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kelgalon

meyer lemon bloom and spider mite questions

kelgalon
13 years ago

Hello All, I am pretty new to citrus...started my obsession last fall. I have a 2 year old Meyer lemon in the ground that has several lemons growing on it, but I noticed it stopped blooming. I didn't know if it was the temperature in the high 90's, the crazy amount of rain weÂve gotten, or if I'm doing something else wrong. I'd love to hear your insight!

I also have a young Australian finger lime that I believe has been battling with spider mites. For awhile I thought maybe the large amount of rain was causing the discolored leaves (IÂm sure it didn't help), but on closer inspection I think it is spider mites. I plan to treat with Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew tonight and ordered some beneficial spider mite predators that will get here later this week. Do you have any suggestions as to how to help my tree recover?

Thanks!

Comments (3)

  • meyermike_1micha
    13 years ago

    Hi Kelgalon,

    What , in detail as we always like to know, are your cultural habits?

    How often do you feed? How much sun? How much water? When was the the last time it blossomed? All the other things you can think of. Pictute too if possible.

    Welcome here..
    Mike..:-)

  • kelgalon
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Hey Mike, thanks for the welcome! This is the first time I've posted pictures and it may take me a couple tries. I also need to apologize for the horrible quality of the pics, I was running out the door on my way to work. I can try to take some better ones tonight. Ok, here goes...

    Meyer Lemon

    {{gwi:605240}}

    Finger Lime

    {{gwi:605243}}

    Spider mite damage?

    {{gwi:605247}}

    Both trees are in the ground and I've been fertilizing with Microlife 6-2-4. I haven't been fertilizing every three months. I was told when they are young to fertilize once during the first summer and then a couple of times the second year. This past month we've had a ton of rain, I think one of the wettest July's we've ever had. I try to make sure that the trees get at least 1" of water every week. So if it doesn't rain I water well about twice a week (I dont think I've had to water in the past month). We have a small front yard so I will water with a sprinkler for an hour. After this last batch of down pour I noticed that some of the leaves were yellowing (I assumed it was b/c of all the rain) and I used a 3-1.5-2 foliar feed. I did not notice any yellowing on the meyer lemon before the rain and its mostly the leaves towards the bottom. Of course we're in our hottest part of the year as well and temps have been in the 90's. Other than the water, fertilizer and daily inspection, I tend to try to leave them alone. I haven't noticed any insect problems on the meyer lemon. The finger lime has looked funky for a couple of weeks now. Haven't seen any new blooms on that one either. I ordered some beneficials if spider mites are the problem.

    Well is that too much information? Haha! Thanks for your help!

  • kelgalon
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Ok, think I got it to work this time! Oh and it gets sun until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I would say its been over a month, probably more since both of them bloomed.

    Meyer Lemon

    {{gwi:605248}}

    Finger Lime

    {{gwi:605251}}

    Spider mite damage?

    {{gwi:605254}}