Looks like salt; give your tree a good flush and tell us what kind of pot you have it in. Some containers, especially terra cotta have tendency to accumulate salts.

I would agree with john. It is salt build up in the soil from your fertilizer. One of the ingredients is composted poultry manure, which in the ground is a great source of nitrogen. But it contains urea, and a by product of urea is biuret, a kind of salt which will build up in container soils and in your plant. The plant will try to get rid of it by pushing it out to the end of the leaf tip.

I would change your fertilizer after you flush the soil. Look for something without urea, or at least look for a low-biuret type of urea.

I and several others here have had good results with Osmocote Plus. It's slow release, and has most of the micro-nutrients citrus need. It's very good for container soils.

But any good fertilizer without urea will work too. Look for the word urea or if it has any kind of animal manure, poultry, bat, cow, etc., it will contain urea. Again, it's very good in the ground, but not so great for containers.

Fertilizer salts can build up and cause tip burning if not flushed out with a good drenching. It's the potting mix that accumulate the fertilizer, not the container. Terra cotta pots just show it more than plastic or glazed pottery.

It's possible, too, that you are a chronic overwaterer. That can cause wilting and tip burn, as well. Are you using a fast draining potting medium? If so, you'll be able to water as you should without fear of sogginess.

What are the shiny spots on the leaves from?

Yes, container soil, (potting soil, potting mix, soil-less mix, etc.)

I guess I was just assuming they would know I meant container soil, not the container itself, my bad.

But it is also true that fertilizers with urea build up salts faster in a potting mix, than fertilizers without urea.

And just so everyone knows, we're not talking about regular salt like in your salt-shaker. Like rhizo_1 said, they're fertilizer salts.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for posting!!

I currently have my lemon tree in a 7"-8" plastic pot, that is elevated from the ground with saucer (for collecting excess water) with plastic clothes pegs (I kind of got creative).

The soil type is an organic tropical plant soil, but it seams very absorbent and takes about two weeks to even start drying out, so I have been debating to mix it with 1:1 potting mix and cactus soil.

I do have a problem with over watering, which I am trying currently to figure out the best method of watering. I've heard it's best to keep watering on a schedule but it still doesn't seem to be working, once every two weeks, but I'm still not convinced it is the best method.

I've been trying to stay organic with my lemon tree, but I really want whats best for it, so I think I'm going to try out Oscomote Plus fertilizer, or if you guys have any good organic alternatives, I would love to hear your input. =) Also thanks on the tip about the urea, I had no idea, and I'll get some new fertilizer without it asap.

I was also wondering if it is possible that the salt burn could be from the type of water I use to water my plant? I use tap water, from my kitchen sink, and I actually tried misting my plants with the water, which I read can helps the tree and act as a humidifier. The tree didn't seem to like it though, and that's what the weird blotchies are. Is it possibly salt residue on the leaves? And is it possible that the water in combination with the fertilizer and my over watering could be the issue?

I also am not sure how to 'flush' my plant, so any possible clarification would be very much so appreciated. Because I originally thought like down a toilet...

I also just watered my lemon tree just a week and a half ago, so should I wait to 'flush' and/or re-pot when the soil becomes drier or would it be best to change it up immediately?

Thanks so much again, and I'm definitely looking forward to your comments,

Sonja