Oh boy. Even this "citrus nurse" is going to struggle, here. Okay, first off, let's get rid of all that grass under the tree. This poor tree is struggling enough as it is for nutrients, but the grass is simply using up any Nitrogen that might be made available to this tree's feeder roots. So, clear a very large circle under the tree. For this tree, I would suggest twice the drip line (edge of the canopy). Mike is right - paint the trunk white, never black. This may be the cause of the issue - you may have literally cooked the cambium layer with black paint. It is customary to use flat latex house paint cut in 1/2 with water to paint tree trunks. I would definitely try re-painting the trunk. The dog's damage may have girdled the tree, in which case nothing we tell you to do will save the tree. This tree is too small to have this many dead branches requiring pruning, so that clearly should be a clue something is drastically wrong. The leaves appear to be burnt. If you're applying any kind of oil to the leaves, you must make sure your outdoor temps do not exceed 35 degrees F (29 degrees Celsius), or you'll risk burning the leaves. Again, spiders are the "good guys". If you're referring to spider mites, that's an entirely different insect, and is often a sign of a stressed tree. Find out what insect you think is a spider, and get it ID'ed so you know whether or not you're dealing with a pest or a beneficial. CLM can be treated with Spinosad, with or without a hort oil added in (depending upon your air temps). You should be able to find it where you live. Be sure to use Spinosad in the later evening, when the bees have gone back to the hive, as Spinosad can kill bees. Spray every 3 weeks, 3 applications during your CLM season. You can use a hort oil to help the product stick better, but only if your air temps are low enough. Lastly, back to the watering issue. It looks awfully wet in the soil. We need to know what kind of soil you have. Is it clay, loam, sand, DG? You say you "water occasionally". Is this tree getting hit by lawn sprinklers? If so, that is certain death for citrus. They don't like their trunks constantly hit with water. It will damage the bark and leave the tree open for all kinds of fungal infections. If you're watering by hand, you want the roots to receive a good, deep (to about 18 - 24", or 7 to 10 cm) watering once to three times a week, depending on your ambient temps, humidity and type of soil. Check to make sure the tree actually needs to be watered, before you water it, so you can gauge your soil's water retention. I just use a cheap green plastic-covered plant stake, and push it into the ground. For me being on DG, if I can't push it in at all, my soil is dry (turns into cement when dry). If I can push it in, and the stake comes out moist, I'm good. You're heading into Fall now, but I think you can still get away with another application of fertilizer. Use a good quality citrus fertilizer with the proper NPK ratio (citrus require a lot of nitrogen, so you'll see the N will be higher than the PK, the best ratio is 5:1:3 in general for citrus), with the full complement of micronutrients as well (Ca, Zn, Mg, Mn, Fe). Stay in touch with your local gardening center, someone who knows citrus. Let us know how your little tree fares. I'm a little concerned about all the damage. I'm not sure if it is just how the tree is being managed, or if we're looking at something more serious, like a virus or infection of some sort. The good news - citrus are very resilient. Let's see if some better management allows the tree to spring back. It may take until next spring until you see some serious recovery, so be patient. And, remove all the fruit for now. Your tree cannot possibly support fruit production, it needs to use all its energies into recovery. Patty S.

Catherine, Can you post a picture of your tree showing the dying area contrasted against those parts still alive? Also, we'll need to see a close up photo of the trunk/root area to see whether there might be rot that's causing your tree to decline. To post photos, place your pix in Photobucket and hover over each until you see the HTML link. Copy each HTML link onto the body of your message and you'll see the photo when you 'Preview Message' just as we will. A few quesitons for you: 1) How much water did you apply? (You may need additional periodic and SLOW, SOAKING water applications.) 2) Have you ever fertilized the tree? Using a specific Citrus & Avocado granular fertilizer, hopefully? 3) Do you see any girdling of the tree - have animals chewed around, especially at the bottom near the trunk/root interface? 4) I'm assuming you're on hard clay soil (like me/near Glen Park) - is your tree planted on a slope that drains well? 5) What part of the City do you live? Are you more warm like near SOMA and Potrero, or cold/foggy/windy as in the Sunset? I wouldn't say it's been particularly warm in SF, but it's dryer than prior years, so dehydration is a possibility. However, there could be other things going on, so the photos and your answers to the questions above would definitely help. Tim

Meyers don't like changes, so if you had it outdoors then moved it indoors, it will drop leaves. Also, those leaves look a bit mottled like spider mites could be a problem. Also, if you look at the plant sideways, it will drop leaves. Folks on citrus forum could probably help you, but they'll probably ask you to show the entire plant.

I have this exact problem now. The tree is in the chook yard. I moved in 18 years ago and there were two trees close together. After about ten years one died..didn't care had the other and the chooks like the shade in summer. I am in South Western Australia which has hot summers and mild winters. I have never watered the trees directly because we are only 8ft to water and expect the roots to be in very moist sand 6 ft down. Three weeks ago there were some serious storms come through and all my trees received a very good drink. 8 ft away is a massive orange tree that yields over 600 oranges a year and i'm a bit concerned it might end up the same way. My initial thought was that the buildup of nitrogen from the chook poop is doing it but cannot find out much about nitrogen overdose. It currently has about 100 plus lemons on the tree atm which are small and withered as are the leaves. The leaves are yellowing and curling like it's thirsty. I will remove all the fruit from the tree and find a citrus spray for disease's and spray it. I have never bothered to fertilize the lemon because of the fowl droppings..funny thing is that the ground is damp around the base, so watering seems like it is not required. Interestingly though, there is fruit that has fallen a week ago, that is ripe and plump with perfect skin under the tree.So this is just happening.......confused.