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weeddummie

sick lemon tree

20 years ago

Hi citrus gurus,

I have a sickly looking potted dwarf lemon tree - yellow leaves at the bottom half of the plant. About 2-3 leaves in particular look a bit 'rusty' looking too. New growth look ok, but I think they're not as green as they should. Is this magnesium deficiency? It gave us a good number of sweet lemons last time, hope this is something we can easily help it with. Appreciate any advice.

photos:

{{gwi:610516}}

{{gwi:610519}}

Comments (5)

  • 20 years ago

    Weed, are all the leaves on the bottom similar to the one you posted?
    You're not overfeeding, are you? How about insects? Do you feel any stickiness on any part of the lemon?
    That first leaf, w/the brown, really looks bad. Are your leaves more brown than yellow? Toni

  • 20 years ago

    Hi Toni - not all are rusty looking - only 3 leaves (and a bit on the tip on a couple more). The leaves at the bottom are mostly yellow as in second photo. I don't see any obvious insects (but have noticed the bite marks around the leaves as you can see there - bugs perhaps?). Leaves are more yellow than brown. Don't feel any stickiness. No flowers/lemons yet.

    I don't think i have overfed it, but could it be underwatering? I water generously, but not very often, about once every two weeks.

    What could it be?

  • 20 years ago

    Weed, I just attempted to open your pics today and for some reason they won't open..I think it's my computer and not your pics.

    If you're seeing nibbling then something is munching on it. Is your lemon in or outside?

    Check for fine webbing, white cottony patches, brown/tan armored-like bumps..Shake the tree and see if anything flys around.
    When you check for scale, look everywhere..On the trunk, under and atop leaves and stems. When they're youngin's, they're almost impossible to spot, but as they mature, they're quite obvious.
    Yellow leaves are caused by over and underwatering, lack of minerals and/or nitrogen and insects. Since I can't open the pic it's hard to say..I'm trying to remember what the leaf looked like, but nothing's coming to mind. I'll try again later.
    When I water, I don't do so by schedule, only when soil is dry. Do you consider your soil to be well-draining? This is also important. What type of soil are you using?
    When you water does it drain automatcially or sit on top? You don't want it sitting..
    What size pot is your tree in? Toni

  • 20 years ago

    Opps, it was actually my web server that was down so you could not see my pics - it should be working now though (fingers crossed!).

    My lemon tree is outside on the patio, it's winter here but the area does not get frost. I had a close look at the leaves (nothing flies around by the way) and noticed that it's just a bit dusty (my fingers will have very tiny black dots of dust/dirt?) besides whitish dust.Oh, and only in a couple of areas I see fine cob webbish area that I brushed off. Will this mean that there's heaps of spider mites in the area, that being the main issue? I also scraped off two dark 2mm sized scales.

    I was thinking about the whitish dust part at the first photo. I think it's actually bird poo. I have no idea how it got there, but that corner of the patio does have birds frequenting the area. Not 100% sure if this will affect the plant this way.

    Tree is short of a metre high, and the pot is close to 2 feet, which I think is ok for its size (is this true?). Water does drain out, and the soil is well draining I believe.

  • 20 years ago

    Could someone please look at my sick leaves. This is my Pondarosa Lime tree. I don't know what to do

    Some leaves are real bumby almost shriveled

    {{gwi:610522}}


    {{gwi:610600}}



    Others are spotted. I am not sure if you can see them in this picture or not

    {{gwi:610601}}

    Please help