Hi I have a 4 year old orange tree grown from the ground. I used a seed of a regular orange, so I understand that the tree may never flower and produce the fruits. Never the less, I hope. So, instead of leaving the tree in my apartment for the winter, where the air becomes very dry and warm, which always make my tree to suffer, I decided to bring it to the gym next to the swimming pool with other plants. And, it was doing great, better then ever, but a month or so ago, I’ve noticed something very disturbing. The new (top, younger) leaves are: STICKY, YELLOW(ISH) AND WEAK. There are clearly visible very SMALL, YELLOW BUGS, AND A NET BETWEEN THE LEAVES (DENSER THAN A SPIDER NET). The adjacent plants do not have this problem. Please, what to do? THANKS
Your tree has an insect called Spider Mite. Wash them off with the hose, or spray with a 1% soap spray. Keep and eye on the infestation until you get the situation corrected. I am always amazed at how many times I hear people same that they understand or that they have heard that their seedling citrus will never fruit. Of course your tree will bloom and fruit. ALL CITRUS BLOOM AND FRUIT no matter how the tree was started. An orange tree usually requires 8 to 12 years from seed to become mature when grown outdoors in a warm area like Florida, or California. When grown as an indoor container tree it will take longer. If you desire your tree to fruit it is VERY IMPORTANT that you do not prune the tree. Millet Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1719) First found Polyembryony in oranges
Thanks Millet ! You gave me hope, since the only thing I was able to find on the web was that my tree has Aster Yellows, for which they claim there is no cure. But, now I feel better. Is it possible to get your e-mail, so I can send you the photos of the leaves, and the tree in general, since now I have a few more questions… : ) Like: can you describe to me little further “1% soap spray”. Thanks again ! Lazar
To make a 1% soap spray use 99 percent distilled water and 1 percent soap such as Ivory. Do not use a soap that contains any additional ingredients such as fragrance, hand lotion or disinfectants. The percentages are by weight not volume. Soap sprays are totally non toxic, however, the leaves should not be sprayed more that 3 or 4 times, as a soap coating builds up on the leaf surface. Any pictures of your tree should be put on this forum, rather that sending the pictures to me personally. In that manner all members of this forum can benefit and give advice. Millet
hi millet what do you mean "not be sprayed 3 or 4 times"? is it per day or per lifetime of the plant?. i also have a citrus plant a mandarin orange also attacked by bugs i've been spraying them with soap spray every2days. thanks.
Soap sprays work on most all soft body insects through the means of suffocation. Generally, soap sprays should not be sprayed on the same location (same leaves) more than 4 times during the same event. After a rain, or sufficient time the soap's coating diminishes from the leaf surface and can be used again. - Millet
Hi Millet Thanks for the advice – it seems its working! First please let me tell what I did (for other people on the FORUM as well). I made a 0.5% of Ivory soap solution as you said and sprayed the tree thoroughly from top to bottom. Then, after 3 days I hosed the tree well, with clean water. The tree look fine - I’ve noticed just one sticky spot. So, I repeated the treatment (the same way I did the first time) and I’m planning to hose it again tomorrow… and I guess “case closed†Again thank you. Now I would like to tell you the only few things I “know†about growing oranges, which my be complete wrong or irrelevant… nevertheless this is all I “knowâ€: 1. You should not over-water the tree – wait until the soil on the top is dry and water it with “a few days old waterâ€. 2. The planter should not be glazed ceramic or plastic in order to allow air infiltration into the soil. 3. For the same reason - the soil should have a certain percent of sand. 4. Sometimes the trunk has like-a-broken-yellow-scarves. This happen when too much direct sun gets to the trunk and it should not be a big problem to the tree… And that’s all. :) So, could you please give me additional advices or maybe a web site with instruction? One thing I have to point-out is that for the last few years my tree would suffer a lot during the beginnings of spring seasons. The main reason for this is the dry air in my apartment. This means that unfortunately I DID prune the tree. I could even say that very often the leaves and branches would dry, so the pruning was inevitable/ “naturalâ€, last spring so much that even the main / central / “leading branch†had to be cut off. :( Nevertheless, every summer the tree would do great. So this winter I decided to bring my tree next to the closed swimming pool in my Gym, where is humid, warm and sunny, which should be better for the tree that hot / dry / dusty apartment? Probably the proximity of other plants is the reason my tree got the Spider Mites. So, Millet thanks a lot… and if you could - please give me some advice. The tree is 7 (not 4) years old. And I will post some photos tomorrow, so maybe you can wait and see the photos before you comment. THANKS !
It is OK to hose a citrus tree down ONCE IN A WHILE. Repeated washing with the hose can cause complete defoliation of the leaves. Citrus trees readily absorb soluble salts, through the roots, and more importantly, through the leaves. Sodium and bicarbonates are the main culprits. The severity depends on the level of soluble salts in your water supply. The use of sand in the growing medium can be both good and bad. If sand is incorporated into the potting soil it MUST be coarse sand, such as grit or builders sand. Play sand should not be used, as play sand's texture is much to fine and fills the pour spaces, therefore greatly reducing the oxygen level in the medium. I use 4 parts Coconut Husks and 1 part peat moss. Another good medium is 1 part conifer bark, 1 part COARSE sand, and one part peat moss. By far, the most important ingredient in a good growth medium for citrus is oxygen. The second most important ingredient is OXYGEN. To keep your container tree healthy throughout the winter months keep the humidity up, and be sure the soil temperature remains at or above 64F (18C). The higher temperature is especially important if the tree's foliage is in the direct sun. Citrus roots become completely dormant at 55.4F (13C), and are incapable of function. 55.4F is absolute zero for citrus roots. Because of the cooling effect caused by evaporation from the surface of large containers, the growth medium will be lower than the room temperature. Therefore the root zone temperature of a container setting in a 64F degree room will not be at 64. Buy yourself a soil thermometer. Citrus are heavy feeders, and should be fertilized with a complete fertilizer that contains trace minerals at 300 PPM every other watering from March through September. Then once a month from October through February. The four most common insects that attack containerized citrus are spider mites, scale, mealy bugs, and aphids. Keep a constant eye out for them. Lastly, if you ever wish to obtain fruit from your tree, stop pruning it. Take care. - Millet
