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milk
Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 2 Location: South Phoenix
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject: Please help me! |
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I just moved into my house in the past year so I don't know how to take care of citrus trees or how old these trees are. My orange tree seems to be taking a turn for the worse and I don't know what to do. I went to my local nursery and they gave me some fertilizer that I put on around september last year and some 1st step soil acidifier. They told me this would solve the yellowing leaves.
My tree did produce fruit, about 20 VERY large oranges that were picked a bit after christmas. They were good . However about half way through the production of the fruit I started to notice the tree seemed.. bare. I could see the middle of the tree which I don't remember seeing before. Since I haven't had a tree like this before I thought it might be because all the energy of the tree is going into the fruit production... But I think I'm wrong. Haha.
We water everyday for 15 minutes in the backyard. It used to be 15 minutes twice a day but my husband recently changed it. (Recently as in a few days ago). I was thinking the tree was being over-watered but the lemon and other orange beside it are doing great.
Here are some pics.
The lemon is on the left and the orange is on the right.
It's looking, sad.
Oh hello inside of tree.
Some of the leaves are turning yellow like this.
Some of them have brown spots like this. I looked very close and the spots seemed to be inside the leaves, not on top.. but maybe it's aphids. I honestly have no idea.
I really don't want to lose this tree and would like all the help I can get. I feel pretty helpless. Thanks. |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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You are watering too much. You should be watering no more than once every two weeks this time of year. However, when you do water you should water them heavily. It is best to create a watering basin around them so that they can be flooded when you water.
It kind of sounds like you have them on a real frequent drip irrigation which will keep them wet all the time, which is not good.
Also, soil acidifier is not necessary on citrus. The guys at the nursery didn't know what they were talking about.
You really don't need to fertilize citrus much either. The most important thing is to water them correctly. See the article on the website for a complete explanation.
http://www.phoenixtropicals.com/citrus.html
Your citrus don't look too bad yet so they can still be saved. Overwatering will eventually kill a citrus. |
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milk
Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 2 Location: South Phoenix
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks PhoenixTropicals for answering my question. I just have a few more. If I'm overwatering then how come the tree was fine last year and the lemon is still fine? I believe you when you saw I'm over watering.. I'm just curious as to why the tree is just showing signs of being over watered now.
Also, will it shock the tree at all if I just stop watering it? Or will it be happy that I've finally stopped trying to drown it?
Thanks again. |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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Over watering causes the trees roots to rot which is a slow process. Yes, I think you can cut back your watering frequency right away, especially this time of year when the weather is mild. If you starting cutting back during summer it would be a different story, and I'd recommend easing off, but this time of year go straight to every two weeks. Your plants will be stronger come summer because of it.
Also, root rot takes a while to kill a citrus and so it also takes them a while to recover from it. It could be many months until your plants get a lot darker green and start growing. Sure, you'll get a little growth in the spring but it will probably be weak.
Healthy citrus are a very dark green, and a healthy lemon tree will grow so fast you can barely keep up with it. Lemons and grapefruits are more vigorous than other citrus and will not decline as easily. |
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shanemartin Guest
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