Question
I live in Rochester NY.  I have a small citrus plant (Clematine Orange) that was on my porch for the summer and early fall.  It was doing wonderfully.  Three weeks ago we had cold weather and flurries, so I brought all my plants in.  All are doing well except this citrus.  It is slowly dropping all it's leaves.  It's still very green, I have let it dry between waterings.  I have in a window which receives light from the porch.  Most of the sun hits the porch in the afternoon between 2 and 4 (now).  It is not in front of a heat vent.  I started misting it yesterday and it seemed even more dropped last night.  Any advice??  I really like this plant and once had a grapefruit that dropped all it's leaves and eventually died.  Thanks for the help!  Kate

Answer
Hi Kate,

The downside to having plants outside in the summer is that they have to be moved back inside in the fall. Outdoor light is much more intense than indoor light.

Your orange tree is adapting to the reduced light. It can no longer support as many leaves as before, so it will shed many of its older leaves so that it can continue to push out new leaves that are better suited to the lower light. There is not much you can do to prevent this from happening, but that doesn't mean that you will lose the tree.

First, try to provide as much direct sun as possible. Second, reduce the watering frequency, as plants in reduced light do not use as much water. Allow the top quarter of the soil to dry out in between thorough waterings. Third, consider pruning back leggy stems that have lost many of their leaves. Fourth, do not repot or fertilize your orange tree until next spring. Misting does no harm, but it doesn't really help much either.

Just try to keep you tree alive during the winter. Don't expect it to thrive unless you have a very sunny location for it. Come spring, you can move it back outside and it should perk up once again.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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