I have the same problem as most posts here. My lemon tree is about 3 years old, still quite small, never flowered but was doing great until about 1-2 months ago. I noticed that it developed scale. (how does that happen?) I bought a horticulture spray oil to kill the scale. I sprayed it in the morning however, it was a hot day that day, like above 90 degrees. The leaves first looked burned, there were burn spots on the leaves. I also gave it a time release fertilizer them too. The scale is gone now, but... the leave are all almost gone. There has been new growth but... it it deformed. The leaves are curling under, some are not forming right, miss-shaped, and even tho I can't see any bugs, some of the leaves look like they are being eaten by something. Help me please, I have worked hard on this plant for 3 years, I don't want to loose it now. Thanks, K.D.
More than likely, the tree will be fine, and the leaves will probably become normal as the new grow continues. To be safe look for the signs of trails in the leaves, which would denote leaf miners. - Millet
Millet- Thanks. I have looked for any mites or other bugs, other than the scale that I treated and is now gone, there is nothing. The new growth deformity concerns me. Some of the leaves at the tip are not shaped right. When the leaves started to fall off, they turned from dark green to a varigated, spotty kind of mix green. Maybe I gave it the wrong kind of fertilizer? It was just a multi purpose, Omscote-time release, so it said it was guaranteed not to burn the plant. If there is anything, anyone can recommend that I can do to help the condition, please post. Thanks. K.D. P.S. This tree was not grown from a lemon seed, I bought it through a nursury as a seedling (very tiny), and have grown it for 3 years. I do not want it to die.:(
I too had a small (eureka) lemon in my kitchen window all winter and around late december it started to lose its leaves (to scale) I sprayed it and was ok untill May. then more scaleand all the old growth fell off. I noticed some bugs in the soil small things that came out after i watered. Treated the soil with a small amount (hold my breath) Diazinon which i still have several litres kicking around. After about 2 months outside and some sunshine, the plant is putting out buds there are about 25 buds developing. No sign of leaves yet - just purple little buds developing just above where the leaves were. I hope to see some leaves spring out soon. The question I have is how does scale develop and where does it come from? Is all citrus prone to scale or are certain varieties more prone? Are the hardy citrus varieties susceptible to getting scale too? Why do the leafs drop? What about colder climates - outside the traditional citrus areas? How do the commercial oprerations deal with it? Lots of questions! Thanks Greg
I can't give a real great answer.. But.. I gave a friend a Meyer Lemon because she lost her seed grown lemon to scale here in Kansas.. the seed grown lemon was her only citrus so the scale were NOT imports.. so apparently yes you can get scale in colder climates.. I have only seen scale imported from California along with a shipment of citrus trees this last spring.. From all the posts I've been reading it seems scale takes over when plants are brought inside for winter.. I've read several posts about trees were doing great then brought in for winter and scale took over and killed them by January.. as was the situation for my friend.. Maybe the "dormant" condition of the tree make it more susceptible to the ravages of the scale or the condition of living in a house makes it easier reproduce.. or possibly a combination of the two.. Sorry I can't be of more help.. Just put my 2c worth in.. Gina *BabyBlue*
I treated a citrus for scale with a systemic and it worked great. I tried all the "no chemical" methods and resorted to a sytemic as a last resort. I'm glad I did. Cheers, LPN.
Greg, most every climate warm or cold are bothered by scale. Where do scale come from? As in the case of most insects, there are male and female scale insects. The male scale look much different from the female that you see on your tree. Male scale insects are much smaller and have the ability to fly. They usually begin to fly when the temperature reaches 53F (12C). The female scale insect can crawl when young, and are therefore are called crawlers. Crawlers can disperse from tree to tree on their own by crawling, but heavily rely on the wind, birds, machinery, or labor crews to move long distances. Once a crawler finds a suitable place to settle it matures, loses it's legs and starts to suck jucies from your tree. The flying male scale insect (looks like a small gnat) mates with the female and the young when born crawl out from under the mother and the cycle starts over again. Quite easy to kill scale with horticultural oils. - Millet
I had a orange tree with the same problem. I took alcohol prep pads to the scale and rubbed them off. You'll have to do it several times to keep them under control. Scale is a real problem, make sure you some soapy water after you use the alcohol pads. Check out this article http://www.gardenwiseonline.ca/gw/sustainable-gardening/2004/11/01/growing-citrus-plants-indoor. Expect to lose some leaves an it will probably set your plant back a bit.
Did you ever get a reply or comment on your question? I too, have the same questions. If you ever got an answer, please let me know. Thanks
Rod, since this posted these questions - most have been answered from one expert or another - and even some problems have been solved by a combination of expert advice and trial and error. The one I have no idea about is how commercial citrus growers control citrus scale on acres and acres of trees. So I look forward to someone shedding light on that. On a tree by tree basis (my citrus collection consists of about 30 varieties ranging in size up to 4 1/2 feet tall) I have some plants which seem to be more susceptible to scale and spider mites than others. Spider mites are common everywhere - some indigenous trees make great hosts for spider mites - from there they get onto my citrus plants. Citrus scale on the other hand is more of a mystery to me. The actual scale is the adult form of a crawling insect which is in part farmed by other bugs such as aphids and ants. So if you have one you will likely have or will get another. according to a entomologist I know, light horticultural oil and a drop of Dawn dish soap sprayed on the affected trees is the safest and best way way to control the scale paying close attention to the under side of leaves and other areas where they may hide. Though I have never spotted scale in the crawling stage, they are apparently visible - if you look closely or use a magnifying glass. Spider mites don't do well in humid conditions - likely the only good reason to mist citrus especially on indoor citrus. Of course a weak tree will be more prone to disease so proper care must be taken - proper watering, fertilizing, good drainage and possible root rot in container citrus are the first things that should be addressed. I hope that helps. Greg
Thanks for the response Greg. My dwarf lemon has survived well after applying rubbing alcohol with cotton facial pads to the leaves and the stems and then followed that up by sponging off with water and soap. This is what I did this year and last year. I have two lemons almost ripe and have had LOTS of flowering during the summer and fall. I have read just about all the commons given, but I still have some questions that may never be answered. During the winter months I bring my plant indoors and as time goes on many of the leaves develop a sticky substance on the upper and lower portion of the leaves. It seems that this is my first clue that I have scales on the leaves. However after I seemingly get rid of the scales the leaves still turn sticky again and again drip onto the tile floor. Its a pain staking process. If I counted my labor it would be more cost effective to just toss the plant and buy another one. Thanks Ron
Ron, the continuing problem your tree is having with the sticky residue, is rather common, due to the eradication method you are using. The absolute certain cause is because the tree still has an insect problem. If your tree was 100 percent free of insects (sucking insects in your trees case) there would be no sticky residue on the leaves. The problem persists because you are trying to control the infestation manually, using rubbing alcohol. You might have removed most, or even all, of the adult scale that you were able to see. However, when a manual approach is attempted, ESPECIALLY when it is with rubbing alcohol, you miss killing a great many of the very minute crawlers ( juvenile infant scale). The number one method used by the citrus industry world wide, for control of scale (plus mealy bug, spider mites & aphids) is with horticultural oils. The horticultural oil of choice is Ultra Fine, because of it high purity, and safety. Horticultural oils are completely safe, and can even be applied by certified organic growers. Follow the label directions, by making a 1 percent oil solution and spray the leaves, both upper and lower surface, plus the branches and trunk. ALSO spray the soil surface. If you do this your tree will be free of the problem. Spray either early in the morning, or better, just before dusk. NEVER spray a citrus tree during the heat of the day. - Millet
Thanks for your reply. I will seek out where I can obtain a horticultural oils. Since I live in a very small mountain community (pop.2000) there isn't much chance of getting it locally. I will first check the internet. Chico and Reno are within 2hrs drive. Thanks again. This will be much better then what Ive been doing.
Try Jungle Juice, sounds silly but it helps and is successful in eradicating our pesky friends. I have also had great success in removing scale, by showering the top and undersides of the foliage with diluted dish soap... in the spring all my citrus will be planted back in the ground, the current winter has been too brutal to leave protected out of doors... GregN however is the local expert in North Vancouver.
