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Sick orange tree

Hello,

I am looking for advice on how to treat my orange tree.  It's been sick for a while, at first it was infested with scale and sooty mold. I scraped most of them off and sprayed with a mixture of vegetable oil, baking soda, and dish soap for several weeks, then washed the sooty mold off the leaves.  I stopped spraying after the leaves began to drop. Eventually, the tree shed all of its leaves.

I trimmed back the leafless branches and repotted the tree with fresh soil. In the spring time, there was a lot of fresh growth, some of which stayed and some of which died off. Now I've noticed yellow spots starting to form on the remaining leaves (see images).  Does anyone know what might be causing that? I've had this tree for over 20 years and would love to restore it back to health. Thanks!


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  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Welcome to the forum. Are you in the UK? I only ask because of the reference to "dish soap".
    I am confused as to why you would spray a tree for several weeks once you had picked off most of the scale insects. It can't have done the tree any good to have those substances leaching into the soil over a long period of time.
  • the_macethe_mace Posts: 9
    No I'm in Canada. I sprayed because several articles recommended doing so to prevent the remaining insects from breeding, which I since regret doing. What is the best way to help the tree recover? Thanks!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    @Nanny Beach grows a lot of citrus … hopefully she’ll see this ‘nudge’ and pop in 🤞 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    It's funny Dove, I haven't popped up for a while,(health problems) was actually thinking about you this morning,and my female intuition popped. So here I am. Ceres, I noticed the different spelling of "mould"....see we're a clever lot! If you were in the UK, and had recently got the plant,I would do my usual "checklist", but you must have been doing something right all these years. These critters are b****** aren't they! I think the tree has become overall stressed. I wouldn't have re-potted or pruned at the moment. Both will cause her to fancy a growth spurt, which adds to the stress. When we have had these patches, I have found the teeniest of catapillers curled up in some of the leaves. It can also be caused by sun or wind burn. We live in the "official" sunniest corner of the UK, 10 minutes from the sea, opposite the South Downs, garden is north facing,by the time it gets to 23c,they are at least in semi shade. Have you moved yours at all,where is it kept?
  • the_macethe_mace Posts: 9
    @Dovefromabove thanks for summoning this very helpful lady!

    @Nanny Beach yes they are quite the pain! I just found a new one today :( I checked the leaves for tiny caterpillars and I didn't see anything. I did, however, move recently - into a 10th floor, east facing apartment.  The tree was kept in an east facing window with a full spectrum lamp to supplement the sunlight until it was warm enough to keep it on the balcony. The balcony is walled on 3 sides and covered overhead by the balcony above so I expect wind exposure is minimal, but it does get direct sunlight all morning. Do you think that's enough to cause sun burn? Thanks for your insight!
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    edited June 2023
    I don't know what your weather is like at the moment. It could well be too hot in the sun.  How many hours of sunlight does the balcony get?Do you spray the leaves,? Rainwater. They like a humid atmosphere. At the end of the day they are trees, not indoor plants.Ah, you see, you have moved,I knew it, didn't I. You don't need to keep it under a grow light. Ours go outside usually starting in the day,march,gets too hot and dry in the greenhouse. By may they are outside permanently, but as I said, sheltered from the midday sun,by buildings.  Hope this helps.
  • the_macethe_mace Posts: 9
    Our weather has been cool for the past couple weeks, but we had a couple hot (30 C) and dry weeks before that. I think it gets about 5 hours of direct sun in the morning! (until noon) Should I start spraying the leaves? Or move it away from the edge of the balcony so it gets less sun?
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I would do both. If you can't access rainwater,put some in a jug for 48 hours to dechlorinate,spray the leaves Keep the air around moist, keep me posted.
  • the_macethe_mace Posts: 9
    Sounds good, thanks so much for all your help! I will let you know how it goes
  • the_macethe_mace Posts: 9
    Hi @Nanny Beach , the tree seems to have stabilised! The brown spots have not grown (at least not noticeably). The weather has been relatively cool and humid recently but I've been spraying extra water on the hot days.  I'll continue to monitor as I'm sure more hot weather will be coming.
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