Another Yellow leaf lemon question w/ many Pics - Need help!
Hi everyone,
I made sure to read through the forums before posting this. I still have a lot of questions and not sure if the things I am seeing are all related.
I bought a house last year and have no idea how to care for this lemon tree. I bought fertilizer (slow release granules) and dug a few holes around the drip line poured some in and watered that spot.
The leaves are slightly yellow - pale green, depends on the leaf. They curl inward (this is more recent)
and have yellow veins. I also "feel" that the lemon fruits (babies about the size of my thumb) aren't growing (not sure the technical term for this) or changing in size the past 3 weeks. I think the leaves have always been a little pale looking which prompted me to buy fertilizer.
It has been hot the past week in the upper 90's to 100. I live in Sacramento CA if anyone is near by and can comment on what their plant looks like. The trees are 6-8 feet tall, I have no idea on the age.
Based on my research it could be my watering or low nitrogen? Lack of nutrition? I don't know if I under water or over water and if heat stress is a factor. Not sure I can describe the dirt its in..
Additional information/ question.
There is black tree bark over the lemon trees and a black plastic (like a thick garbage bag) to prevent weeds from growing. I couldn't find any information on it, but I am guessing this isn't good for lemon trees? I dug a hole and poured fertilizer by the left of the picture and left a small stake there.
Here is last seasons lemons and this seasons
I am imagine the lemons will be ripe in Nov?
I use to water right next to the trunk, but for the past few weeks, I've been watering near the fertilizer holes in which moved the mulch and dug through the plastic (weed barrier).
There are also random blemishes and holes in leaves here and there, but I don't think its too concerning? Don't see any caterpillars (they usually attacked my tomatoes and melons, nor does it look like their doing)
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments (7)
christopher chu
8 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (13)JoeP450, it all likelihood the albino branch will eventually die off, but by the same token, that is not a certainty. Theorizing again, while the branch is still small, there is not as much of an energy expense in transporting sugars to keep the cells alive, but as it continues to grow, it will probably reach a point where it becomes unsustainable. The thought behind the double graft is that, if sucessful, the sugars would have to be transported through the white portion, bringing down that transport cost considerably. I'm sure that there are similarities between horticulture and pharmacology. I would speculate that to become a pharmacologies, you would have taken several chemistry/biochemistry courses, all of which will serve you well in horticulture. The best part of horticulture over pharmacology is that you can experiment and try different things and at worst you lose a plant. lol And IMHO, most people who call themselves experts are full of bs!...See MoreAnother yellowing tomatoe leaf question
Comments (7)No, it's not necessarily the quality of the images, my mind doesn't process 3 dimensions in photos. But, as an example, in the 'whole plant' picture found in your first comment, the plant leaves look very full and healthy. They are very well formed and have good color. However, in some of the pics, depth perception can get confusing, and a leaf that is further away may resemble one that is small and deformed. Along with soil and fertilizer issues, there are viruses that can cause bad leaf formation. I'm sorry I'm not being much help. Someone more knowledgeable about tomato specific problems may help, but they will probably need the soil, or medium make-up, watering history, and fertilizers used, and at what intervals. You may even like to cross-post in the http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/tomato forum. Ugh... it's not letting me post using the insert link option. Oh well, point being that many people watch that forum before this one....See MoreLemon tree branch and leaf questions.
Comments (4)Hello and thanks for your reply hobbyartisan. As I stated above, I have been somewhat lax in my care and attention to my trees. The Lisbon I have had maybe three to four years in the same pot in which it was purchased, with plans to transplant. I finally got around to it at the beginning of the year. The mix that they are in is something I put together after opening a bag of miracle gro cactus and citrus soil and being totally disappointed. So I combined that with some decomposed granite, some perlite, and some compost as I try to recall. I honestly do not remember the type of fertilizer that I was using. It basically was whatever I may have been using for other plants and vegetables that may have been growing over the past years. Omsacote I think, vigaro, dynamite, miracle gro, Epsom salt, whenever they seemed to have issues. When they were first repotted they began to drop blooms and some leaves yellowed and dropped. But as I panicked,(I thought my homemade mix may have doomed them) they began to perk up with new growth, blooms, and better color. I began using this at repotting. Have been better with application about once a month until July then once this past Friday. They are usually watered once a week sometimes twice. During the hottest past months sometimes every three days or so. They all get full sun at various times of the day although the Lisbon does not get as much as the two smaller trees. I was curious about the graft union after reading of the possibility of it taking over and killing the tree. Thanks for your input. Another not so great photo of the union from a different angle where the branch comes off the trunk....See MoreCitrus beginner in need of some help w/ yellowing leaves
Comments (36)Hey Everyone! Thanks so much for all of your advice, and input. Apologies for my lack of activity recently. Shortly after I realized the fertilizer is what was killing the tree, I repotted it back to the container it came in, with fresh soil. I continued providing love (grow light, root booster, etc) for a couple more weeks until the entire fre tree was brown. Determined to have a lemon tree, I started 10 seedlings from an organic lemon. A couple weeks later I was at the nursery, and I mentioned my situation to an employee. She said I can bring the tree in and they'll exchange it for a new one. They get their next shipment of citrus trees in November, so I'll swap it then. I'm determined not to make the same mistakes with the new free as I did with the first one. I am going to keep a couple of the new lemon trees, and give the others away once they've matured a bit more. @Sunshine: Thanks for the advice regarding manure. I followed the advice of an employee at a local nursery. I should mention it was composted manure. The pot we chose was not only for decor, but also the size. Advice online suggests a white or light colour pot to keep the roots cool during summer. The pot has a 1" hole in the bottom (similar to terra cotta pots). The only reason I added styrofoam and gravel was to prevent the soil from sitting in water before any extra was able to drain. In hindsight, I realize it was unnecessary. I don't think the pot was a contributing factor to the issues the tree was suffering though. I definitely haven't given up. I'm not discouraged by my learning experience. In the end I'll have even more tree, because if not for this experience I wouldn't have started the seedlings....See Morechristopher chu
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agochristopher chu thanked BahamaDan Zone 12b SubtropicsBahamaDan Zone 12b Subtropics
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