Kaffir Lime

Dovefromabove

I was given a small (very smalll) rooted cutting of a kaffir lime in a pot earlier this year.  It's lived happily on my east facing kitchen windowsill all summer, being watered only with soft rainwater and fed twice with specialised citrus feed.  It grew another little shoot and looked happy although still only about 5" tall.  Then about a fortnight ago it started dropping leaves and now it's just a bare stem.

I've been careful not to let it dry out, and also careful not to soak it or leave it soggy.

What's going wrong?

nutcutlet

Never grown anything as exotic as that Dove but I'll push you up the forum

fidgetbones

Have you put the central heaing on?

I had a lemon tree grown from a pip when I was a kid, and I brought it in for the winter. It responded by dropping all its leaves. They grew back in the spring when I put it outside again. My mum has one now that goes into a conservatory with a frost stat on, thats usually ok.

 I think kaffir lime need it a bit warmer than lemons, higher humidity. Perhaps the bathroom windowsill?

Dovefromabove

Ah, that might be it - the friend who gave it to me lives in tropical Cornwall - find a warmer damper windowsill for it.  Failing that maybe a mini-cloche made out of half of a big plastic water bottle? 

Dovefromabove

Oh dear - it's finally turned up it's toes completely