Greetings All! This is my first post in this forum. I've read with great enthusiasm all the messages and replies about grapefruit trees. I have two grapefruit trees that I started from seed in 1989. They're about 4' tall. I root-prune them and re-pot them in new soil about every 3 years or so. They've never flowered, but that's because I haven't let them go through temperature cycles. I generally keep them inside from mid-Oct to mid-May, and then keep them only in indirect light outside the rest of the year (otherwise the leaves get sunburned). My problem and question: For the last 5 years I've been battling scale (the soft-shelled variety). How can I eradicate this pest once and for all? Thanks! Acorn
Go to this link and see if you can identify the scale. Then read up on the controls for it. In a home using some of the chemical sprays can be dicey and if you choose to use a spray, then do it outside and let the tree dry before bringing it back indoors. Sunburned leaves is not so bad a deal at times as when the leaves burn and drop you should get a flush of new growth. Grapefruit can handle even our bright and hot sun here but the leaves will scorch faster if you do have a heavy scale infestation. That may be why the leaves do show the sun damage. Citrus Pest Management Guidelines--UC IPM Jim
Quite nice. Thank you! I've also familiarized myself with the other forum topics, including the pest/disease thread. I hadn't noticed the wealth of information found there before I submitted my question here. Thanks again! John
