Lesser of two evils: low light or dry air?

10 years ago

I'm growing a dwarf kishu mandarin in a container - the plant is about 2.5 ft tall, planted in a fast-draining, 5-1-1-type mix. My apartment doesn't have any outdoor access, so I'm currently relegated to keeping it indoors, which I know isn't ideal.

For indoor citrus, lots of light and relatively high humidity are ideal, right? I'm in a situation where I can provide one or the other, but not both - and wondering if anyone knows which I should prioritize.

Location #1 (current location) - Not dry, but not tons of light:
-Directly in front of a large bay window in my apartment, facing north; some western light comes later in the day. I live in the pacific northwest, and keep the windows open frequently, which means it is never very dry in the house. No central heating/cooling so there's no forced air used.
The mandarin has grown in this location, but I wouldn't say it's thriving.

Location #2 - Lots of sun, but dry air
-I can bring the plant to my office and sit it in front of massive, tall, south-facing windows where it would get direct sun all day (in the summer, at least). But during business hours central A/C or fans would be circulating air in the office, making the environment rather dry.

Before I lug this to the office I wanted to see if anyone had any experience which suggests the relative importance of sun vs. humidity.

(Hopefully I'll be able to get an apartment that lets me put the plant outdoors sometime soon - but for now, these are the two options I have to work with!)

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Comments (7)

JoppaRich
10 years ago
I'd go with the higher light, personally, as long as the office isn't too cold. (High light and low temp can cause winter leaf drop)

During the winter, my citrus came in and sat in front of a south facing sliding door, They were a couple feet from a heating vent. They grew all winter. The year before I had them across the room with less light, but not as close to the vent, and they were pretty much stagnant.
houstontexas123
10 years ago
i'd leave it at home and get a few high wattage CFLs for supplemental lighting.
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meyermike_1micha
10 years ago
HIgh light and dry air!

Many of my citrus would pay a million dollars for a high light position all year instead of humidity..

Mike
krismast
10 years ago
Would it be possible to buy a humidifier? Then maybe you could use that in the higher light situation. If not, I would definitely go for higher light than higher humidity.

Kris
johnmerr
10 years ago
You don't need a humidifier; just mist the tree once or twice a day with a spray bottle; it's cheaper and you feel like you are the one making the plant happy.
krismast
10 years ago
Misting plants has almost no affect on them. All it does is give the grower something to do to make him/her feel better :) it can actually also hurt somewhat. The best thing to do is increase the humidity of the entire room that the plant is located in. Although for a citrus, increasing humidity is not as important as light. Remember that many grow citrus succesfully in places with almost zero humidity.

Kris
poncirusguy6b452xx
10 years ago
Assuming you will not get in trouble I would take the tree to the office from september 21 to march 21 and keep the plant at home with a CFL during the spring and summer.

In sumer the sun rizes and set north of the east and west and must rize very high towards noon before the sun crosses to the south. Even then the angle is so sharp the sun will not make it through the low-E argon vapor barior glass and your tree will suffer. In the winter months however your tree will get sun the entire day at the office as the sun is low and will make it through the glass.

I sprayed my tree 3 to 4 times a day all winter and I felt great so go ahead and spray.

While the tree is ver important, you still come first

Steve