Inside lime tree slowly dying…

[harriethoyle]

It just looks so sad. Loses leaves daily. Have bought special citrus food which had no effect. Slightly sticky residue on leaves but no obvious pests but sprayed with citrus bug spray to no effect. Roots not overly watered so shouldn’t be rotting. Help! Any bright ideas I haven’t thought of much appreciated.

Citrus are tricky even for seasoned gardeners. You have probably been overwatering . Also stop feeding a stressed plant. Is it getting enough sunlight? Citrus like a lot of sunshine, but maybe not full sun while it is recovering.

I would take it outside and place it in partial shade. But first wash each and every leaf with water and a drop of dish soap, wiping with two sponges, one on top and one on bottom and rinsing the sponges often.

Check out you tube videos on caring for sick Citrus. There is a mine of information. Good luck.

Too much feed can cause something called reverse osmosis, which can kill.

All danger of frost is now over, so put it outside for the summer in the garden somewhere in partial shade, and sheltered from strong winds. Don't let it dry out, but don't drown it either.

Thank you both. Unfortunately @Yamadori we live on top of a very high hill and it’s ALWAYS really windy. Would definitely kill it off! I’ll try your washing tip thank you @Whataretalkingabout Once this rain passes I will take it out at the weekends with me and the dog

Thank you both!

Scale insects. Citrus are a bugger for getting them and keeling over.

Tiny, immobile, flat, very hard to see. They tend to sit on the main vein on the underside of the leaf. And on the stems.

Check every leaf, gently scrape them off with your fingernails, and apply a systemic pesticide. Contact ones don't get though the scale.

My Lemon and lime both died, I tried everything but they just gave up

Thanks @NoBinturongsHereMate I will give that a go too

@NoBinturongsHereMate my citrus plants are really struggling with scale insects, could you suggest a pesticide?

A systemic insecticide. That gets into the plant itself and kills anything sucking sap. Not sure of a brand name though.

Our lemon tree often has scale insects when it is indoors for the winter. We only notice them by the sticky patches and then when looked at closely we can see them.

We take it outside and wash well with soapy water to remove them. Once it is put outside for the summer the scale insects seem to disappear.

A friend suggested the small birds spot them and pick them off, (blue tits must have better eyesight than me!)

Unfortunately I've tided the utility room and lost the bottle we used last time. I think it was white, with a pink lid. Not v helpful, I'm afraid.

It wasn't anything obscure though - I just asked the local garden centre for something systemic but suitable for fruit (I think there was a 'wash out' period but it didn't stop us eating the fruit long term).

There are also nematodes available.for scale insects, but they are a bit tricky - not just a sprinkle and leave job like most nematodes - so I've not tried them.

@NoBinturongsHereMate thanks, a trip to the garden centre tomorrow then for me 😁.

We used a mix of neem oil(it's a natural product) water washing up liquid. Agree, scale insect.. they can also suffer from red spider mite and wooly aphid. How long have you had the plant?. Depending where you live,it could be too hot too dry. Ours overwinter in a greenhouse.come match when it starts getting warm in there,we spray the leaves,rain water only...if you can't access rain water, tap water left in a bucket for 48 hours to dechlorinate.. by the end of may they will all be outside, and dunked in a bucket weekly and watered for about 15 minutes, then left to drain . For some strange reason they do seem to find British sun too hot.
.

March not match!

You can get rid of scale with a cotton bud and surgical spirit. Just keep bottle and bud by the plant and have a daily inspection when sitting down with a cuppa. I find it quite therapeutic to wipe off the little buggers.

A word of warning about neem oill - it stinks. You can add a bit of peppermint oil to the mix, which helps a lot, but I'd definitely not spray it indoors.

It's OK if you can take the plants outside for treatment, and leave them.there a bit for it to dissipate.

@NoBinturongsHereMate @Nannyfannybanny @Theoldwrinkley you were right - we had bugs! The washing water looked like soup with the number of little beasties in it by the end. It’s miserable and very windy here but I’m going to wash again on Monday and then put outside for a bit when it’s calmer 🤞🏼 thanks for the expertise!