Yikes - Is my Meyers Orange Tree Dead??

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by duckandbob, Sep 15, 2013.

  1. duckandbob

    duckandbob New Member

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    I have a 30"-tall, potted Meyers Orange tree that's lived about 8 years, and bears 1-inch diameter bitter oranges each year. But this past June, all the leaves fell off the tree and haven't returned. I've continued to water it and moved it to the sun room, thinking it may be hibernating. Reading other posts, it seems this tree doesn't hibernate, so I'm wondering if it's dead. The bare branches are not brittle, so I'm hopeful still. Can anyone advise me whether it might be revived, and if so, how? (Or is it actually dead?)
     
  2. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    You could scratch the bark to see if it's still green underneath. It's alive if it is. In that case, reduce watering and only water when the soil is dry. Without its leaves the tree will not require much moisture. Give it sun and hopefully with time, it will recover. Withhold fertilizing until such time.

    As an aside, there's no such thing as a Meyer orange. I'm sure you mean Meyer lemon.
     
  3. duckandbob

    duckandbob New Member

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    Thanks so much for that advice! There was no green when I scratched the bark, so I cut through a branch and it was off-white completely through. I noticed small spider webs, so I wonder if an infestation caused its death?? I'd like to replace it, but don't want a new one to suffer the same fate.
    I'm not sure what type of tree it was. Its fruit were tiny oranges or perhaps tangerines, but they were definitely not lemons. Does that ring any bells?
    Thanks again for your valuable expertise!!
     
  4. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    That doesn't sound good. The webbing was likely from spiders mites. At that time did you also notice a speckled appearance in the leaves? I'm not sure they were the direct cause of death but they certainly didn't help matters.

    Was the tree a grafted specimen? Could it be that is a Meyer lemon but its rootstock had taken over which would explain the non-lemon fruit? I used to have one that was grafted onto a rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri) rootstock. Rough lemons would be sour indeed.
     
  5. duckandbob

    duckandbob New Member

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    No, I didn't notice any speckling, at least that I remember. But there was some amber-colored liquid on some of the branches, and some of the leaves felt sticky. Could that have been related to its cause of death?
    And if it was spider mites, are they likely infesting my other house plants, or are they unique to the citrus plants?
     
  6. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    There may have been other problems then. The amber-colored liquid oozing from the stems may have been gummosis. Sap sucking insects such as scale and aphid often leave honeydew on the foliage which would explain the sticky substance on the leaves.

    Spider mites also attack other houseplants. As mentioned earlier, telltale signs are webbing and speckled leaves.
     
  7. duckandbob

    duckandbob New Member

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    The gummy stuff looked exactly like the picture in the "gummosis" link! Wows - thanks so much for clarifying that. At least I know now what to check in the future. You've been a wonderful help!!
     
  8. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    Glad I was of help. Good luck with your next tree.
     

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