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Lemon tree disease

jrefletcherBgGWFqWAjrefletcherBgGWFqWA Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi, my meyer lemon tree has serious leaf drop and a lot of the leaves are turning yellow with black staining (see attached image). The fruit seems to have stopped growing too, and they also have black marks on them. There are so many potential diseases it could have, please can someone advise which this looks like and any possible cures?
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  • jrefletcherBgGWFqWAjrefletcherBgGWFqWA Posts: 7
    I'm trying only to water it every 4 or 5 days as I read the yellow leaves might have been because I was over watering it? And on the level of soil, there is no reason apart from I only had a certain amount of soil when I originally potted it - I can add more now.  
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I think I can see scale insects on some of the stems and some sooty mould on a few leaves.
    They look like tiny brown limpets and if you flick one off with a fingernail there's white fluffy stuff underneath. There probably aren't too many, so just remove them with your fingernails - if that's what they are.
    Have you been feeding your tree?
    Scale insects often get hold if the plant is stressed which could be due to no nutrients in the compost or over/under watering.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    As Pete says, remove scale insects. Wipe down leaves to remove sooty mould  with something like a baby wipe or a damp cloth.  I would lift the plant, put new citrus compost in the bottom and in the new gap around it to lift the plant up in the pot. Allow a couple of inches at the top for watering. Water well and allow to drain. (use pot feet)
  • jrefletcherBgGWFqWAjrefletcherBgGWFqWA Posts: 7
    Thanks for your comments. I didn't notice the black spots on the stems! (see pic) There is a lot of it actually and it leads from the stem up through into the leaves, but it seems to be almost a black powder when I remove it. I haven't used any feeder - is there any you would recommend? 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I don't have any citrus so I don't know how tough they are.
    You could try using cotton wool and a small glass of water with a few drops of washing up liquid (just 4-5 drops tho) and wipe them off the stems and the soot from the leaves.

    There are proper citrus feeds available - I believe there's one for summer and one for winter.
    Monty D uses seaweed extract on his and they're in very good health.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Alan4711Alan4711 Posts: 1,657
    Hi J, I found this on the net some time ago and used it on my infected young pepper plants, and Fucias i,m told its an old one and not to make it any stronger !!it worked after 5 daily sprays and ended  with a little burn onsome  leaf ends, so hence the advise of wiping, but it worked

    Disinfectant Spray to make one litre, Shake before use every time, more than one light spray may be needed, every day for 7 days until recovery of plants.

    2 level Teaspoons, Baking Soda,

    1 Teaspoon veg oil or Neem oil (best)

    10 drops liquid Hand Soap, (Organic is best)

    DO NOT let the disinfectant sit on the ends of the leaves, after a minute or so shake or wipe end of leaves or they may burn, goodluck Alan







  • Alan4711Alan4711 Posts: 1,657
    J,, Can I add my young (24"Lemon trees)  also suffered from reflect burn of the conservatory wall bricks as they were too close, my trees get Miracle grow and are kept moist not dry, these i,v grown from seed and Thats about all I know Cheers J
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    You have received good advice so far. But we are unable to see the pot size to the plant size. The soil definitely looks parched. Even though you water every 5 days, if you are watering a pot that is either too small/shallow or not generously enough, your plant will not have sufficient water to keep the roots happy. Make sure you water deeply, so water pours out of the drainage holes. Water in the evenings or early mornings in the summer months to get the best from the watering.

    Most of the leaves are beyond improving and are likely to drop off. Don't be concerned with that. You may even need to prune back some branches to allow your plant time to recover. It's quite OK to move your whole plant to somewhere shady for a few weeks to allow it time to recover too. I would recommend that. 
  • jrefletcherBgGWFqWAjrefletcherBgGWFqWA Posts: 7
    What a fantastic forum this is! Thanks everyone for their comments. Taking everyone's advice on board, my plan is as follows:

    Water in the evenings
    Move to a shaded spot away from the brickwork for a few weeks and don't be disappointed when the leaves drop off
    Rub off the insects and rub down the leaves with a damp cloth and use a disinfectant spray
    Buy citrus soil - add this in at the bottom of the pot and raise it higher in the pot and water generously (with pot feet)
    Buy a citrus feed (maybe seeweed extract or something similar)

    Borderline - I've included a photo below showing the pot size - it seemed to be about right when I potted it, but it was a guess.
      
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Thanks for posting another photo of your plant. I agree with Philippasmith2, you should lift the plant out and put in more loam-based soil around the base before re-planting back. Avoid piling on more soil on top of your existing plant. It should be fine in that pot for another year or so.
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