Indoor citrus not doing well need help....

[zdawgnight]

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this but one of my favorite plants (australian finger lime) is not going so well I will try to post a picture here soon but right now all the leaves are drying up and falling off... I had read that there are some insects that can have this affect on citrus trees but mine is inside right now... What could be causing this? I had read that maybe the root system is not doing well and hasnt taken up enough water so I repotted it to check the roots and they looked healthy and plentiful... Any advice would be great... Also say all the leaves do fall off what are the chances of rescuing it from that?

[Kisal]

The insects would probably be scale insects. They're sometimes hard to find, if you haven't seen them before. They look like little bumps on the stems, and sometimes, they can be seen on the backs of the leaves. They can appear to be a part of the plant.

Check your plant again and if you find scale insects, we can talk about how to get rid of them.

Also, being indoors, the humidity and light might be too low. Is your tree sitting on a humidity tray, and is it by a very bright window?

[applestar]

I don't have that particular species but my citruses are having a hard time of it this year due to unintentional neglect so maybe some of their problems are related to yours.

(1) Lack of light -- citrus likes bright light. One oversized pot that I had not been able to move to better lighted/light supplemented location is dropping leaves
(2) Too warm/too cold -- citrus likes cool temps during winter: 40~50's is ideal, better to be in low 60's at the most. On the other hand, if your citrus is cold sensitive or in a colder situation then that, or if you'd let it stay out in fall until near frost, it might have decided to go dormant. A few of mine turned pale -- too cold, unable to take up iron/minerals -- and dropped leaves even after they'd been brought in.
(3) Too much water -- They really don't like to be overwatered and tend to do better on neglect (let surface of soil dry)
(4) Too little water -- but if you let the soil dry out, they'll start dropping leaves
(5) Lack of humidity -- NOT misting every day as I usually do is definitely having negative impact on my plants, especially now that the indoor humidity has fallen down to the 30's%.
(5) Scale insects -- nemesis of indoor citrus. Look for waxy brown/olive green/pale green bumps along trunk, branches, leaf nodes, leaf veins

In my experience, they'll start growing new shoots very soon since the daylight is getting longer. (My Meyerii lemon has started already with new flower buds and new leaves) At that point, they'll start taking up more water and could use a little bit of weak fertilizer, but they shouldn't be fertilized or watered too much until then while they are in semi-dormant state. You want to give them plenty of light when they start growing shoots or they'll just elongate into wimpy weakling branches.

[zdawgnight]

I bought the tree because they are described as not needing high amounts of light like the rest of the citrus family and relatively drought tolerant... I have only really been working with plants for about two years so I am still quite a newbie unfortunately. When I get home I will see if I can find those insects...not sure if I should hope for them so at least I know the problem or not.

Also Its a really small plant right now and the pot is on the small side too. Could that have have brought problems?

[applestar]

Nope. Small pot/plant is OK since they don't really need the full water/nutrient thing right now. You can plan on repotting in spring after last frost. Then they really appreciate spending the warmer months outside but that's a whole another set of care requirements.

Where are you keeping it? Remember, winter sun is weak and it's only getting one side exposure from the window so the amount of light, even from south window is not as much as you might think.

My citruses do best when set on the windowsill or on a table/bench just below the windowsill to take advantage of the transferred cold air from the window, and I provide supplemental light with clamp on utility lamps fitted with 26W Daylight CFL bulbs for those. I place them under overhead fluorescent shop lights where window space is unavailable or window covering can't be opened during the day.

[zdawgnight]

Its at a very large east facing window but also gets supplemental light from my coral reef tank (so not direct but quite a good source of light). I did put it outside for the summer this past one (only had a little more than a year)

[zdawgnight]

[img]https://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj62/xntric555/2012-01-27124334.jpg[/img]

This is what the Tree looks like right now is the little one gonna make it?

[zdawgnight]

Does anyone have any thoughts on my picture?

[Kisal]

It's hard to tell from a pic, but the soil seems really wet. How often do you water it? Overwatering will cause the same symptoms as underwatering, I.e. drying and dropping leaves. That happens because both too much and too little water causes some of the roots to die, so there aren't enough to provide sufficient water to the stems and leaves.

A plant indoors, especially in the winter season, doesn't require as much water as one outdoors in active growth needs. Just something to consider.

[zdawgnight]

I water maybe once a week at most twice a week. I usually go by look (which has brought me success with my orchids) but I am not so confident with every plant I have. I have a very eclectic collection so I don't know a lot...plus I don't have experience with what plants will do what, and when...

[Dillbert]

>>Does anyone have any thoughts on my picture?

for "drought tolerant" - could be way too wet

if over the interim time you've 'destroyed' the root viability via "too wet" - the outlook could be really quite glum.

otoh, trees are trees - and they'll shed the leaves according to their schedule - just because you are keeping it 'indoors' does not mean the tree will not follow it's natural rhythms.

as to "light" - any thoughts of defused stray light energy from a fresh/salt water tank being sufficient for a plant/tree should be discarded. just because the human eyeball can "see" does not mean the plant is happy with that amount/kind of light.

>>there are some insects that can have this affect on citrus trees but mine is inside right now...

inside/outside, not a whole lotta difference.

for insects - get a magnifying glass and go looking.
scale has no distinguishable "legs / feet"
other sucking insects will have feet/legs and bodies you can easily see under an 10x glass.

[rainbowgardener]

"otoh, trees are trees - and they'll shed the leaves according to their schedule - just because you are keeping it 'indoors' does not mean the tree will not follow it's natural rhythms. "

This is true and deciduous trees will shed their leaves indoors. But CITRUS trees are evergreen and their "natural rhythm" is too keep their leaves year round. It would never naturally look like the picture. That's definitely a sign of something wrong, disease or stress, etc.

[zdawgnight]

While looking at another plant today I found what looks like a scale insect... I am assuming that if I can see one that means there is prob. an infestation?

Any help dealing with this problem would be much appreciated

[Kisal]

Scale insects, if that is what it is, feed by sucking the sap from the plant. Because they don't chew on the leaves and stems, spraying the plant with something like oil or any kind of insecticide doesn't have any effect on the insect. They are covered with a waxy coating that protects them. You can try to gently scrape them off with a fingernail. You can also remove them with cotton-tipped swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol, but those methods will only effect the adults.

A thorough spraying with a soap solution will kill some of the juveniles, because they haven't formed a waxy covering yet. There are always a few that survive, and there are eggs that will be hatching, so it's important to repeat the spraying every 5 to 7 days.

You can find many good discussions about methods of controlling scale insects by entering those words in the Search the Forum function, which is up on the black tool bar, right next to where you log in.

[zdawgnight]

Thanks Kisal I will look into the specifics and hopefully save my little tree.