Why do lemon leaves turn yellow, how to determine and eliminate the cause

Lemon trees are popular among those who grow indoor flowers. But at the same time, they are very whimsical and quite difficult to grow.
Often, owners of this citrus fruit observe yellowing of its leaves. If this happens, you need to find out the reason and try to save the plant.
Content:
- Frequent problems that arise when growing lemons
- For what reasons do lemon leaves turn yellow?
- Pests and their control
- How to correct the situation, principles of proper care
Frequent problems that arise when growing lemons
Natural habitat citrus - tropics, achieving such a climate in an ordinary city apartment is quite difficult. Therefore, many flower lovers consider growing them somewhat troublesome. At the same time, several of the most common problems are noted. In particular, the tree may shed its leaves and stop growing.
The causes of such phenomena can be a variety of factors: from insufficient volume soil to the container until the same soil or even the air in the room becomes too dry. In addition, plants are sensitive to mineral and nutrient deficiencies, as well as to the quality of light.
But even more often you can find complaints from amateur flower growers on forums that yellowing of the leaves is observed on the lemon. We will try to sort this issue out.
Causes of yellowing lemon leaves
Often the cause of yellowing leaves is improper care of the plant. If lemon the leaves turn yellow, perhaps it reacts to one of the following factors.
Incorrect lighting
Call yellowing of leaves It can be either too much or too little light. When exposed to direct sunlight, yellow burns appear on the leaves. If a lemon has light leaves with yellow spots, it is too dark.
Uncomfortable temperature
Lemon is a heat-loving plant. It reacts negatively to drafts and temperature changes. If a citrus fruit freezes, its leaves begin to turn yellow and curl at the edges. As a result, the indoor lemon sheds its leaves.
Excessive watering
He loves moist soil, but everything needs moderation. Due to excess moisture, the roots begin to rot. The leaves evenly turn yellow and fall off.
Depleted soil
If yellow dots appear between the veins, it means there is not enough nutrition.
Dry air
Citrus fruits are native to the tropics, so they prefer air with high humidity. If the tips of a lemon's leaves dry out, the leaves will gradually turn yellow and fall off, this indicates that the air is too dry for citrus fruit.
Diseases
Lemons are very susceptible to various diseases. At home, it is difficult for them to become infected, but there is a high risk of acquiring a diseased sprout. If the care is correct, but the tree still turns yellow and dies, a disease is most likely to blame.
Natural causes
If 1-2 leaves have turned yellow and the rest of the plant looks healthy, this is most likely a sign of natural foliage renewal.
Pests and their control
A houseplant can be attacked by a wide variety of pests.
Most often it is affected by:
- aphids
- whitefly
- thrips
- spider mites
- false scale insect
- mealybugs
- nematodes
Each of the pests weakens the tree, feeds on its juices and may well cause wilting or yellowing of the leaves; young shoots and leaves of plants are especially often affected by sucking insects.
You can fight pests using appropriate chemicals, fortunately, the choice of them is now simply huge. The limitation should be the fact that the processing will be carried out indoors.
If desired, you can use homemade, plant-based products that are less toxic to humans and pets.
Experts say that this kind of problem can be completely avoided if you follow simple preventive measures:
- The soil should be disinfected before planting
- new purchased flowers It is recommended to keep them in quarantine for about a month; you can place them next to disease-free flowers that have been living in the house for a long time only after making sure that they are healthy
- It is advisable to place bouquets of flowers brought into the house away from pots with other green pets
- Systematic washing of the leaves with running water will also protect citrus trees; this can be done once a month.
Principles of proper care
To lemon felt good at home, and its leaves did not turn yellow, you need to follow the rules for caring for this whimsical plant:
- The lighting should be bright but comfortable. It is best to place the lemon pot on the south or east side. If there is insufficient light, artificial lighting should be added.
- Drafts and temperature changes must be avoided. Do not place a lemon near a radiator or next to an open window.
- Do not overwater the plant.If this happens, the lemon needs to be replanted. If the roots rot, they need to be trimmed and dried.
- To ensure that the plant has enough nutrition, fertilizing should be used. It is best to choose special fertilizers for lemon.
- To maintain optimal humidity, the leaves need to be regularly sprayed with water. A humidifier will not be amiss.
- If pests are detected, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the inside of the leaf with a soapy solution or treat the tree with insecticides.
With proper care, lemon looks great. If you neglect to care for the citrus tree, it may die. When yellow leaves appear, it is necessary to immediately identify the cause and eliminate it.
Let's watch an interesting video with care recommendations:
Comments
No matter how much I tried to grow lemons at home, I just couldn’t do it. Obviously, humidity and lighting in the apartment play a big role. I’ll try to follow all the recommendations from the article, I think this time everything will work out.
Our lemon used to often have leaves with yellow spots and dots, but we started using special fertilizers and everything returned to normal, “I didn’t finish eating,” it turns out) In general, lemon is quite demanding, everything should be in moderation, including nutrition, moisture, and light .
The most important thing here when growing lemon is balanced soil, from where it takes the necessary microelements for the growth of the lemon itself and the fruits. Watering and indoor humidity are important.
Lemons are easy to grow. however, it will take a very long time to wait for it to bear fruit and whether it will bear fruit at all. By then he will grow to almost the height of a man. If you have so much space at home, no doubt continue the experiment.To prevent the leaves from turning yellow, feed them with citrus fruit food.