It's my understanding that the CLM isn't active usually during this time of year. I have a ton of damage on my more mature tree from them and usually the whole leaf is there with the trail running through it. You could have a nutrient or watering issue. I have a key lime in a pot that has a similar issue. With the rains recently I haven't been able to adjust the water much but I did add some osmocste plus to see if it helped on the fertilizer side.

BaconEater - thanks for your feedback. I had read that CLM is not that active this time of year, I might be looking at leaves that were damaged in the fall. I haven't fertilized much because it is a new tree but decided to put some out today. My bag of Espoma Citrus-tone says to fertilize late winter (January/February). So I just did with half the amount recommended for a 3 foot tree. I think it is hard to incorporate dry fertilizer into the ground here but we have rain coming again next week which should help. I am hoping that helps with the yellowing leaves.

For an in ground Meyer I would use at least the full recommended dosage for Espoma; if your tree is bearing, I would use 1.5 X the recommended. I have a lot of friends who have my gift Meyers and use Espoma Citrus Tone; it is very good, but you have to use a lot.

John, thanks for your advice. I will fertilize more generously. I also have some seaweed extract and other liquid organic fertilizers/amendments. I think I can use them without much risk of over doing it.

I wanted to post an update. My Meyer Lemon has grown quite a bit since January! It still has leafminers doing damage but it does not seem to affect the overall vitality. I have lemons in different stages of development and hope to harvest some later this year.

Anyone think I should be worried about the citrus leafminers? I have been going out at different times during the day to see if I have beneficial wasps. I only see one or 2 large wasps at a time and they do land on the leaves with CLM. It doesn't seem to be enough of them to provide much help. In my back yard, I have wasps all over my passion fruit vines.

Looks okay, try not to stress.

Looks beautiful and lush. Citrus miner are usually considered harmless and only do cosmetic damage. But if it stresses your tree enough that the stress attracts other, more harmful pests then some preventative measure wouldn't hurt.

The slow release organic fertilizers, like Espoma, take some time to be broken down and release its nutrients so I like to calculate and divide the dosage to be applied monthly. I do that in hopes of always having a continuous supply of nutrients that won't leach out too much.

Most wasps are beneficial for plants, especially if they're all clamoring on the leaves. They help pollinate and some will prey on undesirable pests. If they're attacking and killing honeybees or bumblebees then I'd try to ward them away.

One method I found online for paper wasps (paper wasps!) says to use their territorial nature against them, make them think another wasp nest is already there. Take a large paper bag from a grocery store, stuff it with newspaper to make it round, tie off the top and hang it from the ceiling of wherever there is a nest you want cleared out. I don't have experience with other types of wasp nests but I've seen a huge black wasp fight and carry off what looked like a moth caterpillar so I let it take'em :D

Thanks for the suggestions. Since we don't get rain in the summer, it is difficult to get the Espoma or other dry fertilizers down to the roots. I occasionally use some liquid fertilizers. I think the idea of monthly fertilizing is good.

I have had paper wasps that build up under the eaves of the house and if they find an opening wander into the attic. I have not noticed any nests this year. I will try the paper bag trick f they do become bothersome. When I have some time, I will try to get some pictures of the wasps and bees that are around. Most of them don't sit still long enough for a picture so I will need some time. I have several kinds of wasps and bees and it will be interesting to try to identify them.

I am inclined not to use a preventative for the CLM at the moment. I will keep an eye on the overall health of the plant and presence of other pests and will continuously re-evaluate.

Your tree looks beautiful! I wish CLM weren't active this time of year. My lime tree is taken over by them at the moment. I've tried Neem, hand removal but there are just too many. I'm hoping the damage is only cosmetic. I hope they leave your tree alone soon! Maybe they're not so active in the winter? I sure hope that's the case for both of us!

Good luck!

The problem with not treating CLM is that each season the population will be worse.

If you ever try out that paper bag method, let me know how it goes. There's always at least one paper wasp nest built too close for comfort and it would be nice not having to wait until winter to knock it down.

As for the CLM, I haven't gotten into any pest management routines with the sprays or neem oil yet. Instead I've bought a few herbs that I've placed around my tree in hopes of repelling whatever may want to harm the tree. So far, the new leaves haven't been getting mottled yellow like the previous leaves that were juiced by leafhoppers. They also haven't gotten the tiny bumps that the previous flush got last time from whichever pests juiced on them. My lemon tree is still in its nursery container so I can't plant the herbs with the tree yet but you may be to plant one or two around the outer edge of the dripline! Or beneficial flowering plants that either repel insects or attract predator insects..or a flower that can do both simultaneously! Let us know if anything works for you :)

*I wanted to add on that I see CLM trails all over some other plants/weeds that took over one area of the yard. They seem to love attacking what looks like stinging nettles I think? I have a hard time identifying stinging nettles but maybe you can place a plant the CLM finds more appetizing nearby and it'll move onto that plant. Just pick one that won't invade your whole yard though or pot it into a container lol

Personally, I despise CLM and how terrible they make the citrus tree look. They certainly ruin the landscape aesthetics in my yards. Having said that, I treated aggressively this season [systemic and H.O based sprays] and am still looking for that first CLM affected leaf of 2017.... It's the katydids that went gonzo and eat half the leafs in a random pattern... and make the new growth look just awful. - George

Kvetch, what plants did you plant around? I put my potted VPL right next to my rosemary bush since supposedly ants don't like it but we'll see. It was covered in ants and scale on one branch.

Kelly, the first few plants I got from my local nursery were chrysanthemum, Roman chamomile, and sweet marjoram. I wanted the daisy styled mum to attract insects but I don't think it's doing a good job of it. One of my family's cats tries to eat every plant in sight except for the chrysanthemum! I was surprised because she's eaten some of the baby shoots of my snow peas and even chomped half a leaf from my small seed grown lemon!

I also read that sweet marjoram doesn't really repel insects, but masks other plant scents. The chamomile has a strong scent that can mix with the other scents to help confuse insects. Roman chamomile also flops over and can become a ground cover so I may let it creep along the edge of my lemon tree pot. It's also a mild fungicide so once you get flowers, you can make chamomile tea to water your plants. I just bought rosemary and sage a couple days ago to add to the collection. The Rosemary and marjoram are in very small containers so I sit them on top of the soil of my lemon tree container so the strong scents can waft around the canopy.

Ideally plants with strong pungent smells or ones that contain essential oils will mask, confuse, deter. Having flowering plants all season long will keep beneficial insects around so pick a diverse set of plants that flower at different times in the season. From what I've seen in the searches, ants aren't one of the bugs repelled by Rosemary. Sage and bay leaves do though! Here's a link with a nice list of herbs to choose from:

https://dengarden.com/gardening/Natural-repellents-A-brief-overview-of-plants-that-repel-pests-bugs-and-insects

Picking a strong smelling herb that also produces flowers would be a double whammy!

Thank you for the info and the link Kvetch. I appreciate it. I'll get some good stuff to plant around. Probably closer to spring though. If i can before winter I will try. I do have a huge bush of rosemary I would love to propagate around the tree. I will try that too. I don't seem to do too well keeping flowers alive, though they've all been in pots. I will report back if they do well!

No problem Kelly. Looking for these things to share helps me too! I just took a cutting off my Rosemary to try to root. The best chances of rooting is a 3-4 inch cutting on new green growth rather than woody ones.

I plan on bringing the herbs indoors for winter along with my lemon tree. I don't think they're big or established enough to bounce back come spring. Good luck propagating! Your bush sounds large enough to get you plenty of successful cuttings!

Oh yes, the rosemary is HUGE. It was there when I moved in and I have been thinking about putting some near my young citrus trees. It just has to be trimmed or it is out of control. The previous owners planted it right next to their Meyer so they knew a thing or two! Now it's covered in spittle bugs. I swear these pests are never ending!

Let's see... by last count I had oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, chervil, galangal, lemon grass, culantro (not cilantro); chile tepin, and jalapeno; and not one of them has anything to do with citrus or insects; they are all for my cooking.

I like the ideas in this thread! I currently have rosemary, lavender, roman chamomile, basil, mint, and thyme. The rosemary bush is huge. So are my lavender bushes. I have used rosemary trimmings in the past for mulch to keep away snails and slugs. I think I will mulch some rosemary and lavendar around my meyer lemon tree, I don't think it can hurt. And I have California poppies near my meyer lemon, they are slug resistant (saw this on UC IPM site and from my experience it is true). The essential oils might or might not confuse the CLM, it will be hard to tell, but I do think they will help with snails.

I read that the rosemary had to be a live plant. But if it works in mulch I'm so for it. I also have a ton of basil, I'll have to see if that repels anything as well.

Nice Cathy, glad to hear the poppies work! I did want to plant poppies for the same reason but I can't stand looking at the dark centers of them. They creep me out too much for some reason. I plan to get perennial hardy geraniums instead next time :)

That's a good site suggestion john! I remember going through the disease and pest list and they're very thorough. I like how they include fruits for many different zones and not just ones for a certain region of the country.

kevetchlambkin, the California poppies do not have dark centers, they are entirely orange. They self seed and I am trying to create a small field of poppies in my front yard. This is from March this year. I don't know how they would do in other climates though.

Those are beautiful Cathy. Did you grow them from seed?

Yes, I seeded in about 2011 or 2012. They come back every year. They even spread to my neighbors' yards who are downwind. In return I get Bermuda grass from the neighbors which I am trying to get rid of and replace with the poppies. A never ending process. I also have mint that has become invasive. I like it better as a ground cover than Bermuda grass.

Oh my goodness I saw seed packets online for those California poppies! I wanted to purchase them so bad since they were one of the few offered that didn't have a dark center. A botanical garden near me grows that type (I think) and I wanted them the first time I laid eyes on those beautiful petals. I was about to splurge on flower seeds last weekend, especially on that poppy variety, but my boyfriend did a good job helping me hold back my impulses. I'm still trying to narrow down all the seeds I put in my cart

Thank you for showing us what they look like! It confirms the variety I've been looking for. And the way you grew them looks amazing! They look like 2 separate herb bushes that somehow grew huge flowers

I restrict my tree purchases, not seeds! I'll look for those. They are lovely, as long as I put them in the ground, not pots!

A little over a year later, the CLM certainly hasn't kept the tree from producing fruit. Think I have too many meyer lemons? If you look closely, there seem to be more lemons than leaves. I know some would recommend thinning but I am inclined to let it be.

Meyers generally go out of their minds with fruit from what I’ve heard lol. Your tree looks huge and very green now. You did a good job with your tree, congrats!

Thanks! It loves it's location. Inspired by the success, I just purchased and planted an Owari Satsuma Mandarin from Four Winds. I have limited in ground space but managed to find a spot for it.

Wow that’s awesome and definitely a good idea to get more citrus :) In your climate it’ll thrive inground in your yard!

Cathy that tree looks awesome. I love to see so many lemons! You're right though, the fruit to leaf ratio is nuts! Mine produced so many on one side it looked like a saucer that was almost on the ground on that side. We trimmed all the low hanging stuff after the fruit matured. I don't think it's good for the tree to be touching the ground but that's not based in any actual knowledge, just what I think,

Those look great! I lightly thin my lemons to keep it from going biennial. I had that happen to me a couple of times which caused me to start thinning the crop each year. I'll leave 2 lemons per node, but remove anything above that. I helps increase the lemon size too.

I've seen recommendations on removing low lying limbs to prevent them from touching the ground, but that is mostly to keep critters such as snails from accessing the tree that way. I do not bother to do it.

I have cut the lowest branches from time to time, usually after harvesting the fruit. It seems the tree does not have a trunk, all the branches start really low. I am considering thinning the lemons. I tried to count and I think there are 250 plus on the tree. They won't all ripen at the same time but still lots more than I need in a year. I am slowly talking myself into thinning.

I hope johnmerr chimes in with his opinion.