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What's wrong with my lemon plant?

kengcckengcc Posts: 8
in Problem solving
The leafs of my lemon tree suddenly change color and turn try, can someone figure out what's wrong with it? is it too much fertilizer or water?

Posts

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Where do you live? Are you in the UK? What is the orange stuff on top of the soil? Did you buy this plant this size,it looks quite small
     Sorry for all the questions. They make a difference
     Looks as though you have several lemons, citrus in the picture
     Right,they don't need feeding (fertilizer) till they at least have flowers, ideally fruit forming
    Yours look very young. The brown crispy leaves, could be wind or sun or feed damage
    They need a lot of water,we soak ours in a bucket for 15 minutes weekly in the summer,then left to drain,so they aren't sitting in water.If you can answer my questions,will be happy to try and help further
  • kengcckengcc Posts: 8
    edited October 2021
    Only pros ask more questions, thanks in advance :smile:

    Where do you live?
    Malaysia

    What is the orange stuff on top of the soil?
    the orange stuff is yellow soil that came with the plant (clay soil?), I bought this online. It’s some kind of sticky soil, feels quite hard now, couldn’t penetrate with soil PH meter.

    Did you buy this plant this size?
    yes, it’s about this size when I received it.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Hum
     I can only reply, from my point of view living in the UK. I'm in the SE warmest driest corner. I've had citrus for nearly 30 years
     They are in special citrus compost. I know they live happily in groves in Italy,but find they don't like full sun even here,but wind,can burn the leaves. What sort of feed did you use,and how was it applied? What sort of temperatures do you have at the moment? I would imagine you don't have to worry too much about winter/cold/protection. So,can you put it somewhere out of full mid day sun,try to get the correct compost, water to flush away the feed. If you can collect it, rainwater, not sure of your tap water composition there. Over here it's chlorinated,so if we have to use it,we leave it for 24/48, hours,to dechlorinate before watering. They don't like dry atmosphere,ours are sprayed,with (rain) water,cheap hand sprayer. Hope this helps.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    edited October 2021
    It looks too dry to me.  If the leaves on my lemon start to curl like that in winter, when I keep it on the dryer side, it means too dry. I soak it and then let all the water drain out.  The leaves usually recover then.
  • kengcckengcc Posts: 8
    Temperature here ranges from 25C at night to 35C at noon, high humidity.

    I put this fertilizer at soil: https://shop.serbajadi.com.my/products/serbajadi-plant-food-superbmix-78-fertilizer
    Recently I always sprayed vinegar+chilli+soap+water to chase away some ants and insects, maybe too much dosage, later I try to clean it by spraying water to the leafs.

    Thanks for the rainwater tips, I will switch from tap water to 24-hour water.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Citrus plants need nitrogen (N) feed thru the period from late spring to early autumn tp keep their leaves healthy but adequate watering is also essential.   During the rest of the year they are forming flowers and fruits and need a special citrus feed high in  phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) as well as magnesium and some other trace elements. 

    They also prefer their soil to be on the acid side of neutral so avoid tap water with any calcium in it.  They like their soil to be free draining but moist.

    Rather than spraying with chemicals, try hosing your plants to remove insects or else wiping the leaves with a damp cloth.  If they persist, you can get nematodes to deal with many pests.  That way you will reduce harm done to beneficial insects and pollinators.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    edited October 2021
    The only thing ours get sprayed with is rain water. I didn't go into the complexity of feeding regime. I don't feed plants that small. I certainly wouldn't spray with all of those things. Unsure of that feed we use citrus only feed a proper summer and winter one. But,as I said only when there is flowers or fruit. Boy,that's hot! See if you can find a shadier cooler spot, concentrate on watering and misting it
     Leave off everything else,see if it recovers. Here in the UK we have our own completely different sets of problems to overcome
     
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Vinegar is sometimes used as a homemade weed killer, it burns leaves, so that may be the culprit. Especially if they were sprayed in full sun.  Also I think adding fertiliser can cause problems, better to add too little than too much imo. Good compost should contain enough nutrients for young plants. 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    You and me both,Loxley.
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