Lemon Tree Leaves Turning Yellow – Lemon tree leaves turn yellow at temperatures below 50°F and due to a lack of nutrients in the soil. Both underwatering and overwatering can cause yellow leaves, as can spider mite infestations, which cause small yellow pin-sized spots on the leaves.
Yellowing of lemon leaves is often associated with leaf drop, but the tree can often be revived with proper care.
Lemon Tree Leaves Turning Yellow
Lemon trees are native to warm climates with full sun and prefer the soil to dry out slightly between waterings.
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If there is too much moisture around the roots of your lemon tree, it can cause the leaves to turn yellow as a sign of stress.
In drier climates, more frequent watering may be necessary, while in humid climates or with more rainfall, lemons require less frequent watering.
Adjust your watering frequency so that the top two inches of soil dries out a bit between watering periods and the lemon tree should regrow as this is the correct moisture balance.
Yellow leaves may drop, but with consistent care and good watering practices, the leaves should grow back.
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(To learn how to determine the correct lemon watering frequency for your climate, read my article on how to water lemon trees.)
While lemon tree leaves most often turn yellow from overwatering because they prefer drier soil, leaves can also turn yellow in response to drought.
If the leaves look wilted and yellow, this is a clear indication that the cause is drought.
Water your lemon tree liberally at least once a week during the growing season, misting the leaves regularly to retain some moisture and allow your lemon tree to recover.
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For a lemon tree that has suffered significant drought, I recommend submerging the entire pot in water in a basin filled with water or a wheelbarrow for about 10 minutes.
When soil gets very dry, it can harden and cause water to run off the surface instead of reaching the roots, exacerbating drought-related problems.
If your lemon tree is planted in a walled garden, use a hose to thoroughly water the soil so moisture can reach the roots.
Lemon trees are relatively heavy feeders and grow and fruit best when fed regularly throughout the spring and summer.
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If the lemon tree lacks nutrients, the leaves begin to drop and sometimes turn yellow with green veins, and the rest of the leaf turns yellow (chlorosis).
This is especially common with potted lemon trees because pots have limited soil capacity and therefore less nutrients for the roots to absorb.
The solution is to apply a specialized citrus fertilizer once a month during the spring and summer to keep the leaves healthy and encourage flower and fruit development.
Regular fertilizer applications, good watering practices and plenty of sun should help the lemon tree recover from its droopy appearance with yellow leaves over the next few weeks.
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However, don’t overdo it as too much fertilizer can also cause yellowing of the leaves, so always follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
Lemon trees are native to warm tropical climates and cannot tolerate low winter temperatures or frost. (USDA Zones 9-11)
Stress from cold temperatures can cause your lemon tree’s leaves to turn yellow and drop. If a lemon tree experiences frost, it may die.
Mature lemons are more cold tolerant than younger trees, so smaller lemon trees are more sensitive to cold weather and their leaves will turn yellow and fall off.
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However, lemon trees of all varieties should be brought indoors or into a heated greenhouse when the nighttime temperature is as low as 50°F (10°C) and placed in a sunny window to protect and hold the leaves.
However, this can lead to problems such as leaf drop when brought indoors, so I have written another article explaining how to mitigate leaf drop when lemon trees are brought indoors for the winter.
With reduced sun rays and lower intensity, lemon tree leaves tend to lose their green color and some may fall off.
However, if your lemon tree is in a sunny windowsill with good watering and you mist its leaves regularly, it should bounce back with new growth emerging in the spring in response to more light.
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If you notice small yellow pin-sized spots on the leaves of your lemon tree and perhaps some leaf drop, it is due to spider mites.
Spider mites thrive in homes due to low humidity and can be a common pest on houseplants.
If left untreated, spider mites can defoliate your lemon tree, but fortunately they are relatively easy to deal with.
Misting with water is a good deterrent as they thrive in dry homes and wet leaves can help them move around.
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However, to get rid of it, all you have to do is wash the leaves with soap and you can rid the lemon tree of the infection.
Lemons are native to tropical climates and are intensively grown in countries such as Spain and Mexico in full sun.
Gardeners can grow lemon trees outside their normal range, but it is essential that they are grown in full sun or they may not flower, the fruit and leaves may turn yellow and drop from stress.
Therefore, it is important to place your lemon tree in the sunniest part of your garden to get the best fruit yield and keep the plant healthy.
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Problems often arise when a lemon tree is brought indoors to protect it from frost because it has to contend with:
The best place for a lemon tree in winter is a heated greenhouse because it has a constant temperature and the maximum amount of natural sunlight.
However, they can survive as long as you place them in a sunny, south-facing window with plenty of light.
There may still be yellowing of leaves and leaf drop due to seasonal changes, a reaction to less light in winter, but if the lemon tree is in a sunny window, it should recover as new leaves appear and any yellow leaves should look much healthier in spring.
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Hi, I’m Marko. I have been a trained professional gardener for over 10 years and I am here to share all my experience with you in a gardener’s report!
This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for websites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We are rewarded for driving traffic and business to Amazon and other companies affiliated with this site. If you’ve ever grown lemon trees before, you know they’re not a particularly difficult species to care for. However, it doesn’t take long for those shiny, green leaves to start losing their rich, green color.
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While the new growth will continue to open in that beautiful bronze color, they will eventually mature to light green, perhaps yellowish green, or worse with interveinal yellowing. Why would that be?
Well, if you’re from northern Europe, then your lemon tree specimen was probably produced in the famous northern Italian region of Pistoia.
There you’ll find row upon row of beautiful citrus specimens — all grown in pots — potted in nutrient-rich fertilizers.
The problem is this. If your soil has a neutral pH or worse, leans toward alkalinity, then your lemon trees will have trouble absorbing iron and magnesium nutrients through their roots. This is a physiological disorder known as chlorosis. Unfortunately, lemons have a particularly high magnesium requirement, but knowing this means you can cure the problem.
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It can be caused by any number of stresses and although it can affect many plant families, it is most commonly seen in acid-loving plants – commonly known as ericaceous, but that is not entirely accurate – such as rhododendrons, camellias, pieris, liquidambar and of course citrus.
In alkaline soils, plants of the Ericaceae family have difficulty absorbing iron and magnesium from the substrate through their roots. This is characterized by the characteristic intervening yellowing of the leaves because both iron and manganese are vital for the formation of the green chlorophyll pigments in them.
This characteristic pattern is a direct response to these specific nutrient deficiencies and occurs because the chlorophyll pigment present in the vascular bundles – the leaf veins – will remain unchanged for a longer period than the chlorophyll pigment present in the cells.
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