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I am a new Meyer Lemon tree owner. My trees' leaves have gradually yellowed, and started dropping. I thought they were under-watered, so I started watering more regularly, but that doesn't appear to have helped. I brought them inside as it started to get cool here about two weeks ago, and things got progressively worse. I cannot tell if they are nutrient deficient, overwatered, root rot, if they got too cold, or if they have another disease. I don't want to uproot/repot and risk stressing them further unless it's the right thing to do. Would someone be able to offer guidance on what issue they suspect based upon the images to help me determine the best course of action?

Thank you so much!

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What's the soil type, temperature, humidity and lighting condition you have around your Meyer Lemon? They are quite cold sensitive and can only use up water if they have enough light and temperature for photosynthesis and transpiration through the leafs. If you give them too much water when the light/temperature are at too low of a level then they can't use up that water.

Have you inspected the root for any sign of root rot? If the roots have rotted then that's probably a sign of overwatering or it has been sitting in water due to poor drainage.

Also I noticed the leafs on your Meyer Lemon looks quite pale, citrus trees are also heavy feeders, have you been fertilizing the tree?

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    Thank you so much, this is really helpful guidance. I used citrus-specific soil (Cactus, palm, and citrus Miracle-gro). I haven't been feeding it before, but did order fertilizer on Monday and will start as soon as it arrives. I will check out the roots today. If there is root rot, what type of pot would you recommend? I've seen contradictory recommendations for plastic and terra-cotta pots. The temp here has been all over the place, so I moved it inside to give it more consistency. I only get morning light here though, so I am getting a grow light for them.
    – Kate Z.
    Nov 18, 2020 at 15:40
  • For a tree that size, it really needs to be fed more often, especially if its getting sunlight / growing. What condition was it in before? Was it putting on foliage? If the conditions are inconsistent they also really don't like that either. As for pot, well it really depends on the conditions, for my little citrus seedlings I've tried both plastic and terracotta, terracotta do better if you're scared of overwatering because terracotta will help with drying out, plastic (I use black plastic) help the soil to be warmer. Grow lights are a must IMO for these guys since they're so sun loving.
    – TofuGrower
    Nov 19, 2020 at 7:55
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    Thank you! It was getting sunlight, adding lots of foliage and growing, then the leaves started turning yellow, then dropping. And now one of them is completely leaf-less.
    – Kate Z.
    Nov 19, 2020 at 13:26
  • Then it's probably a nutrient deficiency if it was thriving then suddenly it went flat. Hope everything I said helps your lemon tree back to its original thriving self! :)
    – TofuGrower
    Nov 20, 2020 at 1:44
  • Hello again - I added fertilizer, and had major mold growth on the soil. I repotted in fresh soil and checked for root rot (very minimal). The mold is coming back though. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the mold? Thanks!
    – Kate Z.
    Nov 29, 2020 at 19:55

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