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citrus leaves curled and upside down

17 years ago

Hi - some of the new growth on my meyer and red navel trees are curled and turned upside down. When I run my fingers on them they feel very fragile. If it were any other plant I'd think it needed water, but I don't want to overwater. It has been quite hot the last few days, though. Here are some pics:

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The rest of the leaves look and feel fine. The water meter says 4 (moist) on a 1-4 scale.

Any help would be appreciated... Jeff

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Comments (9)

birdsnblooms
17 years ago
Sounds like you're soil is being kept too moist. Do you let it dry out between waterings? How many days has it been where it read 4 on your guage?
Otherwise, your leaves look nice and green..Toni
bencelest
17 years ago
It is normal for citrus leaves to curl their leaves during hot weather. Their system says it's too hot and the leaves curl to protect their system from taking in too much sun so they don't overeat themselves. It's just like humans we shield our faces from the heat of the sun if it is too hot.
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I have nearly lost a dozen citrus planted in clay because i was so worried about overwatering in hot weather [90-110F - yes it gets hot here too]. Citrus is a tropical plant and likes constant moisture, but does not like constant soaking wet. That said, if its hot, it'll take up a lot of water. A young newly planted tree must not be allowed to dry out. The damage could take a year or more to be remedied. High heat + not enough water = roots burned; and therefore they struggle to take up nutrients; leaves yellow. Your tree could have dried out and is now struggling to figure out if its safe to grow again.? I dug up multiple trees to confirm the dryness suspicion. confirmed. My solution is to feed with liquid food when over 85F (and since my water is 9.4pH, i add vinegar). A weekly feeding and a light daily spritz during the hot season will provide the consistency that will trigger the tree to grow. BTW: sun cloth/shade is a good idea, i do see leaf scorch when temperatures climb over 100F on a dry, cloudless day. good luck and give us an update(s)! - George
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Ok, I confess... I bought the whole kit from gardeners supply. It comes witha metal support stand and holds 4 bags. (see link at the bottom) Yes, I know it was expensive but... dare I say it... I HATE staking tomatos! Since I have a small backyard and am trying to grow as much food as possible I appreciate having my raised beds available for other crops. So far I like it. The stand is very sturdy. The bags seem very strong and they claim they are washable and reuseable. They have a plastic watering tray that sits at the top of the bag and a cloth wick that carries the water from the tray to the tomato. So far the only problem is that the wind can cause the bags to spin injuring the plants. We solved this problem by laying two bamboo garden stakes across the tops of the planter reaching over to the opposite planter making an X in the middle. This limits the amount of movement in the wind. I had to rethink the varieties I planted. Two are roma and rather than the large beefsteak type I went with a smaller slicing tomato. The fourth plant is the sweet 100 cherry tomato I love. It is indeterminate and is a very vigorous grower so may have been a poor choice. It split at the stem from wind spin but since seems to be doing fine. So far my only concern is that water sitting in the trays may become a breeding site for mosquitos. My other thought is that Gardeners Supply sells a special soil for use in the planters. Of course they say you should only use their soil (expensive)so I am interested in developing my own mix for the future. The main difference I noticed in using theirs is that it was very "fluffy" and soft. Those of you who have made your own, what soil mix did you use? How are you fertilizing? I look forward to following this thread over the course of the summer to see how everyone else is doing with their upsidedown tomatos. I know it seems like a fad but if it saves me space, provides for good production and eliminates the chore of staking then I like it. When I figure out how to post pics I will show you what mine look like. Here is a link that might be useful: tomato hanger
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Looks a lot like Citrus Thrips. I had some on a young lime seedling and it took awhile to get rid of them. They're very small, and hide in the young leaf buds before they open all the way. When they do open you see the damage from the thrips as that crinkled curled look. The best control for the home gardener would be Spinosad. It will get into the crevices of the new leaf buds and protect them. It is an organic product. The most available brand is Bonide's "Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew". It also works well against Citrus Leaf Miner, which you may get at some time in the future. It's good to have on hand. Here's a pic of the damage. (not my tree);
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gw:jeff-n-jessa
17 years ago
thanks guys - they do tend to normalize in the evening and at night
bencelest
17 years ago
To paraphrase what my friend Joe Real said in another forum:
"The rolling of the leaves makes it absorb less sunlight and increased roughness coefficient for better sensible heat transfer to help cool off the plant.

In a way, drooping behaves the same way also, when the leaves droop, its angle become more vertical and thus become more oblique when absorbing sunlight, thus reducing radiation load, also the roughness coefficient increases, and this facilitates heat transfer from leaves to air.

It is quite common with most plants. It is called midday water stress. We used to measure leaf water potential various times of the day. When the root system cannot keep up with evaporative demand, the plant's leaves droop or wilt as a safety reaction. Sometimes, it is leaf rolling."
gw:jeff-n-jessa
17 years ago
Would more water help or hurt? What about misting the leaves?
bencelest
17 years ago
I make it a habit lately to spray water to my citrus and my other plant leaves before the sun gets really hot maybe around 9AM but not so much to wet the soil because I am afraid of root rot. But I water and fertilize as usual. I found it they were refresh and turgid most of the day. This is my observation.
birdsnblooms
17 years ago
I didn't think about too much heat..heat will definatly wilt leaves..I too believe in spraying leaves. Unlike Ben, I mist a few times during the day and night in summer. So far I've never had problems w/leaf burn or rot due to misting. Then again, if you're worried about rot or burn, don't spray after 11 AM. Toni
bencelest
17 years ago
My plants are over 4 feet up to 15 feet and are most planted in the ground. Misting is out of the question.
birdsnblooms
17 years ago
Ben, because your plants are outside, your best bet is to spray w/a hose..I don't mist citrus while outside either, only when they're indoors..Toni

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