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Fruit & Orchards

Citrus Scale

12 years ago

I am new to this group. This is my first posting and I joined because you have the best answers I have found on the web.

My question is my Meyers lemon tree and it's about a few years old and producing fruit but It was attacked by a mite which I killed and now citrus scale. It lost a lot of it's leaves last month and is not looking too bad but short on leaves. One branch developed the scales and I sprayed it with an organic spray, the one that killed the mites. I can't tell if it is killing the scale yet but soon I should know. It's been a week.

I also have an Eureka lemon in the ground and it grew last summer then stopped. Is that normal? I water it about once or twice in a two week period and the ground seems damp. It also is near my lawn sprinklers and gets watering from a 5 min spray 3 times a week.

My lime tree is growing like a weed and bloomed hundreds of blooms this month and last. I can't figure why there is such a disproportional pattern with the three trees.

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Comments (3)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
12 years ago
cap:

Welcome. This is a very nice group of fruit lovers. There is also a lot of knowledge on the citrus forum. If you don't get what you need here try that group.

Most citrus grows in flushes, a burst of growth followed by sometimes long periods of little to no growth. I get my best navel oranges with one major flush a year. That fruit is sweetest if water is limited enough to shut down growth.

The lemons and limes tend to grow more continuiously and don't need to sweeten up so more water might be appropriate. If your trees look healthy they are OK even if they don't grow for months.
Tony
12 years ago
Capthead, I have a lime tree infested with scale on the leaf and branches. I have been spraying Earth-tone insect control the last 3 weeks on a daily basis. The scale starting to die and fall off the branches. Hit it hard daily.

Tony
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ocbrian2
12 years ago
A good oil based spray will work pretty good against scale. Scale have a protective shell and most normal insect sprays don't work. Try an all seasons dormant spray since its fine to spray on leaves during the growing period. Just don't spray when it's a hot day or below 40 degrees.

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