Hi, I have a potted lemon tree that I keep indoors in the winter and put outdoors in the summer. IT is about four years old and has recently gotten brown growths on some of the branches and spines of its leaves. I have been occasionally showering the lemon tree over the winter because it had spider mites. I am wondering if maybe it is a fungus from overwatering it? Pictures of the growths are attached, if anyone knows what this might be or what I should do about it I would greatly appreciate any information or educated guesses.
It's a scale infestation. See the thread Need help with my myer lemon tree! | UBC Botanical Garden Forums for treatment.
Thanks so much Junglekeeper! As the thread you directed me to mentioned, I have noticed stickiness under the plant but did not clue in that this was a sign of a problem. I will scrape off the scale and apply a soap. One more question, do you know if I should stick to buying an insecticidal soap from a store or if there might be any merit in using the more natural home recipes that combine dish soap, mineral oil and garlic?
I've not considered using a home-made soap mixture but that's a personal choice. To keep costs down I buy the concentrate and make my own solutions rather than buying the ready-to-use variety. Others in these forums have mentioned using their own mixes but I don't know how effective they are.
