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Help! Dying Citrus
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Posted by adinainaz81 Arizona (My Page) on Sun, Jan 31, 10 at 10:26
I am a brand new home owner and a complete idiot when it comes to tree and plant care in general!
I have three citrus trees: lemon, and two tangerines (I think they are tangerines, they look like them but taste even sweeter). One of these tangerine trees was growing up into a tree on the opposite side of my fence and was really looking like a mess. Well I decided to prune it. I did a whole bunch of research first. I pruned it during the summer because I read that was the best time. Well I pruned a lot of it, to much likely. Now the tree really did produce a lot of fruit this winter but it looks just terrible. It has very few branches with leaves on it and the leaves are starting to wilt. The other tree, that I did not prune, looks more like a bush and has branches everywhere and now it's leaves are starting to wilt as well. What can I do? Any tree care information, no matter how basic, would be greatly appreciated! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Help! Dying Citrus
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| Yikes, I did this backward! If I had been observant enough to see this post first, I would have answered your palm tree post differently. Both palms and citrus dying means something is drastically wrong in the garden. My first suspect would be a failed irrigation system, though that normally does far more damage in the summer. If the irrigation system checks out, see what chemicals you or a neighbor have sprayed recently. Some "weed killers" kill far more than just the weeds, and can spread underground with heavy watering--the recent big rain qualifies. That may also happen by spreading gravel groundcover that has been "treated for weeds" with the wrong chemicals. Rarer possibilities include major gas leaks (I hope not!), excess gaseous chlorine applied to the pool, or certain other weed killers sprayed on a windy day. I hope we can track down the culprit!
Kevin : / |
RE: Help! Dying Citrus
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How have you been watering them?
Have you fertilized them?
Do you have a sprinkler system? And posting pictures of the trees would help - these and the palm trees. |
RE: Help! Dying Citrus
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Actually, summer is the worst time to prune citrus. and a bad time for most trees in AZ. Citrus almost certainly got sunburn on the bark that was exposed to the sun in summer. First, paint the bark white. It's late, that should have been done the same day you pruned, but it's not to late to do some good.
Second, I agree, check your water and be sure you are getting on a good water program. Watering will be different in summer than winter. I would say that 95% of all problems with trees and palms suffering are because of too much or too little water. Citrus will need less than your palm, but still need regular water. |
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