Lemon Tree Losing Leaves? (How to Save it)

Has your prized lemon tree started dropping its leaves? This happened to me, too! The luscious green leaves turned sickly and dropped off all of a sudden. I know that watching your lemon tree lose all its leaves can be hugely upsetting!

If a lemon tree drops its leaves, it can indicate a serious problem, so let’s get to the bottom of it quickly! When I researched the probable causes, I found that there are many reasons why a lemon tree can drop its leaves…

Lemon trees lose their leaves due to overwatering, a lack of sunlight, excess wind, and temperatures consistently lower than 50°F. Indoor lemon trees lose leaves because of transplant shock due to a contrast in humidity, temperature, sunlight, and watering frequency when moved from outdoors.

What I discovered is that both indoor and outdoor lemon trees lose their leaves as a sign of stress, usually due to a change in their growing conditions.

This is one. of the most searched problems with citrus trees on my website so I know a lot of you have problems with falling leaves. on reader commented:

“Very helpful! Let’s get this little tree to recover!!” -Elise Ramos

Let’s get your lemon treee to recover too!

In this post, I’ll give you all my tips for diagnosing why your lemon tree is losing its leaves and tell you step-by-step how to save it…

Keep reading to learn why your lemon tree is losing its leaves and how you can implement the solutions to save your lemon tree from leaf drop…

Lemon Trees Can Lose leaves when Temperatures are Below 10°C (50°F)

As I’m sure you know, lemon trees, like all citrus trees, are native to warmer climates where they can be kept outdoors all year round if the Winter is mild.

It is important that we acknowledge that Lemon trees are not cold or frost-hardy and must be brought indoors when the temperature at night is at 50° F (10° C) or lower otherwise it can lose its leaves or even die due to frost.

I have personally been caught out in this before. I hadn’t checked the forecast, and the temperature dipped to 40 degrees F overnight. By morning, my lemon tree was looking sickly with leaves on the floor! A sad state of affairs indeed!

Citrus trees of all types tend to become more resilient to cooler weather as they mature, so be extra careful with small, younger plants as they are more vulnerable to leaf drop due to the cold.

I now work in a garden center and I recommend anyone buying ctrus trees or olive trees that they intend to keep outdoors, to buy the tree with the thickest trunk and trunk size is correlated with resiliance to cold temperatures!

I now check the weather forecast every week for the minimum night temperature. If it gets near 50 degrees F, I wrap my lemon tree in horticultural fleece (which is available from garden centers) and this has been very effective for me so I highly recommend it.

Some varieties are hardier than others, but all cultivars of lemon tree require protection from frost over Winter (if you live in a cold climate like me), so bring them indoors and place them in a sunny window or, better still, a heated greenhouse so they can still benefit from as much natural light as the shorter Winter days have to offer.

If the lemon tree is beginning to lose leaves as Winter approaches, bring it indoors and place it in a sunny window as a matter of urgency to mitigate further leaf loss and prevent frost damage so that it can recover in the Spring once there are warmer temperatures and more hours of light.

To be honest, bringing a tree indoors suddenly can also cause the leaves to drop, but at least the tree won’t die if you live in a climate with freezing temperatures. Whilst the leaves may drop in Winter you’ll have green leaves grow again in the Spring, as mine did!

Why is My Indoor Lemon Tree Losing its Leaves?

If you have brought your lemon tree indoors to protect it from the lower temperatures in Winter or recently bought one from a garden center, the lemon tree often loses some, if not all, of its leaves due to the shock of the contrast in conditions between the outdoors and your home.

This is a very common occurrence and happened to me when I bout my first citrus trees, which I know can look very alarming! Particularly if you have paid a lot of money!

What I have learned is that lemon trees are cultivated in greenhouses before sale where they have acclimated to very specific conditions, which makes them experience transplant stress when they are moved to a different environment.

I would compare this to…imagine standing in a warm room for an entire day and then stepping outside at night when it’s cold; you’d get quite the shock!

Lemon trees, as with all citrus plants, are sensitive to sudden variations in their environment and can lose their leaves due to differences in:

• Humidity. Houses in Winter typically have much lower humidity than the outdoors or greenhouses.
• Sunlight. Lemon trees are native to warm climates with intense full sun, so indoors can be too shaded, combined with fewer daylight hours and lower light intensity during Winter.
• Temperature. Lemon trees are not hardy below 50° F (10° C) however the difference in temperature change from cool outdoors to hot indoors can cause shock and leaf drop particularly if the lemon tree is next to a source of heat.
• Airflow from forced air or air conditioning is also too dry for lemon trees to be in the direct air current as it saps moisture from leaves, causing them to drop to conserve water.
• The difference in watering frequency can cause lemon trees some stress which can cause leaf drop.

(Lemon trees require more water in Summer and less in Winter, read my article on how to water lemon trees to learn how to establish the correct watering frequency for your climate).

It is very common for a lemon tree to drop its leaves when brought indoors, but fortunately, this does not necessarily mean the tree is going to die, but is just a reaction to the stress of being moved, and there are ways to mitigate the impact of that stress so that your lemon tree survives its initial leaf drop…

How to Revive a Lemon Tree That Lost its Leaves After Being Moved

My method to revive lemon trees after leaf drop and mitigate any further leaf drop is to…

• Houses in winter are particularly low in humidity, so I frequently mist my lemon tree with a spray on the fruit and foliage. Mist the tree as soon as you bring the tree indoors, and keep a spray mister by the lemon tree to remind you to mist it every other day until it is more acclimated to your home. If you notice leaves shriveling, water your tree and increase the frequency of your misting. If you have a humidifier, this works even better, in my experience, than misting the leaves, as it keeps the level of humidity constant. Since I use a humidifier, I lose far fewer leaves when I bring my lemon tree indoors.
• Locate the lemon tree in the sunniest (ideally South-facing) window of the house or, even better, a heated greenhouse. A sudden drop in daylight is one of the main reasons the lemon tree loses leaves, so maintaining high levels of light is key. I personally have a glass porch, which is great, but I have also grown it in front of French windows, which works great, too.
• Try to keep a fairly consistent temperature in the room of your lemon tree if you are growing it indoors. Drastic fluctuations in day and night temperature can cause stress which results in leaf drop. So, keep the lemon tree away from radiators or any source of heat as this can increase evaporation from the soil and dry out the pot. The lemon tree then reacts by dropping leaves to help conserve moisture in times of drought.
• Avoid the current of air-con and forced air as the air is too dry for the lemon tree and saps moisture from the leaves, causing them to drop. As we discussed, mist the lemon tree to compensate for dry air due to artificial air currents in the home.
• Increased temperatures, dryer air currents, and lower humidity all cause water loss, which means that you have to increase the frequency of watering of your lemon tree to avoid losing leaves. However, this is a balancing act as the lemon tree is naturally growing at a slower rate due to fewer hours of direct sunlight and a lower light intensity, which leaves the tree vulnerable to overwatering. Water with a good soak when the top two inches of the soil feel dry, and test the soil periodically to determine the optimal frequency of watering.

Pro tip: When you have moved your lemon tree indoors I would be particularly diligent when testing whether the soil has dried. I have personally tried using a moisture meter for this, but I always find that using my finger works best as it is better at detecting subtle differences in soil moisture far more than the water meter! When the top two inches feel dry, give the soil a good soak.

I can assure you that you do not need to panic if your lemon tree is dropping leaves as with the right care practices, the lemon tree should recover once it has had time to adjust, and new leaves should start to regrow when there is an increase in the hours and intensity of daylight in the early Spring.

My lemon tree lost nearly all its leaves when this happened to me and I really did think it had died, but I got a humidifier and kept watering it and sure enough, when I placed it outdoors in the Spring, gorgeous green leaves started to grow (much to my relief!)

As soon as the weather warms up and the nights are consistently warmer than 50° F (10° C) place your potted lemon outdoors or in a greenhouse so that it can benefit from more exposure to light and so it does not have to contend with factors such as air currents and dry indoor air as a source of stress.

The lemon tree should really begin to perk up once outdoors in a nice sunny spot and higher temperatures.

My Best Tip to Prevent the Leaves from Falling Off Your Indoor Lemon Tree? Use a Grow Light

I have recently experimented with how to keep the leaves on the following year after I got a tip from someone in the trade who grows citrus trees commercially…She told me to use a grow light in the Winter to supplement the natural light.

I have already tried this with my succulent collection and had good results. I turned on the grow light for two hours each evening, suspended above the tree. In my first year of using it, there were noticeably fewer leaves that fell off, with nearly all the leaves staying a more vibrant green than in previous years (without the grow light, I find the leaves fade in color).

Some leaves still drop off, which is part of the natural life cycle of the lemon tree.

The best part of this was that as my lemon tree retained far more leaves, it was able to get a head start in Spring compared to the previous years.

This meant it did not have to direct all its energy into growing new leaves, and I found that there were more flowers and lemons on my tree, and some of the individual lemons were larger! I really recommend that you try this tip out, partiucarly if you live in a northernly latitude like me with fewer hours of sunlight in Winter!

(If your leaves are curling rather than just falling off, then read my article Why are my lemon tree leaves curling for the solution).

Your Lemon Tree Could be Dropping Leaves Due to Overwatering

Rather surprisingly, perhaps I learned that one of the main causes of lemon trees losing their leaves is because of too much moisture around the roots due to:

• Overwatering.
• Slow-draining soils.
• Pots without drainage holes in the base.
• The use of trays underneath pots prevents excess water from draining away from the roots.

Why is this? Well, lemon trees are native to climates with warm temperatures, lots of sunshine, and well-draining soils.

Therefore we need to keep in mind that our lemon trees they are far more sensitive to over watering rather then under watering.

If there is too much water around the roots of your lemon tree results in the leaves turning yellow, drooping, and dropping off as a sign of stress.

(Read my article if your lemon tree leaves are turning yellow for the cause and how to save it)

If the roots of your lemon tree are sat in consistently boggy soil or pots then this promotes the conditions for the fungal disease root rot which more often kills the lemon tree so it’s important to implement best practices of watering as soon as you can…

How to Save an Overwatered Lemon Tree Losing it Leaves

• The most important step is to scale back the frequency of watering. We need to remember that our lemon trees prefer the soil to dry out somewhat between bouts of watering rather than staying consistently damp, as the dryer soil replicates the conditions in the native environment. I personally recommend watering lemon trees once per week with a generous soak so that water trickles out the base of the pot, and then I wait till the top two inches of soil are dry before watering. I want to stress that there is no universal guide to watering lemon tree as how often you water depends on your climate and condition, but I recommend to always wait until the top 2 inches of soil feel somewhat dry. This usually takes a week, but it could take longer if the lemon tree has had rainfall or overcast days, which is nice and cool. My best advice iis to feel the soil and then water accordingly.
• Lemon trees require well-draining soil. We need to think of it this way…If the soil is too slow draining, then this essentially replicates the same effect as overwatering, with soil that stays too moist for the roots of your lemon tree. So what do we do? A good potting mixture is to use 1/3 multipurpose compost, 1/3 leaf mold, and around 1/3 pine-based potting mix for nutrients and to increase the rate of drainage so that the soil can dry out somewhat between bouts of watering. I should say that if your soil appears to drain efficiently, then it may not be necessary to change the soil; rather, water the tree less often.
• Pots without holes in the base or the use of trays can cause the soil to become saturated, which causes the lemon tree to lose its leaves and develop root rot. In this scenario, I would transplant your tree to a pot with holes in the base to allow excess water to escape and empty trays of standing water regularly.

I have personally experimented with several different potting mixes and found a combination of equal parts garden compost, leaf mold, and either orchid, pine bark potting mix, perlite, or grit works very well. Good drainage is essential for lemon trees as they have adapted to grow in relatively sandy, gritty soils that do not hold onto lots of water.

One note of caution is that orchid potting mix can decay and essentially turn into compost in about 2 or 3 years, so you’ll have to replace it to ensure the potting soil stays well-draining. For this reason, I often use perlite or grit when preparing and planting lemon trees in pots for my customers.

Also, we need to consider that lemon trees require full sun, which helps dry the soil between bouts of watering or after rainfall, so find the sunniest area of your garden for your lemon tree.

Are in in a humid climate? As you can imagine, lemon trees in very humid climates often require less frequent watering as there is less water loss from the leaves. The same rules apply in that you should wait until the top 2 inches dry before watering.

By scaling back the watering and following the best practices to allow the top two inches of the soil to dry out, your lemon tree should be less stressed. It should also stop losing its leaves, with new leaves regrowing in the Spring and Summer months.

However, I must warn you that if your lemon tree has been sitting in boggy soil for too long, it can develop root rot, at which point it is very difficult to save.

Is Lemon Tree Losing Leaves Due to Lack of Water?

Whilst in my experience, it is more common for lemon trees to lose their leaves due to overwatering (as lemon trees are fairly drought tolerant), leaf drop may also be caused by a lack of moisture.

Take a close look at any remaining leaves, are they curling up and feel thinner then you’d expect before dropping off?

If the leaves have a shriveled appearance before dropping then this is specifically indicative of the lemon tree under stress due to drought, rather than overwatering.

However, we must keep in mind that not watering your lemon tree often enough is not the only reason for dry soil that results in dropping leaves; there are some other factors we need to be cognizant of.

• Are You Watering too lightly? Lemon trees prefer to be watered fairly infrequently, but they can suffer from drought and leaf drop if they are watered too lightly. If the lemon tree is watered too lightly so that only the surface of the soil is moist, then the roots can suffer, and the leaves drop to help conserve moisture. What our lemon trees like is a generous soak so that water trickles out the base of the pot.
• Dry climates, excessive wind, or dry air if the lemon tree is indoors saps moisture away from the leaves, which causes the leaves to drop. If we think about how much dryer the air in our home environment is compared to outdoors…
• Is your lemon tree in intense heat in a greenhouse, next to a source of heat or due to weather conditions? If so this can increase the rate at which the soil dries and can deprive the lemon tree of moisture, causing leaf drop.

How to Revive Lemon Trees Losing Leaves Due to Drought (Step-by-Step)

So, from my previous experience of trying to revive my customer’s Lemon trees that have lost leaves because of drought, I find they can be revived with some care and attention.

After a period of serious drought, what I find works is to soak the root ball as effectively as possible.

What I have discover is that when soil dries out completely it can bake hard and cause water to run off the top of the soil and down the side of the pot without reaching the lemon tree roots where it is required.

Is the watering running off the surface of the sol and down the side of the pot? If it is, then the moisture isn’t infiltrating the soil to reach the roots where it is required.

A great way to test this is to pick up your pot after watering. Does it feel lighter then you’d expect? If so then the soil is still dry around the roots.

Therefore, it is important to soak the entire pot and even submerge it in water, if possible, for a short time.

I have personally done this by filloing a wheel barrow with watering and placed the lemon tree in the water for 20 minutes or so. Th soil was so dry that it actually floated, so I had to hold it down for the first few minutes! This was the water can infiltrate the soil effectively and the lemon tree can get the drink it requires to help it recover.

If there are any leaves left on the tree, I mist them with a spray bottle to increase the humidity and limit water loss through the leaves, which helps retain the foliage.

If there is a heat wave, I recommend protecting the lemon tree from direct sun for the day to allow the roots to uptake moisture without the stress of direct sun, which saps away moisture. I do this with a sun umbrella!

After you have thoroughly watered the lemon tree mist it regularly (several times per week) and give it a generous soak once a week.

So what I found first hand is that when you properly rehydrate the soil by soaking it, the structure of the soil changes, and it no longer repels water off the surface as long as you water consistently and don’t let the soil dry out completely again.

Regular misting also reduces the risk of spider mites on indoor lemon trees, which thrive in the dryer conditions of your home. I actually prefer to use a humidifier indoors, as I find it increases the humidity more effectively and consistently than misting. It’s also great if you, like me, forget to mist regularly!

This process gives the lemon tree its best chance of recovering from drought and as long as the moisture balance is restored with the proper watering practices then new leaves should emerge over the next few weeks if your in the Spring and Summer.

(Read my article, how to revive a dying lemon tree).

Are Your Lemon Trees Losing Leaves Because of Lack of Sun?

Leaf drop can also occur if the lemon tree is in too much shade.

Remember how we talked about how Lemon trees have specifically adapted to thrive in full sun? Well, if they are in shade, the leaves can turn yellow and drop off, and the plant looks rather unhealthy.

So we’ll need to always locate our lemon trees in as much sun as possible, whether that is out in the garden, greenhouse, or indoors during the Winter.

I must emphasize that it’s particularly important to place lemon trees in south-facing, sunny windows when bringing them indoors for Winter protection. There are fewer hours of sun and lower intensity of light in Winter, so the lemon tree requires as much sun as possible to stay healthy and prevent leaf drop.

Lack Of Fertilizer can Contribute to Leaf Drop

So, I had one of my readers comment:

“the leaves on my Meyer Lemon began dropping about two months ago. I used the cleansing spray and Neem oil. Neither has helped. The leaves seem to lose chlorophyll in splotchy patches then drop off. It has been healthy for two years, no changes in my sun room, use a grow light, to no avail.
I do have four lovely lemons still growing. Sad if I lose it!” -Mary Lou

Do the symptoms sound familiar? Does your lemon tree have yellowing leaves with green veins? My instinct is that Mary Lou’s lemon tree is suffering from a nutrient deficit, possibly because it has been in the same pot for too long.

Lemons are one of the most important citrus fruits grown commercially, so there is a lot of research into fertilizer. We need to remember that Lemon trees are heavy feeders (think of all the leaves and fruit they need to grow each Spring and Summer) and benefit greatly from regular applications of fertilizer.

Whilst a lack of fertilizer is not usually the main cause of leaf drop, in my experience, it is often a contributing factor.

As we discussed, Lemon trees grow very well in pots because of the favourable drainage conditions and the fact that you can bring them indoors for Winter protection from cool climates.

However, what I see most often are lemon trees struggling due to a lack of nutrients when they are in small pots. The roots can exhaust the nutrients in the pot, which causes the leaves to turn yellow and some to drop off.

I recommend using a specific citrus fertilizer (available from garden centres and on Amazon) once per month during the growing season. This should help produce fruit and ensure the plant stays in healthy condition, which makes it more resilient and less likely to suffer from leaf drop.

I would also recommend replanting your lemon tree into a pot that is one size up from the previous pot, with a good mix of garden compost, leaf mold, and grit.

My advice is to only repot your lemon tree in Spring (which is when the tree is most resilient to the stress of repotting. During the growing season, I would only use fertilizer as I find that repotting is likely to cause too much stress.

The new green lush leaves should soon emerge!

Do you have any more questions about your lemon trees? Or perhaps any interesting insights? Please leave a comment below, and I’ll reply!!

Key Takeaways:

• Lemon trees lose their leaves due to cold temperatures, overwatering, too much shade, and the contrast in growing conditions when they are brought indoors for Winter protection.
• To revive lemon trees that are losing leaves, it is important to protect them from the cold, maintain humidity levels, and water them the proper amount.
• Lemon trees can regrow their leaves in full sun, watered once per week with a generous soak, misted with water on the remaining leaves, and protected from temperatures cooler than 50°F (10°C).
• Indoor lemon trees can lose their leaves in dry homes due to a lack of humidity or fluctuating temperatures if they are next to a source of heat. Indoor lemon trees should be located in a sunny south-facing window, and mist regularly and water when the top 2 inches of the soil are dry. The lemon tree often recovers when there is more sun in the early spring with new leaves starting to emerge.