Question about my Eureka lemon tree

13 years ago

Hi guys and girls,

I posted here before about my lemon tree and got a lot of good advice. Now I'm back for some more advice.

Last year september we moved to a new house (condo) and I think it is since then that my tree started dropping leaves. When I noticed that I moved that from the downstairs patio (less sun) to the upstairs patio with more sun (6+ hours a day in summer). It seems it has been doing better since that change of location and it's growing back some new leaves now. Still it looks pretty awful. It currently has 5 lemons growing on it, but new blossom that it grew it spring all dropped.
Could it be due to overwatering? I tried to water only once a week and I got rid of the moisture meter, because it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Instead I dig my finger a bit into the soil and just feel how wet it is before watering.

What I also noticed now since a few weeks is one or two big slender wasps visiting the tree a lot. I identied the wasps as mud dauber wasps. I assume they are there to lay eggs in some pests on the tree, but I don't see any visible pests on it. What could the reason for this be?

Thanks in advance.

Ruben.

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Comments (9)

johnmerr
13 years ago
The mud dauber wasp is a beneficial. It lays its eggs in its nest and includes an insect, usually a spider, in each egg cell to feed the dauber larvae when they hatch. So, most likely the wasp is looking for spiders; they may be small to see without a loop. If you suspect spiders, or spider mites, the best thing is just to give your tree a good wash with the hose.
RubenE
Original Author
13 years ago
You're probably right. I see quite some spider webs in the patio area where the tree is located, never see a spider though. So spiders can potentially hurt the tree?
Thanks.
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johnmerr
13 years ago
Garden spiders don't hurt lemon trees; but spider mites do.
RubenE
Original Author
13 years ago
Okay thanks, I'll keep an eye on it. Hopefully the wasps will do their job and get rid of the spider mites then. Thanks for the help.
RubenE
Original Author
13 years ago
Update: I just checked the bottoms of the leaves using a flashlight and noticed something that looks like spidermites.
I sprayed it with organic pesticide (soap mixture). Will this be enough to kill them or do I really have to hose them off the leaves?
See attached pic.
johnmerr
13 years ago
You have done well, Grasshopper... mites like dry and dirty (dusty) environments.

BTW, fierce as they look, mud dauber wasps rarely sting; be happy you have them... leave them alone and they will help you... without charge.
Ohiofem 6a/5b Southwest Ohio
13 years ago
If you're referring to the white powdery stuff, that looks more like mealy bugs to me. It's best to clean all of that stuff off. Mealy bugs can be killed by the same insecticidal soap as spider mites.
RubenE
Original Author
13 years ago
Good to know, I'll just check once a day or so and spray off the leaves if necessary. Hopefully the little buggers got knocked out by the soap mixture. It all makes sense now though: the leaves dropping, the wasps hovering around the tree etc. Can't believe I didn't spot this before!
Thanks again for the help, much appreciated.
RubenE
Original Author
13 years ago
@Ohiofem
I'm referring to the little creatures populating the bottoms of the leaves. In the picture the leaf at the very bottom has quite a bunch of them. They turned to a more reddish color after I sprayed them.
From the reference pictures online it looks more like spider mites to me. The mealy bugs in the pictures I found are larger.