Hi Mah..Wow, your poor tree. Have you sprayed chemical (insecticide or fertilizer) on the leaves? or perhaps overfertilized? The next question regards pests,. Notice any creepy-crawlers on leaves or branches? Before leaves browned, were they discolored yellow or mottled? How long have you had the tree? Is it new, recently planted? How often do you water? I'm assuming you peeled bark, and found green instead of brown/dead inner bark, right? If it's green, then your tree is alive. I normally don't suggest pruning, but in your case, I'd do some drastic pruning. Toni

Thanks for all the responses. Most of the trees are 8-10 years old. They are all dwarfs -- none of them is more than four or five feet tall. I don't know who my local ag extension agent is or how to get in touch with him/her, but that's a good suggestion -- I'll look into that. The consensus of all the comments seems to be root rot caused by overwatering. It would be hard to overemphasize how dry it is here in the summer. It hasn't rained in a couple of months and normally doesn't rain from about May 1 through Thanksgiving. The irrigation I provide every morning is minimal. It's true that I have been giving some of these trees an extra shot of water in the late afternoon recently -- because the ground is so dry as to be almost lunar. Maybe that extra water created the problem. But that doesn't explain why citrus trees to which I haven't been giving extra water are showing the same symptoms. Plus, we had a rainy spring and they loved that. The affected trees are a pink grapefruit, a Meyer lemon, a navel orange (which has already died), a Valencia orange and now a Bearss lime. Over the weekend, I'm going to try (1) cutting out the affected branches; (2) spraying thoroughly with bug killer, (3) taking affected leaves to the local garden center and (4) looking up the county extension agent. If anyone has any other ideas, please share them. Thanks, Nimzo

I am sure if you can post pics, someone will help. I'm sorry that is happening!

I would have to disagree that you can't grow citrus indoors or that it is a futile quest. Rather I would say that it takes some careful observation and some consideration. (All three of my citrus are indoors and most of my struggles are in trying to figure out how big I can let them get before I take the clippers to them). For humidity, at least in my experience, using an over sized drip tray and pot feet works just fine. As for light, with modern LED grow lights, even a darker home can work to grow a citrus tree or two. Where I would agree is that a citrus is not a standard houseplant in the usual sense of the word. Put in a better way, they won't be a snake plant happy in a darkish corner in a home that averages 74 in winter with no drop at night. So if you like to keep your home on the warmer side, then I would suggest finding a houseplant that doesn't mind it warm and dry. If, on the other hand, you keep your home on the cooler side, say between 68-70 during the day and a drop to 64-66 at night (which can translate to between 60 and 62 by some insulated windows, less if not). And you observe light. And you take care to look to the watering needs of your, specific, environment, (this can be different even for people in the same city), and use a mix that works for where you live. And you take care not to overfertilize, but only give your plant what it needs. And don't worry your plant to death. Then you will do just fine. Without a greenhouse I wouldn't suggest getting multiple trees, as that can become expensive quick. But a tree or two in the brightest and most temperate room in your home won't be impossible. Again, though, it takes some time to determine if the tree will survive. Better to find a cheap houseplant with similar needs and try to keep that alive and thriving, learn what that needs, and then move on to the more expensive tree. As for the houseplant, it may take some trial and error to get it growing right, and you may kill a few before you strike on the right mix of potting soil, light, humidity, water, and fertilizer.