Clarepw
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:20 pm

Lemon tree

Until recently we had a wonderul lemon tree which had enourmous amounts of fruit on it. Nearby was a pond that we recently removed and the lemon tree has now started to loose all its leaves and looks very sick. We have had some very hot weather recently (40°+) but have watered it daily, unfortunately we have seen no improvement. The leaves are all drying out and falling off, meanwhile however there are still little green lemons appearing on the tree which are growing slightly and ripening although they are quite soft.

Has anyone out there got any idea what is going on or any remedy we could try?

grandpasrose
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1651
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:21 pm
Location: Quesnel, BC, Canada - Zone 4a

I would suspect that if you were able to look underground, the roots of that tree probably head right toward where the pond was. Your pond would not have been just water, but nutrients as well. Some of the best nutrients for gardens can come from ponds. So it was being very well taken care of.
Now that you have taken the pond out, the tree is lacking in water and the nutrients it needs to keep thriving. It is still producing small fruit, as that is it's natural process when stressed - to try to re-produce in case it dies - the fruit is the seed.

I would suggest that you give this tree very deep watering, not just on the surface, and out where the branches end, not near the trunk. Also, I would spread some compost, well rotted manure, kelp, shredded leaves in a mulch all around the tree quite widely out. Watering it down with compost tea (recipe is in either the Organic Rose Care Forum, or the Organic Forum) would probably give it some help also.

To get your water and compost tea down deep where the roots need it, some people have put small pipes down into the ground deep enough to reach the root level and then poured into that.

Best of luck with your tree - I hope it will do okay. :wink:

Val

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

This is sort of a preventative measure but:

Try adding a bunch of mulched up leaves around the root ball of the plant followed by some sort of green like manure or grass clippings. Leaves hold between 300 and 500 percent of their mass in water. This mulch will hold a lot of water in the soil that will be created for your tree. Especially during dry spells.

Also, find out where the roots of your tree extend to, I would suspect that Val is absolutely correct that the probably extend out to the site of your old pond. Dig a trench around the sides of the roots (being careful not to damage the roots) and fill the trench with mulch up leaves followed by some manure and then recover with soil. This again will hold moister in the soil around the roots and also provide nutrients for your tree.

And this may sound like a lot of work but, it really isn't. I have a body that is slowly falling apart and it seems to work fine for me! :wink: I actually enjoy getting the shovel into the dirt.

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Hi Claregrow, I want to correct something that I said above or atleast ammend what I said above:

Now is not the time to disturb the soil if it is really wet where you live. But, applying a top layer of leaves/manure would be great to do right now.

Wait until the spring to dig the soil up once the soil dries out a bit. However, if your soil is not saturated with water (or snow) right now, it would be fine to disturb the soil.

The Helpful Gardener
Mod
Posts: 7491
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
Location: Colchester, CT

AS the mods have pointed out I suspect the change in hydrology is the big factor here. Increased watering and the addition of some organic fertilization are the best bet here...

Can I ask why the pond got removed? Was there any heavy equipment used? Was any of it near the tree?

Scott

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Hmmm yes, that would explain a lot. Soil compaction destroys pores that roots can grow into and also, kills beneficial microbes and macrofauna that keep the soil working to the plants benefit.

Of course, the ammendment is more organic matter in the form of leaves (mulched), manure, green manure in the form of cover crops and a little forking to stir things up.



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