What's going on with my lemon tree??

[Strawberriesandscream101]

Can any keen green fingers out there give me any advice on what to do?? Ive never owned a lemon tree before, I picked it up today from a local whisk group, Looks a little sad brown twigs just snapping off, ive cut it back im holding onto hope as there is a lovely bouncy green twig with a lemon hanging off! What should I do with it?? Citrus feed now ? Or leave it till spring/summer? Please help as I'm really optimistic to bring it back to life!!

Not grown lemons, but from my experience of calamondins while there's a green twig there's hope.

Keep the soil damp but not wet, feed once a week, give it plenty of light but not too much warmth at the moment - indoors, but the coolest indoor spot you have.

I'd also remove the lemon too. Although it seems a shame it will put more strength into the roots and plant if the fruit is removed, it's not well enough to do both.

Yes, good point.

Thank you for your replies, I will remove the lemon its seems a shame like you said but I understand it will need all the strength.

Mine did this. It was scale insects. They were on the underside of the leaves and the leaves all dropped off.

I did think it could have some sort of insect on it ill spray it to with insecticide... (may I asked what you used?)

I didn't. Scale insects have a waxy coating that resists pesticides, so it ended up being chucked out. Look under a leaf, if you have one - they are tiny oval grey things.

Remove the lemon.
Check all the stems/branches for scale bugs - they'll be grey/brown & stuck to the stem. You can use a cloth dipped in warm water rubbed along the stem as this helps to remove the honeydew too.

I rubbed the stem and brown sticky like flakes were on the cloth not sure if that's the pest or natural state of the tree I have removed the lemon and hoping it comes back to life

Just looked it up what these flake looking things are and it appears to be scale bugs.

It can’t be saved then - bin in the green bin

Scale insects killed my lemon tree in the end. You have to be really diligent and pick them off completely

I'd say it's worth trying whilst there is still green growth.
I've had a lime loose all its leaves & still came back.

I'm so determined to save it... look what ive done ive just cut all the dead branches off and some parts look green im going to give it a chance, if it fails I will have to bin it sadly 😥

I'd also suggest repotting it in proper citrus compost, that'll help with nutrients etc.

No point in feeding it, it doesn’t have enough growth to be able to use much food. And I wouldn’t repot it at this stage. Just keep the soil moist but not wet, and keep your eye on it,

I can’t see any scale insects, so I wouldn’t spray it. Scale insect would need a systemic insecticide as the waxy coat protects it from sprays.

it may be 3 months before it shows growth.

What @MereDintofPandiculation says.

For now keep it in a cool place with as much light as possible. You may still get scale insect s but while it's small and leafless you have a fair chance of keeping on top of them. They're hard to see on the trunk so to be on the safe side I'd rub it down every now and then with a plastic dish scrubber dipped in diluted washing up liquid or SB Plant Invigorator (see below). You're looking for the sort of robust but gentle action you might use on a precious saucepan.

SB Plant Invigorator is excellent for prevention and initial treatment of all sorts of nasties, I highly recommend it.

sbproducts.co.uk/pest-control/scale-insects/

I usually have a small citrus grown from a pip on my windowledge.
They always get scale, you can control them on a small plant by regularly physically removing them, paying particular attention to the stems and undersides of the leaves. I just use an e-cloth, but I shall look at the stuff @MontyDonsBlueScarf recommends.

If you have the space just put it somewhere cool but sheltered.

I had one which was forgotten about during building work. It looked completely and utterly dead. I left it in a corner because I forgot about it (again) and after about six months of nothing whatsoever it re-sprouted from the base.

Hello I've took all the great advice on here.. I've checked the lemon tree today, a few scaley bugs removed and then I got excited I saw a green shoot? Only to Google that it could be a sucker and needs to be removed. just wanted to make sure and see what you all thought before I remove it.

Well done you, there's nothing better than the first green shoots.
Lemon trees are usually grafted, which means that two different varieties are joined together. You want the bottom part to produce roots and the top part to fruit. Suckers are branches coming from the bottom part, so you don't want them. To identify them you have to find the graft. It looks like a lumpy ridge where the main stems changes direction. Sometimes it's daubed with a spot of paint. They all look a bit different so here are some pictures of mine. I suspect the graft is what's showing in the top of your picture but I can't be completely sure without seeing the rest of the stem down to soil level.
Even if you have to take it out it's still a good thing as it's telling you the tree is alive and waking up.