Hi
I have an orange tree in my conservatory which has small oranges growing on it and it has suddenly grown a full size lemon as well. Is this normal?! I have a photo to prove it. Louise

Hi Louise. No, it's definitely not normal, they're 2 different species! Is it growing from the same shoots as the oranges or could there be a second stem in there?

i have a lemon tree the leaves are growing well but the small green bud lemons seem to be falling off. how often should i water the tree ? which is in a pot in the conservatory and how long does it take a lemon from bud to full fruit to grow?Any information welcome.

I water my lemon tree every other day in this warm weather. Sometimes they fruit very quickly and sometimes not at all. Sorry not to be of more help! Louise

Hi Denise. As Louise says, lemons need quite a lot of water, so check it at least every other day. Have you fed it? They are quite greedy plants. Chempack do a very good citrus fertiliser that comes as a winter and a summer formulation separately. You could try misting it over daily, as they like humidity and the fruit won't set if it's too dry. As long as the plant is growing well, in a decent compost like John Innes no 2, then it should only be a matter of time before you get fruit - which can take as long as a year to reach full size.

Hi Val

I also have a lemon tree which has 6 fruits on it, they were there when I purchased the tree. Since then it has had lots of blossom but then the little green buds keep dropping off. Should the green buds develop into fruit? Also the some of the leaves are showing sign of leaf curl. I am using a special citrus fertilizer whenever I water but I am only watering twice a week as I was told not to over water the plant. Many thanks. Amanda

Hi Amanda. Lemons are quite thirsty beasts and I suspect you're probably not giving yours enough water. However, they also like heat & humidity to grow well and set fruit. So it needs to be in a well-lit, warm spot and you may need to mist it over once a day to keep the humidity (air moisture) high. Alternatively, you could get a plant saucer that's much wider than the pot, fill it with gravel, then snuggle the pot down onto it. Fill the saucer with water until you can just see it around the gravel (you don't want the roots sitting in water or they'll rot). The water will evaporate up around the leaves during the day and keep them nice & humid.
Just check on the fertiliser pack too, to see how often it recommends feeding. Twice a week sounds like a lot!

Thanks so much for the advice. The temperature has dropped this weekend to 8 degrees and I have moved the plant outside last week. Do you think it would be a good idea to keep the plant in my unheated conservatory overnight and then move outside during the day. Or is it not good to keep moving the plant about?

Don't put it outside! It's far too early for most citrus to be outside yet. I'd keep it in the conservatory full time until at least next month.

Thanks. It does get hot in the conservatory during the day and because I work I cant keep all the windows open. Will it get too hot in there

Is there any way to shade the plant? Even just draping a piece of fleece (from the garden centre) over the leaves will help. It won't mind the heat, but the direct sun might scorch the leaves. A big bowl of water nearby to evaporate will make conditions even better. It'll need watering more often if it's hot, but is far more likely to set fruit for you.

Thanks so much for all your hints and tips, I will give them all a go

what is the apple tree that will fertilise a worchester
a sexton

thanks for all the info my lemon tree is doing really well the branches in the upper section are growing and the lemons aswell .i have put a large plant tray filled with gravel and then water and mist it late evening and morning . i water it when the top inch of soil is dry . it can take up to four months to grow a lemon.

I have been following all the hints and tips and finally the little lemon buds are starting to grow into little lemons. I have 4 new ones which is great. Do you keep your lemon tree outside now. I have moved mine outside now, do you think this is ok

our orange tree has a few very large leaves- Is there a reason a few look like this the remainder are a normal size and we have two oranges growing it is a fairly small tree

My orange tree is loosing all of it's leaves and is starting to look sad. Any help would be appreciated as I don't want to look it.

It's funny after coming over from Israel where citrus trees are all over the place, now to find out they're so finiky lol.

Hello all.
Sad-looking lemon trees probably need feeding. Check out the Chempack range of Summer & Winter Citrus feeds, they're very good.
Large leaves on a small leaved tree could be the start of what's known as 'reversion' where a stronger shoot begins to grow that would take over if you left it alone, but probably wouldn't have such nice fruit. It need pruning right off.
Yes, it's ok to put citrus outside now until the end of the summer (autumn if it stays warm enough).
Have I covered everything?