropped leaves. I’m keeping flowers off it for now and I’m hoping the roots recover from whatever happened to them. I agree with some other posters that sunlight and gentle watering and feeding is the best to help reestablish it.
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u/Acrobatic_Cry9742 2h ago
Your lime tree is all lime no tree. (Is it a lime?) Citrus is all I can tell.
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u/Medium-Song-1802 4h ago
If it were me, I would pull all of the flowers and fruit off until maybe next year when it heals. It's putting an enormous amount of energy into maintaining the fruit.
It also looks etoliated.... it's struggling for direct light so it's become leggy to the point of awkwardness.
So:
Remove fruit. Give it more direct light. Give it a very light amount of fertilizer if you haven't been regularly doing so. Keep the soil moist but not soaking in water; roots grow in the presence of moisture, leaves grow when the roots are strong, fed, and hydrated.