Meiwa Kumquat Dying

marian1976

9 years ago

Hi guys,

I bought a meiwa kumquat tree about 2 months ago and I worry that it may be dying. The leaves are drying up and falling off - mostly at the bottom of the branches. They used to have a certain luster, but now they do not. They alll look browner and tired. At first I thought that it was normal for the leaves to fall off (after all, winter is coming), but now I found a dried up, brown branch and I am starting to get really worried.

My kumquat tree is indoors, by the window and at night I put it under a (blue/red) grow light. It never gets cold. I give it plenty of water and the soil is almost always damp.

1. Am I overwatering?
2. Did I give it too much fertilizer?
3. I did find tiny white mites in the soil (not on the plant), but I killed those with diatomaceous earth.

What should I do?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
9 years ago
Have no idea if you're overwatering, we can't see the soil. But, I'm betting this is the issue, since you had "white mites" in the soil, which were probably fungus gnat larvae. Diatomaceous earth won't kill them, but there is a great organic product called, "Gnatrol" that will. You may need to apply it a couple of times, but it is the most effective product I've ever used against fungus gnats. I would re-pot your citrus tree using a better potting mix. Search for "511 mix" in our forum for a perfect potting mix recipe for indoor citrus. As much light as possible, south or west window and additional full spectrum lighting is excellent. Fertilize with 1/2 strength Dyna Gro Foliage Pro with every watering, and then in the summer you can move to full strength when you can move your tree outdoors.

Patty S.
marian1976
Original Author
9 years ago
I am grateful that. But, just to make sure we are talking about the same type of mites...

The ones in the soil of my kumquat tree are tiny. I cannot really see them when looking at the soil. But when I blow a bit of air at the top of the soil, they all start running around like crazy. They are about 1-2mm in length and are of shiny white color.
Related Discussions
Is a meiwa kumquat that much better than Nagami?
Q
Comments (12)
well, I think the tree that I have been taking the fruit from is Meiwa (neighbors).. small oblong or round fruit, lg ones almost the size of a quarter but rarer.. ususlly a lg black olive to a nickel size. I think the taste can be described as.. texture of a peach, but taste of a sweet ripe orange, wash off and pop the whole thing in your mouth (I only eat one at a time).. tip: chew slowly until you get the seeds out, and eat the skin.. don't chomp down on it (them).. the seeds are many and large, but worth the effort to remove...
...See More
9 Meiwa kumquat trees from seed
Q
Comments (49)
I placed my kumquat seeds between to pieces of damp paper towels in a zipper food bag and placed over my heater duct outlet. Others I planted in potting soil wit a lid over the container and placed inside one of my heating ducts. Both ways took about a week. My last set of 80 meiwa seeds all rotted. Meiwa kumquats are very hard to start. Today I ate my last 2 Meiwa kumquats and saved 10 seed to through outside in the 20F snow. I am not wasting any more time sprouting Meiwa seeds. Its a lot of work. Steve
...See More
Meiwa kumquat pot size
Q
Comments (2)
Yo will want a pot at least as tall as your currant pot so you don't have to cut any roots. I used 3 bottomless gallon food tins stacked and tapped together over a dirt to get mine started and moved it up to a larger diameter pot in a year. Where did you buy yours. Steve
...See More
seedling meiwa kumquat.
Q
Comments (2)
I have a Tarocco and Sanboken that continue to push water sprouts, even after pruning. I let the most recent one grow on each tree and both have blossoms this year lol
...See More
ocelaris
9 years ago
ditto what patty said, too much water. But really it's in a moisture retentive soil which will rot the roots. More plants are killed by too much water than too little.

azatrol is what I have used in the past for soil critters, it's a concentrated neem oil, where as gnatrol is a biologic microbe which targets some bugs. azatrol knocked out the fungus gnats for me in 2 doses.

But really what's happening is your roots are rotting so your plant can't absorb nutrients or water so the leaves shrivel up and die. Root health = plant health! I'm not sure it's bugs, usually the soil bugs are just annoyances, and unless you see spider webs (spider mites) or scale on the under side, chances are you just have a bad soil.

Here's what I would do in your situation. Gather the parts for the gritty mix, get a 4 oz of dyna-grow neem oil, 1 gallon sprayer. remove all soil from the plant (wash it off) then spray down the entire plant in the shower with neem oil (including roots), Then repot in gritty mix, wash the dust out, and then spray 2 more times at 2 week intervals. Water with foliage pro every few days.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
9 years ago
Marian, what I'm describing are not mites. Those are in the arachnid family. They are most likely fungus gnats, in the fly family. They are teeny teeny tiny. Mites do not live in the soil, they live on the undersides of leaves and will form tiny webs. You are clearly describing fungus gnats which will proliferate when your soil is too wet. They can eventually kill your tree. Either that, or root rot will, which is probably what's slowly killing your tree at the moment. And ocelairs, thank you for the other option. On my arsenal list. ocelaris has suggested Gritty Mix. Either one will improve your draining issues with your tree, but in any event, you must re-pot right away. And treat for fungus gnats as well.

Patty S.
serge94501
9 years ago
If I sprayed neem oil in the shower my wife would kill me and stuff me in a 1/2 wine barrel between the cocktail hybrid and the variegated calamondin.
marian1976
Original Author
9 years ago
Grateful to all of you. I re-potted the tree in 5-1-1 mix after washing the roots with azatrol. Fingers crossed!