Sad news: Meyer Lemon kicked the bucket this fall. I tried everything in my power to save him, but it didn't work. I'm not sure how exactly this happened - the tree that looked so much better over the summer very quickly met its demise, seemingly due to root rot even though it got the same waterings as Mr. Orange. Hopefully I'll be able to find a new one locally in the spring (the ones I've ordered online are so tiny that it takes a lot of coaxing to get them to grow).
The good news is that Mr. Orange looks amazing and currently has four tiny tiny green oranges right now. Additionally, the Bearss Lime tree that I bought near the end of the summer is also doing well.
Since moving them inside, I've only been watering them about once every two weeks even though my house is incredibly dry. This has prevented root rot so far (the soil stays damp for this whole time), but the leaves and fruit don't like the dryness of the air. I keep them in my bedroom window, which is the warmest place in the whole house and also the sunniest. I run a humidifier at night (for myself as well as the plants), but I've also started spritzing the leaves with a spray bottle and using a big clear plastic bag as a humidity chamber on occasion.
Here's a photo update, with details about what I'm doing to keep them thriving!
First, Meyer Lemon. He died just before Thanksgiving. All his leaves fell off. I tried rinsing the roots (which looked pretty dead) in a really dilute bleach solution and replanting in a small pot of fresh seed/cutting starting mix, but it just didn't work. After another month, I got rid of the remains.
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| Dying tree just before Thanksgiving |
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| All the leaves fell off within just a few days |
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| My attempts to save the tree failed. |
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Next, Calamondin Orange. The first pictures were taken the same day as the lemon pictures. This tree is doing great. It had a few blossoms around Thanksgiving, and one turned into a tiny green fruit. That fruit shriveled up and fell off, though, because it was too dry. Some other buds did the same before even making flowers. Now that I've had some more blossoms, I'm being more careful with the humidity and haven't lost any more fruit so far.
Back in the summer when I was caring for this tree, I accidentally broke off a little branch. I tried rooting it, and after about two months, it finally grew roots! Now the root system is continuing to grow, and I might be able to convince myself I see evidence of new growth. Time will tell. That's the itty bitty tree in the purple pot.
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| Orange tree just before Thanksgiving |
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| Flower buds just before Thanksgiving. These didn't bear any fruit because the air was too dry. |
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| Orange tree today. It lives with rosemary (grown from a cutting), some ginger (rooted from kitchen ginger), and the little orange tree (grown from a cutting) hanging on its pot. The spray bottle is to keep its leaves and buds moist enough. |
