Lemon trees also cultivate in the local latitudes for a Mediterranean flair on your own balcony or terrace. The tasty fruits can also be harvested and enjoyed. However, if the leaves are curling up, it could be for a variety of reasons and indicates that the lemon tree is not doing well. The following article explains which maintenance measures should be initiated here and how they can be prevented.
Find causes
If the lemon tree leaves suddenly curl up, this can have various causes. The most common of these are incorrect watering and pests on the plant. It is now important to find out exactly which circumstance leads to the curled sheets, because only then can this also be dealt with. Wrong watering can mean, for example, too much or too little watering. But it can also be a question of various pests that afflict the lemon tree and cause this stress. Because rolling up the lemon tree leaves is always a sign of stress.
Not enough water
If the lemon tree is not watered enough, which can certainly happen in the summer in the hot months, the lemon tree leaves could curl up during a longer period of drought. This is an attempt by the plant to retain the moisture it still has. Because when the leaves are rolled up, less water evaporates, especially when the sun is shining brightly. However, if the plant is still not watered, the leaves will fall off. In the event of drought, you should therefore act as soon as possible:
- if possible, take the tree out of the bucket
- Immerse with the entire root ball
- wait until no more air bubbles rise
- repeat for several days in a row
- then Zitronenbaum should have recovered
- then continue to pay attention to the correct watering
- Let the bottom dry halfway
- then pour again
The warmer and drier it is, the more often the lemon tree will have to be watered. For this, however, a feeling should be developed, because there are no precise instructions on how many days should lie between the watering processes, as it depends on the weather.
Too wet
It can quickly get too wet for the lemon tree. This happens in long periods of rain in summer as well as in winter. If the tree is in a darker and cool winter quarter and is no longer exposed to constant sunlight, then it needs much less water. Prevention is the best measure here. Because if the root ball is soaked with water, it takes a long time for the roots to dry out and the tree can be damaged. Therefore, if the first rolled up lemon tree leaves appear due to moisture, then proceed as follows:
- Take the tree out of the bucket as a whole
- Carefully remove wet soil from the root ball
- Let the root ball dry off
- Remove any damaged roots
- Put new, dry and well-drained soil in buckets
- Put the lemon tree back in
- pour less in the following period
Avoid waterlogging
To prevent waterlogging, which the lemon tree does not like, drainage should be created in the bucket before planting so that the excess water can drain off well and no soil clogs the drainage hole in the bucket. The drainage is created as follows:
- Put stones, gravel or potsherds over the drain hole
- plant fleece above
- this is permeable to water
- However, earth does not seep through in this way
- only then is the earth filled in
Wrong winter location
If curled lemon tree leaves appear in the winter quarters, it may be because the tree is too warm. The temperature in the winter months should not exceed 10 ° Celsius. If it is warmer, the tree has to evaporate more moisture and the leaves roll up to prevent water loss.
Scale insects
If the lemon tree leaves have curled up, then insects can also be to blame, which have attacked the tree and especially the leaves. These include scale insects, which mainly attack the lemon tree in its winter quarters. The insects suck on the leaves and suck them out, causing the lemon tree leaves to curl up and later fall off. The following steps can be taken against an infestation:
- can be seen with the naked eye
- Scale insects brown
- sticky layer on leaves
- Wash off with soapy water and a soft brush
- Spray with lye for several days
- Rinse the lemon tree completely
- cover the earth with foil
- spray with rapeseed oil and water
- Mix 30/70
Tea tree oil should not be used in the fight, because the lemon trees do not tolerate it and it does more harm than fighting the scale insects.
Spider mites
Spider mites also like to settle on the lemon tree leaves in warm winter quarters. Above all, they prefer warm rooms with little humidity. Therefore, the tree should not be overwintered in a living room with heating. Similar to scale insects, the spider mites also attach themselves to the underside of the leaves and suck them out. This also causes the lemon tree leaves to curl up in the event of a stronger infestation. But there are maintenance measures that also prevent it. You should proceed as follows:
- Keep the plant cool in winter as a preventive measure
- regularly check for pests
- pay attention to humidity
- Place bowls of water around the tree
- alternatively use a humidifier
- Spider mites can be recognized on a net like cotton wool
- spray with water for control
- generate artificial moisture
- Wrap the tree with foil for this
Conclusion
If the lemon tree enjoys the right care, where the most important thing here is the correct watering, then the lemon tree leaves usually do not roll up. Pests are also more common on plants that have been weakened by improper care than on healthy lemon trees that are not under stress. With the right care measures, you can prevent rolled leaves. If this happens anyway, the cause should be found and remedied quickly.
