All of a sudden leaves turn brown and fall off

9 years ago

Hi all

so in short. I have three citrus trees (an orange, a meyer lemon and a tangeloe). All three have been planted about three years ago and were fine.
About two months ago with birth of new baby I didn't look at the trees anymore.
Yesterday I looked at them and I was shocked. What has happened? Since all three show the same stress i assume I do something wrong or are they just offended that I neglected them?
Please help.
---
(Watering: once a week for 45 minutes;
fertilizing: moondust from moon valley nursery in Phoenix - once a month - but last time may).
---
(All pictures were taken from south side)
First picture:
Meyer Lemon; black buds; lot of lemons with brown spots; leaves yellow and brown and dry
Second picture: close-up of tangeloe tree with yellow branches and brown/white leaves
Third picture:
Whole picture of tangeloe tree.

Any help is highly appreciated. Please don't hesitate to criticize me what I am doing wrong as long as I get my dark green leaves and tasty lemons back.

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Comments (4)

johnmerr
9 years ago
Sunburn... caused by hot temperatures and insufficient water. They will recover with adequate water and good quality citrus fertilizer. Don't know anything about your "moondust"; but you should be using something with about a 5-1-3 NPK ratio...3-1-2 is better for your Meyer; and be sure the fert. includes Mg, Ca, Fe, and Zn.
uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
9 years ago
Yup, this is exactly what i see / saw after pulling back on irrigation this past May. And then (of course) while away on travel a sudden heat wave with 100F+ hit.

Here in Northern CA i must irrigate lightly every other day, and try to get a decent soak in every 7-10 days. If i don't the pictures you posted look familiar.

A word of caution about the fertilizer... - unless you are assured that the hydration is back up to where it needs to be, the solid/granular fertilizer will burn the roots. In this case what has worked for me is a liquid fertilizer applied weekly to a pre-wet root area.

The recovery will take time so be patient. Good luck!
- George
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ThoFue
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the hints. I already increased watering.

@BECAUSEICAN (or anybody else with an answer:

What liquid fertilizer do you use? I looked online and only found to websites with liquid fertilizers specifically for citrus trees but they are expensive.
Any links, brands, stores?

Thank you!!!
uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
9 years ago
I alternate between a couple of them; always with added vinegar due to my irrigation water pH of 9+.
Most often it is Liquid Gold (Master Nursery/EBStone) [15-6-3]
Then, Foliage Pro [9-3-6]
And lastly once every 2 months (and because i bought a bunch of it years ago-cheap) Miracle Grow - very weak solution.

this is not a cheap method, but its the only way i have found to feed the citrus during the heat season and keep it growing without using excessive water. [there are improvements and changes that i need to make to the irrigation, but unable to attack that project at this time. So i am stuck with what i have for now].

I used to mix it all in a watering can and apply to pre-wet soil. I mixed for a 1 gallon amount, but in a full 1.5 gallon can (so a bit weaker solution). 1 can per tree (or more if taller than 6ft.). Today i tried a sprayer and believe it worked well. I used a Hudson hand-held sprayer that has a metering knob. I could turn the liquid addition off, and then adjust up to 1 Tbsp /gal. This turned out to be a much faster and more convenient method (45 citrus trees) so i think i will stick with it.

-George