I bought my lemon tree in April of 08 and as soon as I got it home i repotted it with miracle grow. I also got fertilizer the retailer suggested for it, and I use it about once a month. It started off well and then around June the leaves started turning yellow and dieing and at that time it was getting about 10 hrs of sun and watered about 1 or 2 times a week... We went on vacation about a month ago and when we got back just about all the leaves were gone.. I live in Tx and for the past couple of weeks we have been getting 100+ Degree weather with little rain... I asked my Grandma who has a green thumb, and she said I should put it where it gets sunlight in the morning and shade during the hot part of the days and water it just about every day or every other day.. So I did so and gets maybe 4 hrs of morning sun.. Since then it started growing leaves again but they have a light green color and are very droopy. Any suggestions on how to make it heathy again I would really appreciate.
Miracle Grow potting mix is not a good medium for a citrus tree. Miracle Grow potting soil is made from a very high percentage of peat moss with a little perlite added. There are many, many threads on this forum giving information on the ingredients for a good growth medium for citrus. Citrus require a fast draining, high aeration soil. Use the search function on this forum and you will find every thing you need to know. I would not worry much about the light green color of new leaves. All new citrus leaves are first a light green color, but they will darken up in 2-3 weeks. This is because the leaves grow faster than the tree and allocate nitrogen. - Millet
Thanks Im going to try that.. The reason I used Miracle Grow is we have bags of it laying around... Can I just use the Miracle Grow with the suggested mixture instead of going and buying different soil... Also should I repot into a bigger pot or would it be okay to use the same pot since I repotted only 4 months ago.
The same pot will be fine and probably best. The existing miracle grow mix will work for the "1" part of peat in a 4:1 pine bark or CHC based media.
Lemon Tree With Possible Root Rot Okay so I repotted my lemon tree with new soil... But I did some research on the net and found out that it could be root rot... I know what root rot looks like now but I havent checked my plant... I dont know exactly how far to trim everything down.. and I dont want to pull my plant out to check yet untill I figure it out.. Anyone with any know how on this or any good sites to go to, to explain the process...
If it was root rot, when you repotted you should have seen some brown mushy roots. If the roots were firm and cream to yellow they are fine. If you had brown mushy roots, they should be removed-- if you remove roots, you should probably remove some top to match.
The older leaves look like burnt from too much salt build up in the soil, The new leaves look fine. The new flush will get limp in direct sun with very high heat & humidity. That is normal. Once they start to harden off they should look much better.
So its been about 2 weeks now since I repotted my tree with no signs of root rot.. I have a few new leaves growing and I plucked the remaining dieing leaves off... But some of the newer leaves were also turning brown which I noticed right before I repotted... In the old soil I noticed little bugs crawling around.. At first glance they looked like ants but a closer look revealed they were not and I have no idea what they were ..(Any ideas).. Now Im seeing them in the new soil... I read many threads and many of them suggested Safer Soap for many insect problems.. Could the insects be causing some of my problems??? Other than those things, with the new soil Ive noticed slight darkening of the leaves.. Ill try and get some new pictures on here pretty soon and maybe get a shot of those little suckers...
The bugs are probably fungus gnats or springtails, but either case suggest wet soil. If you let the soil dry between waterings they will usually go away. As for the color of your leaves, citrus leaves are always lighter green when the first appear and then develop their full dark green color over a few weeks.
Sheeterbug is correct pertaining to fungus gnats this helps a great deal. Another way is using sticky tape for fly's and insects. I use the sticky pads for mice at wal-mart instead of tape. The pads are also great for insects, easy to use and don't move around in the breeze. They cost like 2 bucks for 4 pads. I found that cupping the pads is more effective. Letting the soil dry a bit. The pads get'em as the fly. Best of luck.. Dale
Thanks everyone for you advice.. My tree is doing better now.. I see a couple new growth and seems as if it is doing fine.. Ill keep you posted on how the tree is doing..