I am house/plant sitting for a friend, who has been out of the country for a few months. Someone was supposedly watering their Kaffir lime tree, but has obviously not done a good job of it. There are numerous issues with the tree. 1) It lost alot of leaves, and many of the leaves that are left have a strange pattern on them (see photos) 2) The leaves were covered in a salt crust. I have washed this off each individual leaf, but what caused this? (see photos) The Tree is next to a window with decent light. Not too bright, and not too shady. It is in a metal pot (see photos). What are some "emergency" things that i can do to rescue the tree? Would it be good to give it some feed of some sort?
Looks like the tree has spider mites, especially in the last picture. Spray the tree with a horticultural oil or a 1 percent soap solution. Spray both the upper and lower leaves. - Millet
Appears to be a combination of spider mites and scale. The last picture shows this best. The webbing along with the speckled leaf surface points to the presence of mites. Adult scale can also be seen along the mid-vein. Both these pests can be treated with multiple treatments of insecticidal soap as directed on the product label. It would help to remove the adult scale prior to treatment; an old soft bristled toothbrush works well. Place the tree in a location that provides much light, such as a window with a southern exposure. Be careful with the watering; water when the top couple inches of soil is relatively dry or when the container feels relatively light. Do not allow the container to sit in water. Good luck.
