Newbie gardener; orange tree is diseased/infested? Help!
Bobbi (9b)
8 years ago
Okay, so I am very new to gardening and being able to grow anything at all in general without it immediately dying. I just moved into a new place and inherited this orange tree (among many other landscaping plants that I also have little clue how to care for lol).
Looking more closely at the tree and its leaves, some of them have dark splotches that almost looks moldy maybe?
And I see some sort of tiny white bug or eggs clustered on some of the leaves and the fruit.
I'm sure someone here knows what I'm dealing with and can hopefully give me some advice on how to recover the tree? I'm really hoping I might still be able to get some fruit out of it this season (I live in central Florida), but I'm not sure how long it is. There are still some flowers blooming and a few tiny oranges starting to grow (they look healthy so far).
Also, I don't know if it matters, or if it's good or bad, but there are lots of ladybugs (and some bees, wasps, hornets, etc) on the tree as well.
Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!
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myermike_1micha
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoBobbi (9b)
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Help a newbie with trees and shrubs
Comments (0)Hello I'm looking to plant some trees and shrubs in my yard this year, and I'd like to get some cuttings or seeds of certain ones. I'm fairly new to gardening, so I don't have a ton, but I could trade some groundcover geranium or just pay postage for the cuttings/seeds. If they're cuttings, I'd prefer if they were rooted, but if they're not that's ok too. Ok, this is what I'm looking for: Amelanchier (serviceberry) Buddleia Davidii (any cultivar) Calycanthus floridus (carolina allspice bush) Cercis Canandensis (Eastern Redbud) Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) Dwarf Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) White Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus) might take seeds with this one but prefer cuttings Fragrant Winter Hazel (Corylopsis Glabrescens) Rose Daphne (Daphne cneorum) I think White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) especially want this Sambucus Nigra (Elderberry with black lacy foliage) Viburnum Dentatum (Arrowwood viburnum) looking for blue muffin cultivar but will take any Calycanthus Floridus (Carolina Allspice Bush) any cultivar Weigelia (Weigilia) Hardy Silver Gum (Eucalyptus gunnii) for indoor plant Any fragrant viburnum Rose of Sharon Kerria Japonica (Pleniflora) Kolkwitzia Amabalis (Pink Cloud) Erica (Heath) Calluna (Heather) Philadelphus (Mock Orange) Snow White Fantasy Beautyberry (any hardy varieties) Meserve Holly (Ilex Meserveae) any If you have any of these e-mail me asap because I'd like to get them planted this fall. Mryan7926@aol.com Thank you...See Morehelp with sickly orange tree
Comments (6)citrus leaf miner, get some spinosad, usually Lowes has it Greenlight, they have two different bottles, look at the active ingredient, one has spinosad and the other has something else. clear away the grass within a 2-3' radius, but dont dig b/c the tree will have surface feeder roots. i would mow at a very low setting and put a thick layer of mulch. citrus are heavy feeders and need a high N fertilzer something like a 3-1-1 or 9-3-3, as long as the first number (N) is higher than the other numbers. and make sure it includes micronutrients. prune off dead branches. they will be leafless, grayish or yellow/brown colored. not sure about the last two pics. This post was edited by houstontexas123 on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 20:03...See Morehelp! what's wrong with my orange tree? with pics
Comments (5)John. If your growing using compost and organic fertilizers that "weakly weekly" method does more harm than good to the beneficial bacteria in the soil. I would suggest a slow release organic fertilizer and, if you need to, an organic liquid micro formula. Also if your soil Ph is too high OM and elemental sulfur will eventually bring your Ph under control. Its the use of chemical fertilizers (ie Miracle Grow and the like) that over time depletes your soil of anything organic (including earthworms, mychorrizae and beneficial bacteria) eventually the only thing that helps your plants is the "weakly weekly" method because your plants become so dependent on the chemical fertilizer due to having nothing of substance in the soil. I used to use chelated fertilizer in my soil until I began reading the soil forum. The good thing about organic gardening is once you get your soil established you rarely have to feed your trees as most of the nutrients your trees need is in the soil. The only time I use liquid soluble non organic fertilizer is in my containers and pots. For my in ground trees I have begun a schedule of using compost with %10 worm castings twice a year, tree specific organic fertilizer with chicken or steer manure and beneficial bacteria with mycorrizae 3 times a year covered with pine chips once a year. I also purchased some earth juice micro blast just in case I see micro deficiency. And to help bring down the Ph of my soil I have been using an elemental sulfur blend combined with compost and OM. I figured my soil had been depleted so bad from my grandfather using nothing but chemicals over the last 40 years that I would bring the soil back to its natural best. So far things are looking good and more earthworms are returning. I had ZERO before so any is a plus:-) To answer the OPs question...If your tree is small enough you can just squeeze the CLM (youll find it on one side of the leaf kind of wrapped in it) with your fingers and they will pop and die. No need for chemicals. Here is a link that might be useful:...See MoreHelp needed with Mango tree disease
Comments (8)Yup, it looks like scale to me too...you need to treat with some insecticide maybe some soap and water or a light treatment of horticultural oil (HD or Lowe's)...but please be careful when you treat it...do it after sunset or sundown (not in direct sun) or you will sunburn the leaves. Keep in the shade for a day or two after treating... Neem is good but its very slow to work...I've actually used soap and water and manually removed them with a soft sponge..its tedious work and works if the tree is small and you have the time and energy to do it,lol... Good luck!!...See MoreBobbi (9b)
8 years ago
Bobbi (9b) thanked Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)Bobbi (9b)
8 years ago
Dtunesgw
8 years agotim45z10
8 years agoBobbi (9b)
8 years ago- Bobbi (9b) thanked Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
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