Hi, I have just purchased a Lemon Meyer Tree two weeks ago and just planted the tree in my backyard in a Large pot this week. The tree has several clusters of new lemons that are small and green but they are speckled with whit dots on some of them and one even has a small hole in it like something is eating it. What should i put on it to keep the pest from it?
Need Help saving my Lemon Tree I would greatly appreciate any help with saving my lemon tree from what little bugs that are eating my tree. Below I have attached a couple of pictures. Thanks
Hi, annflynhi. I had to look up where Helotes was (Texas, in case I'm not the only one who doesn't know the Lone Star State well). The first pic - I can't see much other than a mark on the yellowing-leaf in the center of the pic. The second picture - your autofocus is out - the camera decided to focus on the main stem of the shrub, rather than the lemon. I can sort of make out what looks like a cluster of whitish craters on the green lemon in the foreground. The leaves - I am not even sure it's pest-related damage. It could just be old leaves. The lemon - looks unusual. Is that the only lemon that has those markings? I am no expert, and it could easily be a bug that you find in the gulf states that you wouldn't find elsewhere. I found a few links where people talked about various pests, from swallowtail butterfly larvae and dog caterpillars, to slugs, snails and grasshoppers. Hopefully someone will chime in with some geographically specific advice. You can try horticultural oil (you'll eventually get scale or spider mites, so might as well get it now), and some copper strips around the plants to stop slugs and snails.
Thanks for the advice. I went to my local nursery and she believes it may be birds nipping at my lemons, her recommendation was to hang a couple of cd's to blind or distract the birds from sitting and nipping at the tree. I must admit i was quite surprised at her response but who am I? Just a rookie gardener ......Thanks Again!!!
I also need help with fertilizer I truly feel embarassed to share but I purchased a Lemon Meyer tree a month ago and without doing any homework in how to transfer to a pot and knowing what kind of soil to use or anything. I went and bought a beautiful 50 gallon pot and placed approximately 5 large bags of potting soil with 1 full bag of conditioning soil and 4 Agriform tablets in the soil and just placed my tree inside it to where the soil is leveled to the Root. I have since seen no growth and the leaves keep falling and I think a bird is pecking the little lemons that are on the tree now. The lemons are real green since it is new growth but it looks like I should have done my homework because I have read everyone's post and it sounds like i should of used peat moss and CHC and how are you figuring the parts, by the size of the container it is in? Sorry, I did write in before and was told to spray the tree with horiculture oil since i can see some bugs are eating it too. Should I replant it again with the right soil and fertilizers or is it too late for my Lemon Meyer? Any help will greatly appreciated. Annflynhi
Re: Need citrus fertilizer and soil mix How fast is the water draining and how far down is the soil wet? I could be wrong, as I am still pretty new to this too, but most people recommend no more than one pot size up at a time. Also I have read that meyer's like a little bit of bundled roots. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
I can tell you right now that your little Meyer Lemon is going to have a very hard time, and the chances of it dieing is very high. A big mistake by new growers, is usually made not in the type of container, but by using too large of a container. People think that they are doing their tree a favor by giving it a lot of room. But when the tree doesn't grow fast enough to use all of the space, trouble occurs. An over sized container becomes waterlogged VERY easily, and then the tree suffers from lack of air, and soluble salts begin to develop. When you are up potting a tree into a larger container, it is always best not to jump to a size any bigger that 2-3 inches larger than the original container. Standard potting soil sold by garden centers are a poor medium in which to grow citrus. They hold too much water, soon compact and reduce drainage, provide low aeration. You need to transplant your tree into a rapid draining medium, in a proper sized container. Further, get rid of the fertilizer tablets, and use a water soluble fertilizer with trace minerals. Fertilizer bags always have three numbers on the label, which refer to the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Purchase a fertilizer with a higher 1st number, and low middle number, and a higher last number. I would also recommend that you read, read, read the posting on this forum, then read some more, you will learn a lot. Good luck to the tree. - Millet (1,389-)
Re: Need citrus fertilizer and soil mix I don't really know how fast it drains because of the size of the pot it is rather large. Let's put it this way, I never see it seep onto the lawn. I did water it when i first planted it into the pot for 30minutes on a slow drip and then i saw it trinkle out at the bottom but that is the only time. I do water it twice a week and sometimes more since it is so hot here in Texas. Yesterday we got hail in the hill country and obviously i could not bring my lemon tree in the house since the pot is too heavy but it survived and there were no lemons on the ground but don't plan to water it till next week.
Thanks for all the advice I will take heed and do as you say. I did go outside to measure the tree and the pot it is currently in. The height of my Lemon Meyer tree is 40 inches high and the Pot I have it in is 271/2 in high and 26 inches in diameter or 79 inches in circumfrence. The pot it came in wasn't big at all so I thought I would give my tree some extra breathing room. Anyways, I am going to have my husband take a picture of the tree and pot and upload it tomorrow so you can tell me what you think of the current pot it is in. I hate to buy a new pot since the one I bought cost me quite a bit of money, like 179.00 worth. Then should I just buy new fertilizer and could you recommend a fertilizer instead of the agriform tablets i have been using? I appreciate all the help you and many others have given me and I will look forward to your reply.
Citrus always absorb nutrients in the ratio of 5-1-3. Meaning, for every 5 parts of nitrogen the tree takes up through it's root system, a citrus tree will take up 1 part phosphorous, and 3 parts potassium. Therefore, it is to the tree's advantage to purchase a water soluble fertilizer as close to the above ratio as possible. Many times it is difficult to find the perfect 5-1-3 ratio, so purchase a fertilizer as close as you can find. Just be sure that what ever you purchase, it also contains trace minerals. No matter how much money you paid for the container and the growth medium (potting soil), you will need to make a change. Commercial potting soils are not suitable for citrus. Unless you change to a fast draining medium your tree will surely die. A great many growers use either coconut husk chips (CHC), or pine bark chips blended with peat moss. The advantage that CHC has over pine bark is that it last so much longer. Pine bark mediums normally need to be changed every 2 years (every year is better), CHC will last 3 or 5 years. I currently have approximately 100 citrus trees of all varieties. I use 4 parts CHC and 1 part peat moss. Another good medium, although it does not last as long as CHC, is 3 parts pine bark chips, 1 part COARSE sand, and 2 parts peat moss. I can tell you are also over watering your tree. Unless you change the situation that your tree finds itself in, the tree will drop all of it leaves and soon perish. - Millet (1,388-)
Hi Millet, Here are a few things that I have done differently since I have last spoke to you. First, I purchased a smaller pot with a quick drainage at the bottom. I remixed the soil with a Conditioning soil mix with Peat Moss then Pine Bark Nuggets (could not find the chips anywhere) then I mixed in a bag called, Growin Green Organic Granular Fertilizer and the ratio is 4-2-3 It is derived from kelp meal, humate, pasteurized poultry manure, molasses and Texas Greensand. The breakdown is as follows: Contains trace minerals including calcium for improved cell structure. 0.4% Amoniacal Nitrogen 1.5% Water Soluble Nitrogen 2.0% Water Insoluble Nitrogen and below are the pictures from the original pot I had put my little tree in and the new smaller pot i just purchased. So what do you think so far? Do you think the replanting will help or kill my tree from a second transplant? If this doesn't work I am going to throw the towel in since I have done most everything I could imagine to save it. I think I might stick to my roses.....
Here are the pictures of my Lemon Meyer Tree that I transplanted from that Large pot to this little pot along with the new soil and different prepartations you had mentioned. Tell me what you think. Thanks a bunch The rookie gardener Annflynhi
The nursery that grew your tree, sure let the tree put on a lot of trunk. Normally, all nurseries top young trees at 24 inches, to induce the growth of side branching, and the development of strong foundation branches. Residential water, in fact all water, contains chemicals called soluble salts, and when fertilizer is added the amount of soluble salts greatly increases. When a large container is watered, and no drainage comes out of the bottom holes, then all of the soluble salts not taken up by the tree remain in the root zone, and build up higher and higher with each watering, and each fertilizing, until the level of salts reaches toxic levels. This is especially true for oversize containers, because in the void areas where there are no roots to keep the salts at manageable levels, the salt builds up quite fast, then due to the high salt level, the trees root system will not/cannot penetrate that part of the container. Therefore, when you water a citrus tree, irrigate with enough water until 10 percent of the water drains out the bottom of the container. With over sized containers getting 10 percent to drain out the bottom, without over watering, is very difficult. With the organic fertilizer you have chosen, the tree will require additional fertilization. Fertilize once a month with a good water soluble fertilizer containing trace minerals, and add so Epsom Salts (for magnesium) ever 3rd fertilizing. Flush the container with clean clear water in the amount of four times the volume of the container 3 times a year. Your tree should do well. When the root system fills the present container, you can move it up to you VERY GOOD LOOKING container. In the mean time, for a more pleasant look, you can set you smaller container inside the decorative terracotta container. The best of luck to you and you tree. - Millet (1,383-)
