Lemon Tree Question

LemonBonsai

Shohin
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So I have been exploring on here and I have seen some people say that lemons are a nice indoor tree. My lemon seedlings have been outside for a few days now and have grown quite well but I have noticed that my seedlings are a light green (More light green on the stem then the leafs). When I see others lemon seedlings they mostly tend to have a dark green color to them. Just wondering if I am doing something wrong. Could it be getting to much heat? (It has been 31-33 Celsius or 87-91 F.) Where they are they get direct sun for alot of the day. I keep them moist they are in 100% peat moss. Here is a picture of a couple. the second one I also noticed the bigger of the two cotyledons is kind of curling but has been like that for 3 days and other then that it seems healthy. Any tips will help for anyone that has experience with lemon trees. They are 31 days old.

Thankyou!
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Hey LB.

Did you start these from a store purchased lemon? Color of the leaves will differ a bit with the type of lemon. Meyer, for instance, I typically see dark green new growth, which turns a brighter hue of green as the leaf matures.

Seems like you're watering well and they're certainly not getting too much heat or sun in Canada.

That said, I would reevaluate soil mix. I don't like 100% peat moss for citrus medium because it drains poorly. Citrus like a lot of water, but not to the point where their feet are in a bog.

If you're keeping this indoors, I'd suggest some cactus or citrus bagged potting soil cut 30-40% with pumice. Water well, but let the top 1/4" dry out before watering again. That time will vary widely indoor vs. outdoor.
 

LemonBonsai

Shohin
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Hey LB.

Did you start these from a store purchased lemon? Color of the leaves will differ a bit with the type of lemon. Meyer, for instance, I typically see dark green new growth, which turns a brighter hue of green as the leaf matures.

Seems like you're watering well and they're certainly not getting too much heat or sun in Canada.

That said, I would reevaluate soil mix. I don't like 100% peat moss for citrus medium because it drains poorly. Citrus like a lot of water, but not to the point where their feet are in a bog.

If you're keeping this indoors, I'd suggest some cactus or citrus bagged potting soil cut 30-40% with pumice. Water well, but let the top 1/4" dry out before watering again. That time will vary widely indoor vs. outdoor.
Ah that may be why yes they were from store bought lemons. No I am keeping them outdoors for right now. They have been outdoors for 3 to 4 days now. I was going to replant them to bonsai soil once they matured a bit more unless you think its better to replant them now into a better soil? I was going to wait for a couple sets of true leaves before repotting to a bonsai soil mixture since I was worried about shocking them. I know since it gets alot of sun, the peat moss does dry out and I do let it dry before watering (usually bottom watering and topping up the surface.
 
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I wouldn't rush to fully repot since they're quite young, but you could improve soil drainage without disturbing roots.

My outdoor citrus are in a roughly equal mix of akadama, lava and pumice - which they love... but I'd wait until your sprouts are a little more mature.
 

LemonBonsai

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I wouldn't rush to fully repot since they're quite young, but you could improve soil drainage without disturbing roots.

My outdoor citrus are in a roughly equal mix of akadama, lava and pumice - which they love... but I'd wait until your sprouts are a little more mature.
I will for sure repot them once they get some true leaves on them. Just was wondering why mine were different color but makes sense its cause they were store bought.
 

Forsoothe!

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There is no reason to believe that the seeds you sowed from a lemon fruit will grow fruit exactly like the fruit it came from. The cultivars that the citrus growers use are almost always cuttings from a special cultivar grafted onto superior understock like ponceris. That said, exactly what the foliage of your descendant should look like is anybody's guess. They prefer pH of 5.5 to 6.5 so you should be using Miracid or some like it and giving the seedlings protected sun. (Full eastern, or half western, or some mid-day, and never let them suffer from drought.
 

LemonBonsai

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There is no reason to believe that the seeds you sowed from a lemon fruit will grow fruit exactly like the fruit it came from. The cultivars that the citrus growers use are almost always cuttings from a special cultivar grafted onto superior understock like ponceris. That said, exactly what the foliage of your descendant should look like is anybody's guess. They prefer pH of 5.5 to 6.5 so you should be using Miracid or some like it and giving the seedlings protected sun. (Full eastern, or half western, or some mid-day, and never let them suffer from drought.
From what I have read I have my lemons in to acidic soil. What would I use to raise it to that 5.5-6.5 level?
 

Forsoothe!

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Raise it to 5.5? What is it? I consider 5.5 pretty low and not a lot likes it lower than that. Don't assume that low pH neccessarily means a darker green than a higher pH. There is no correlation between depth of the color green and pH.
 

LemonBonsai

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Raise it to 5.5? What is it? I consider 5.5 pretty low and not a lot likes it lower than that. Don't assume that low pH neccessarily means a darker green than a higher pH. There is no correlation between depth of the color green and pH.
Im not sure. I am trying to source out a soil ph testnbut its in 100% peat moss and when i google it, it says peat moss is 4.5 to 5.
 

Forsoothe!

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Im not sure. I am trying to source out a soil ph test, but it's in 100% peat moss and when i google it, it says peat moss is 4.5 to 5.
Then don't worry about pH. Don't let it dry out.
 
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There is no reason to believe that the seeds you sowed from a lemon fruit will grow fruit exactly like the fruit it came from. The cultivars that the citrus growers use are almost always cuttings from a special cultivar grafted onto superior understock like ponceris. That said, exactly what the foliage of your descendant should look like is anybody's guess. They prefer pH of 5.5 to 6.5 so you should be using Miracid or some like it and giving the seedlings protected sun. (Full eastern, or half western, or some mid-day, and never let them suffer from drought.

Was tending to a lime today and saw exactly this. A strong shoot below the graft emerged in late Spring. It's in a great spot, but it's an orange.
 

It's Kev

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brand new growth is normally light green, after exposure to light they harden off and turn darker green over time
 

It's Kev

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here's a brand new comment because i accidentally double posted, managed to edit it quick enough so i don't look like a total idiot, have a nice day now
 

LemonBonsai

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I have 3 pots with 3 lemon seedlings in each of them and i am having some issues that I am not sure what direction to take them in.
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So this is on only one seedling in the pot. The other two in the pot are fine. These seedlings in this pot are in potting soil and I have seen pictures of boron deficiences on citrus that look similar.
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And this is in another pot. The leaf tips on two of the leaves have gone brown and crispy. Ive read that this is because of fettilizer burn. And since my led grow light doesnt give off heat and I water regularly I am leaning toward fertilizer burn but wondering if it could also be a deficency. This one is potted in perlite and oil dri 50/50.

I just bought foliagepro from dynagrow because the leaves on all my citrus look light green.
Here are full pictures of the seedlings
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If these problems are due to deficiences how can I fix them? I know the foliagepro has all the micronutrients that plants need which my old fertilizer probably did not. Would just continuing to use foliagepro be ok?

And for the one with the burnt tips I may flush the soil if it gets worse.
 
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Honestly those look pretty good considering you've got them indoors under lights. Some browning and dropping lower leaves on citrus is normal.

Make sure the soil is draining well. The pot with the soil could probably use a few deep chopstick stabs. Don't think you need to be concerned about deficiencies. I use mostly miracid on citrus and it's great.

Are these new seedlings you're growing indoor for outdoor use? Or is the intent to grow them inside forever?
 

LemonBonsai

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Honestly those look pretty good considering you've got them indoors under lights. Some browning and dropping lower leaves on citrus is normal.

Make sure the soil is draining well. The pot with the soil could probably use a few deep chopstick stabs. Don't think you need to be concerned about deficiencies. I use mostly miracid on citrus and it's great.

Are these new seedlings you're growing indoor for outdoor use? Or is the intent to grow them inside forever?
They were outside this summer and they have been brought in and been inside for probably close to 2 months now
 

Bonsai Nut

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I just realized you have two threads covering the same issue. I am going to close the shorter thread.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Lol thanks sorry bout that nobody answered on here for a while and with my luck answered within 24 hours of me posting a new thread.

Don't worry about it... it just makes things confusing when people are trying to follow one conversation to have it spread over two threads.

Read the article I posted and make sure you understand the concept of pH as it applies to nutrient uptake in plants. Different plants have different needs, and have evolved to flourish in different conditions - however take a look at this graphic for a general indication of what I am talking about.

image.jpeg

If you have your citrus in acidic soil, and are watering with acidic water, it will not be unusual if you see lighter green or yellow foliage from chlorosis due to MAGNESIUM deficit.

If you live in Orange County, California, named after its citrus fields, you may experience similar-looking chlorosis due to IRON deficit from alkaline soil and alkaline water. That is why citrus growers in SoCal acidify their soil (to lower pH), while citrus growers in Florida add lime to make their soil more alkaline (to raise pH). With citrus you want to be right in the middle... slightly acidic... with a pH of perhaps 6.5 being considered optimal. Remember that pH is a logarithmic scale, and that pH 6.0 is ten times more acidic than 7.0, and pH 5.0 is 100 TIMES more acidic than 7.0. Small numerical changes in pH make a big difference as you move farther away from neutral. This is definitely a case where if "slightly acidic" is good, "very acidic" is NOT good.

I had over a dozen mature citrus trees in California, and spent a lot of time babying their soil pH because of clay alkaline soil and extremely alkaline irrigation water. Here in North Carolina I'm not even sure you can find acidifying fertilizer - but they sell lime by the truckload.

Let me state the issue in a slightly different way to make sure people understand the problem. Due to your soil pH, you may find yourself in a situation where you have plenty of magnesium in your soil, but your tree can't access it. Adding more magnesium via additional fertilizer will not fix the problem - you have to fix the pH of your soil. If you research this issue further, you can get into the chemistry of why this is so.
 
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Kanorin

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I’ve got a little lemon tree and pH 7.6 water. It did ok this year, but it’s not thriving. I’m thinking of repotting it in 50-50 kanuma (acidic substrate typically used for azaleas) and pumice next year.
 
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