Rust mites maybe?

the brown on the fruit is citrus rust. It's ugly, but it doesn't harm the fruit inside. the spots on the leaves can be a number of things. It's a bit late to fertilize, and you never want to fertilize a sick tree. Spray it with the Spinosad and a good fungicide (not together). Citrus trees do lose leaves at least once a year, so don't worry about that. There's definitely a nutrient deficiency, but if you fertilize now, it will put out new, tender growth that may be damaged in cold weather. Some people will say you can fertilize or trim citrus any time of year, but you really shouldn't. You CAN throw some Epsom salts and maybe some iron around it to help with that yellowing, but no nitrogen, because you don't want tender new growth.

My trees looked like crap with the recommended 3x a year feeding. A friend told me to fertilize them a little bit every month from March to October, and that made all the difference. Lemons especially like monthly feedings, so maybe grapefruit do too?

That's my opinion, but I never did have much luck with my citrus other than the Key Lime and Kumquqat, so maybe listen to someone better versed.

Thanks guys, appreciated all three replies ! After reading them, i searched thru both sheds and found an old ( sealed ) plastic jug, 3/4 full of Malathion Oil - Citrus & Ornamental Spray ! Instructions read : For use on citrus and outdoor ornamentals for the control of scale, white flies, spider mites and citrus mealy bug. Already mixed the 2 1/2 tablespoons & 1 gallon of water. Will fill the big plastic sprayer with this mixture tomorrow morning and coat the entire tree,..tops of leaves and bottoms. Wifey thinks this'll work fine,..what do youse guys think ? If necessary I can always drive the 1/4 mile to Wally's ! Such a convenient little town I live in !!! LOL

I also found a small, plastic jug of Liquid Copper Fungicide that I used to spray on the mango trees ! Plan to leave this guy alone, unless ya'all think it'd be useful as well !

Thanks again !

I believe it is better to try something than nothing at all, since the spray you have is recommended for citrus, it should do something for the bugs. And don't mix with the copper. Just wear a mask when spraying.

You're lucky you can still have citrus. I left Miami, where citrus greening had killed all of my trees. Moved to northern Florida and found out the 3 trees in the isolated house I bought were dying.

I miss Malathion and Diazinon. I had a lot prettier and healthier gardens when I used chemicals, but alas, times change. My old college professor went to work for the USDA and he said they took Diazinon and Dursban off the market because people were using them in their houses to kill roaches, and getting sick. He said they were persistent in the soil, but they weren't that harmful, and except for stupid people, they would still be available. Stupid people always ruin it for the rest of us. I remember when they took Methyl bromide (the best soil sterilizer and nematode killer in the freaking world) off the market for the same reason. People were using it as bug bombs inside their houses. One woman died. Like I said, stupid people.

I agree Deb, that's why these two small plastic jugs had so many cobwebs on them, - hardly ever used them ! Last time was when I sprayed the Copper Fungicide on one mango tree over 3 yrs ago ! Would never dream of using either indoors !

FINALMENTE !!! After an early rising, and a 1 1/2 hr marathon lap swimming sojourn at our Olympic sized pool,.. ( walked over and back ), swam my 6 1/2 laps ( last on my back ), arrived home, showered, ate breakfast & then put on my hoody, face mask, gloves and attacked the Ruby Red grapefruit tree with sprayer fully loaded with the Malathion liquid ! After that I saw the sprayer jug was still over half full, so asked wifey if she had anything she'd want sprayed. " The Florida Best peach tree " was her response. So out I go again, sprayed the slightly wimpy looking peach tree !

After that energetic output, I had an empty sprayer, but a feeling of satisfaction !!!

Finally back inside, removed the mask, gloves, hoody,..showered again, redressed and sat down with a cold one ! LOL

A busy morning,..about 3 hours total of intensive activity, including the swimming workout ! A bit tired but happy that I took you GWers' advice, - I feel I have helped two youngsters trying to mature :o)

Thanks guys !

What is your watering regimen? How often and for how long do you water the tree?

It's hard to see in the first picture, but is the tree buried below the root flare? I cannot see the trunk widening for the top of the roots. That area should be opened up. Tree trunk bark can get a fungal disease which prevents the nutrients from the roots from reaching the tree leaves and vice versa. Root bark is protected from the rotting. But the effects of this should not happen in a year. For the long haul, it's a concern.

That tree needs fertilizer. I'm an organic kind of guy, so I used to put a couple handfuls of alfalfa pellets under each of my citrus trees every month.

Our Meyers lemon got hit by scale one year which nearly killed it before I got it under control. It had no fruit the next year. After that I sprayed the tree with a mix of molasses, shampoo, and water out of a hose end sprayer. It had very few problems after the scale incident.

We also had a tangerine which was bullet proof. We have the occasional cold weather in the low to mid 20s to contend with every other year.

Now why is that area full of weeds instead of dense St Augustine?

d_chall, St. Augustine is the thirstiest grass in the world, and we not only have watering restrictions here in FL, but the water where Joe lives is extremely expensive. (Used to live 10 miles from there). Plus, we have a rule in FL. If it's green, mow it. That's your lawn. There is absolutely no way to keep weeds out of a FL lawn without voluminous amounts of time and money.

dchall,

Since the tree has been in the ground for a year now and is established, it is watered weekly, either by Mother Nature or by us during the dry season when it gets a good, long soaking by hose. We try to ensure 1" a week.

The tree's root flare isn't buried. Being a young tree, the flare is not big. The raised soil ring (native soil and composted mix) around the tree is obscuring the view of the flare.

It is fertilized regularly (every 6-8 weeks since it is established) with citrus fertilizer. Fresh compost is applied and worked into the soil 3 times a year.

We appreciate your input on the grass, but as dirtygardener stated, we have restrictions on both watering and fertilizing lawns here. That fertilizer ends up in our water supply through our normal rainy season and excess watering by us. Many area communities are starting to ban fertilizer altogether.

Our Gulf and rivers are full of red tide and green algae...the worst in history. The current event started in October of 2017, and is getting increasingly worse every month with no end in sight. The effect on our marine life, our own physical health and our economy has been devastating. Red tide and green algae occur naturally in small amounts every year. But, it is suspected that the huge amounts of fertilizer from big sugar farms that get washed out into our rivers and end up in the Gulf are feeding the algae. Housing developments, where applying lawn fertilizer and watering to excess to grow lush grass is common, are only contributing to the problem.

So, we will continue to responsibly water and fertilize our trees and plants and let Mother Nature determine when our grass gets watered and we will accept our grass as it is. Our neighborhood and surrounding areas all have yards similar to ours.

Just an FYI, many of the weeds that grow in our lawns are host plants for the caterpillars of smaller butterflies and moths. Applying fertilizers and weed killers would kill not only the weeds but the caterpillars that feed on them.

dchall : Walk a day in my shoes and you won't have so many questions ! :o)