What is going on with my dwarf Eureka lemon? (pics)

17 years ago

Hello! I need some help from some citrus gurus!

Back in May I purchased a dwarf Eureka lemon tree from OSH. It was grown by Four Winds Growers, and came in a #5 container. I re-potted it about a week after I brought it home into a 12" diameter, 10" deep plastic pot. I used OSH brand potting soil.

I fertilized with 3TBSP of EB Stone citrus food on 6/7. By 6/15 I noticed some new growth, just some small reddish sprouts, and by 6/29, the new growth had turned a nice light green.

In July, the new growth turned a nice dark green. I didn't fertilize that month. Just watered. At the end of the month went on vacation and put the tree on the grass, in slight shade, in a line of plants under a soaker hose timed to run for 1 hr/day. When I returned (after 5 days), the tree seemed happy but had sent a few roots out of the drainage holes into the ground underneath. I moved the tree back to its home on the pavers and back into full sun.

In early August there was another flush of new growth. It has remained light in color, however, and I have noticed some brown, puckered spots on quite a few of the new leaves. This last weekend I added another 3 TBSP of fertilizer.

Can someone please take a look at my photos and give me some advice? What I've done wrong, what I've done right, why the spots, any pest problems you think I might have, etc. This is the first citrus tree I have ever had. I have spent hours reading past posts here and have learned a lot (I think!), but it would help me a lot to have an experienced opinion on the health of my particular tree. TIA!

Oh, and the ph of my water here is quite high, in the range of 8. I know that's not good, but I can't seem to sort out whether I need to worry about that or not.

Dwarf Eureka lemon

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Typical brown puckered spots

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This photo shows a couple of little, circular reddish/brown spots that seem to be raised up slightly off the leaves. Any ideas as to what these could be?

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Just another example

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Difference in color between new and old growth

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Comments (5)

citrange2
17 years ago
New growth is always a lighter green.
I think you have some signs of leaf miner. Curled edges of leaves are where the miner pupates while changing to a moth.
Brown areas are where the leaf was mined some time ago. On one particularly leaf in the third photo, I think I can just make out the shiny surface and snaking line typical of leaf miner activity.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf Miner information
calzone_24
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks citrange,

Did some reading and inspecting. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to check the underside of the leaves (even with the limited gardening I've done in my life, that's something I should have thought of). I think you may be right about the leaf miners. I've included a photo of the underside of a leaf I removed from the tree. There is an obvious trail, and the leaf surface around that area is shiny. Can anyone confirm leaf miner activity from this photo?

{{gwi:613802}}

Also, how long does it typically take for new growth to change from light green to the darker green of more mature leaves? The first flush of growth on my tree seemed to take about a month; is this what I can expect? I'm asking because I want to make sure I don't miss a sign of nutrient deficiency.

I know I'm asking a bunch of questions in this post! Can I ask one more? :-) Is the roots growing out of the bottom of the pot a sign that the tree needs to be potted up? I know from my reading that citrus likes to be somewhat rootbound and potting up should be done gradually. This tree hasn't been in the pot but three months; I'm thinking it's too soon to pot up, but those roots have me worried!

Thanks!
Michelle
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Hi Matt, There could be a few issues going on. First how much sun are you giving it? When a tree is young and in a container, it's generally better to give it some afternoon shade (both container and leaves, but especially container). The fact the yellow portions are all on the same side of the fruit indicates sun burn. Generally once the tree has a lot of leaves and can protect it's trunk, branches, and container is when it's good to put it in more sun. When it comes to containers in summer here in AZ, I always say more shade is better, to an extent of course :) Another issue is if they get that much watering, they also need more feeding. When I have plants that I water frequently (most of my potted plants), I give them bursts of nitrogen through the month by adding some ammonium sulfate to their water. I should note that Citrus like a period of dryness (or just constant surface dryness) when they are in the ground, but this doesn't apply as much in containers and can be very risky if you let the soil dry out too much (especially with that much perlite). It might be worth it to try waiting on watering for a few days once the soil is very saturated, but keep in mind to not ever let it completely dry out. It's much safer to give them surface dryness once you start using larger containers (10 gallon or larger). In summary, I think it's mainly too much sun for a containerized lemon tree. I would change that factor before changing the watering or anything else. Even one that's young and put into the ground does well with a little shade at first. Eventually when they get bigger they can handle, and love, lots of sun. They don't need much fertilizer and if the tree spikes are doing their job, it should be enough. Another thing, the sun will be getting less intense right about now and into winter so it might not be too bad for it to get a little sun now, but try to keep it to morning or late afternoon sun while it recovers.
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Hello RJ, welcome to the forum. Nice looking Eureka lemon tree. I noticed there is a tag on the side of the pot with a bar code, can you post a close up pic of that? It should say the type of root stock your tree is on. Most container folks here plant their trees in either a variation of 5-1-1 mix, which is a home made fast draining mix that you can do search for the recipe here on the forum. Another growing medium some folks use is a gritty mix which is a soil less type of mix and somewhat like hydroponics as you will almost have to water it daily in a warm dry climate during hotter months of the year. As Vladimir stated above foliage pro is used as a good all around fertilizer to help with sustaining good growth and flowering in the spring. As for pruning your tree, not much pruning is needed unless you get some aggressive growth that you want to trim back or keep your tree to a certain shape. What area of the world do you live in? The store tag looks like the tree came from Lowes and you stated it’s a semi Dwarf so I’m going to take a guess that your tree is on C35 root stock. What is your grow zone? Evan
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birdsnblooms
17 years ago
Michelle, does that white stuff scrape off? Can u ID mealybug?
If roots have filled pot and sticking out of drainage holes, then it'd be a good time to repot..
Where are you located? If winter is nearing you can get by until next spring..I don't know where z24 is..Toni
calzone_24
Original Author
17 years ago
The white stuff in the photo is really a reflection of the shiny part of the leaf left behind by the leafminers. Just for future reference, though, can mealybugs cause the brown spots I am finding on my tree (I can always Google this myself--I love Google)?

I am in coastal Southern California, a little under 3 miles from the ocean, as the crow flies. Sunset Magazine breaks up the Western US into 24 different zones. Zone 24 is SoCal coastal (I think I actually sit on the border of 23 and 24). Officially, I'm in USDA zone 9b, but I'd say it's more like 10a or 10b. Frost is rare. Would it be better for me to wait? What are the pros/cons for potting up now?

Thanks! I appreciate all the help.
Michelle
birdsnblooms
17 years ago
Michelle..let's start w/cons..if you repot now, and winter is nearing, it'll halt growth..then again, because of your location and climate this doesn't apply to you. (S)
Pros..if roots are filling the pot, new growth will stop, so potting in a larger container will help resume roots and foliage.
Repotting means it won't require as much watering as it would if roots are filling the pot.
When a container is so totally rootbound water just runs though, the roots never given a chance to drink, but I'm talking about a totally rootbound plant.
If you decide repotting is best, pot up 1-2 sizes and use a well-draining soil. Toni

What is going on with my dwarf Eureka lemon? (pics)

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citrange2

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What is going on with my dwarf Eureka lemon? (pics)

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citrange2

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