Lemon trees - please help!

[tryingtosortmylifeout]

I bought two indoor lemon trees earlier this year that have now developed quite a severe case of "sticky leaves". I read this is a disease of some sort and that I need to clean all the leaves with water and Fairy Liquid as well as changing the soil.

Please can someone give me an example of a suitable soil I can buy for indoor pot plants? The only stuff I can find online seems to be either compost or top soil - are these the right things to use?

Also, do I need to buy some sort of oil to clean the leaves (like Neem?) or will Fairy Liquid really do the trick?

The plants are leaving a sticky film on the furniture/floor in my conservatory, which is becoming a bit of a pain - so any advice people can give would be much appreciated.

It’s scale. Probably. I have never tried using fairy liquid, just a soft cloth and water. But it’s a nightmare to get rid of and takes ages as you have to wipe each leaf front and back and the stems, branches and trunk as well. If you turn the leaf over can you see small brownish lumps usually tucked in along the veins of the leaf? If so that’s the little house the insect making the sticky stuff lives in. The sticky stuff is just a side effect. You need to wipe all those little things off and will probably have to do it over and over again. Not helpful at this time of year but apparently it’s only plants that live indoors or under glass that seem to get it so I move mine outside in the spring and summer. There must be a chemical you can buy to kill the scale but you can deal with it with a LOt of patience. The stick should come off with soap and water.

Thanks Haus - oh dear, what a pain. I don't want to get rid of my trees, but that sounds very time consuming!

Yes I can see those little brown lumps.

Also, I'd assumed it was putting them out for the summer that had caused it, not keeping in them in! You live and learn...

Not oil!

@longwayoff does oil not work then? I'm sure I read online somewhere that it was an effective treatment. Any advice would be much appreciated!

O sorry, tryingto, I shouldn't have commented really as my one experience with oil on leaf killed off the plant but it wasnt a citrus, which has very tough leaves, it was a succulent so quite different, interfered with photosynthesis I think. So I dont know. In fact just googled citrus scale and it seems oil is the way to go with a change of compost. Apologies and best wishes.

Are they growing anyway? With lemons and blossom? They are happier with rain water, not sitting in it though. They like the light but not too warm or dry overwinter.

@ppeatfruit they are still growing but I’m so fed-up with the sticky leaves! I think I will try buying some neem oil and see if that works.

Just wash them gently with a microfibre cloth, maybe with a couple of drops of neem or citronella ess. oil in a cup of warm water. Don't overwater the whole plants though. IIRC misting might be helpful if it's too dry in your conservatory.