Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree Care

Question

Hi! I bought a new lemon tree from farmers market and that lady told me to water it every 5 days. Which I did to the T! I was looking at the weather and it was getting cold so I stored it in our garage for a few days until it was pleasant/ hot weather. I took it outside and watered it every 5 days, leaves started to curl and crisp up and fall. My beautiful bloomed flowers fell off. I asked people on Nextdoor and they said to water it every other day from their experience. I also added new soil and it started to grow buds and some new leaves. I bought Jobe’s organic fruit and citrus granular plant food. From recommendation I bought a water meter. I measured water and it would always say “wet” and I didn’t that for the next few days and same reading. Remaining leaves have curled and turned yellowish. Please help! I am new to this. We live in east bay of California (San Ramon).

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Answer 1

Unfortunately, you have been given some very poor advice.

Watering should be done as the soil dries out, very thoroughly, to at least 2 or 3 inches. This will not be on schedule, and will vary depending on the conditions at the time. The only way to know when to water will be to test with your meter, or finger.

Another thing to note- Fertilizing on top of stress can cause greater stress. It is very important to check for deficiencies and pH imbalance before feeding, at least until you get familiar with the requirements of the tree.

As for now, iron sulfate and dolomitic lime will help restore soil balance, and help kill off any infections.

Proper watering will ensure that the tree's roots can breathe and carry out its processes, correctly.

One last suggestion. Put it into a light colored container, the same size or just an inch or two larger on all sides. Nothing drastic. This will help mitigate some of the heat related stress that you might see.

Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/using-fungicides-in-garden.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/lemons/growing-lemon-trees-containers.htm