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My meyer lemons are turning brown

16 years ago

I purchased my meyer lemon earlier this year and finally have some fruit. They start off a beautiful deep green color but before they can ripen they get real hard and slowly turn a dull brown. I don't think it is a water issue as the leaves are deep green and healthy and I constantly monitor the soil. The leaves aren't falling off and like I said the fruit is a deep green then turns brown. I use Miracle gro citrus tree stakes and it is pretty much always warm here, especially right now it's still in the 90's. What could I be doing wrong?

Comments (5)

birdsnblooms
16 years ago
Hi Sisbear..I'd stop using the Stakes..they're the worse fertilizer known to man.
Stakes only fertilize the area where they're inserted..Not the entire root ball.
I'm not saying this is the reason your fruit are browning.
I used citrus stakes once, on one tree..it died..It could have been coincidence, but since then I tossed the remaining stakes in the trash.
Did you use the stakes about, oh, 7" long? Good luck, Toni
Do youself a favor and buy regular Citrus Fertilizer. Since you're in Fl, your local nursery should carry it, if not, you can find it on Ebay and other online sites. Good luck, Toni
malcolm_manners
16 years ago
Is the outer surface of the fruit brown, but the interior still normal? If so, you're likely seeing the result of citrus rust mite injury. They are microscopically small -- it's hard to see them even with a good hand lens; about the size of one leg segment of a spider mite. They turn fruit a rusty, reddish-brown, or in some varieties, rather silvery gray. They have no effect on internal quality.
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Thanks so much for the info guys! Lgteacher- I can but the other side of my house brings the late afternoon sun which is less amount of time and the sun is much hotter. We will be moving soon so hopefully I can find a place at the new house that will be perfect for it. But I do agree with the dropping because the tree is small for the amount of blooms it has. I actually tried to find one at our nursery without lemons because I read it is better to buy one without any. I didn't notice t until I got home. Johnmerr- thanks for the confirmation about the fertilizer! i was hoping i was using good stuff. I will let it be and not worry about it because it really is a beautiful tree. Thanks again!!!
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Would love your input on 1. leaf miner, 2. Leaf cupping and/or curling and 3. leaf burn problems I'm facing. Have gone thru your great video on addressing leaf miner issues. Want to be sure it's leaf miner alone or if these three issues need different solutions. I purchased an owari satsuma dwarf mandarin plant a few weeks ago, have it in a pot and looks like I have a heavy leaf miner infestation. In addition there seems to be tip browning and curling. I live in the Bay Area. Have started a cycle of spinosad every two weeks, alternating with neem oil on the off weeks. Been about 3 weeks and the curling only seems to be getting worse. Plant is south facing with full sun. Have posted pics at Pinterest: https://pin.it/t4X73-W if you could take a look and provide any inputs on what else I should doing will be very much appreciated. I did top the soil with a little bit of chicken manure and the browning *may* have followed that. At the same link, have also pics of a couple little banana trees that also seem to be suffering from leaf burn. Wondering if the cause is that I didn't sufficiently acclimatize the banana plants in shade after getting it via mail from the nursery. They are potted and placed south facing in full sun. This is my very first time trying to grow fruit trees (or any trees for that matter) - Thank you for lending a helping hand to aspiring backyard gardeners
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Samari_nu
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Why does my lemon look like this? That’s exactly what mine are doing rusty brown Spotty black looking. Also the skin is so thick when you cut them open . is that because the fruit is not mature yet? This is my first time growing a lemon tree and the first year that it actually has a good Batch of fruit on it. But they are really hard. Not sure what I’m doing wrong.
Julian H
4 years ago
I have actually had a similar issue with my Meter Lemon tree, I am very interested to see what everyone has to say.
HU-954861139
3 years ago
Mine doing the same, but not all are turning brown just some. What is the answer

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