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My lemon trees leaves are turning yellow. What do I do?

  Canterbury
  May

Q.

Hi Tui, my lemon tree which is 4 yrs old has yellow leaves, help! What do I do to stop this?

Dorothy Schroeder

A.

Hi Dorothy,

There are a number of reasons why your lemon tree leaves could be turning yellow. The most common cause it a lack of magnesium in the soil. Epsom Salts helps correct magnesium deficiency, mix 30g of Epsom Salts per litre of water (approximately 2 tablespoons), per tree. Alternatively, Epsom Salts can be applied directly to the soil at the same rate, water in well after application. 

Citrus need regular feeding, use a specially blended fertiliser such as Tui Citrus food. Feed citrus twice a year, in early spring (once the risk of frost has passed) and again in late summer. Water in well after application. If you are in a frost prone area make sure you don't fertilise too late into autumn as this will push soft new growth that doesn't have time to harden off before winter and is at risk of frost damage.

A few cultural tips for growing citrus that may be useful are plant in a frost free sunny position. Make sure the soil is free draining with plenty of organic matter in the soil. Regularly water throughout the summer months. Mulch around the tree in early spring to help conserve soil moisture, to add organic matter to the soil and suppress weed growth. Tui Mulch and Feed is great for citrus as it has blood and bone as well as a blend of pea and lucerne straw to add organic matter to the soil.

To help boost overall plant health, apply Tui Seaweed Plant Tonic to citrus regularly at a rate of 30ml per 9L watering can every 4-6 weeks. Seaweed helps strengthen the cell wall of the plant and protect it from temperature extremes, hot and cold. This needs to be applied around 6 weeks before frost is expected to protect from frost, it will still be of benefit to the plant if it is applied now.

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My lemon trees leaves are turning yellow. What do I do? Comments

  • Hi, my lemon is not looking good. We trimmed it back in the Spring and I gave it some Tui seaweed feed but the leaves started to turn yellow so recently, I gave it some more seaweed feed and it now looks worse. It's starting to droop and leaves are drying up. The tree is well established and has always given a lot of fruit. What has gone wrong?

    Martyn

    Hi Martyn, yellow leaves is usually an indication of a nutrient deficiency, likely to be nitrogen, magnesium or iron. The wilting is an indication of lack of water or it could be caused by a root disorder often caused by soil borne disease. You don’t say which region you are in and what the weather has been like, hot and sunny or wet and humid. 

    Here are a few things to consider.

    • If the tree is wilting that is a sign of stress and so it isn’t a good idea to apply fertiliser until the tree shows signs of recovery. Apply Seaweed Plant Tonic weekly at a rate of 100ml per 9 litre watering can until the plant shows signs of recovery, which would be the appearance of new growth. Tui Seaweed Plant Tonic is not a fertiliser it is a tonic, not dissimilar to vitamins, like a Berocca. Seaweed plant tonic contains amino acids and naturally occurring plant growth regulators to help stimulate root growth and improves overall plant health, it can be applied weekly, fortnightly or monthly in the growing season. It is not a fertiliser.
    • Wilting could also be a sign of lack of water, for established trees water weekly in the growing season or if there hasn’t been any rain, 5 litres of water per watering should be enough.
    • Apply mulch around the tree to help conserve soil moisture, add organic matter to the soil and keep weeds down. If the tree is planted in the lawn the trees don’t like competing for nutrients and water, especially if conditions are dry.
    • Soil borne disease can also cause trees to wilt, there is a common problem called phytophthora (root rot) which enters the plant through the roots, the roots can get damaged due to  inconsistent watering which causes damage to the roots when the plant dries out and then is watered, the roots burst and soil borne disease enters the plant through the roots. If it is root rot it may not be salvageable, time will tell, keep the seaweed plant tonic applications up. The other cause is poor drainage and water logged soils but you say the tree has done well in previous years so unlikely to be drainage. 
    • Feed citrus in spring, summer and early autumn. Apply a balanced fertiliser such as Tui Citrus Food or Tui Novatec which supplies all the nutrients citrus require, including potassium to promote flowering and fruiting. Tui have a range of liquid fertilisers which may be worth trying as it is instant feeding and in a form that is easier for the plant to absorb, Tui Citrus and Fruit liquid Superfood is available at Tui product stockists.
    • Often yellow leaves is a sign of lack of magnesium, Epsom Salts is a good remedy for this, but start with a balanced fertiliser first and see if that is the solution.
    • Check the tree for borer, is there any dust like sawdust around the tree and small holes in the stem or trunk of the plant? If so this is caused by Lemon Tree borer. It is a small native insect that affects a lot of our native trees but also citrus. If you see holes and sawdust you can use a borer spray from a hardware store or garden centre and squirt it down the hole, or plug up the holes with Vaseline, lemon tree borer flies around September and enters the plant through wounds or pruning cuts if they are not sealed. If you see borer damage cut the tree back to beyond the damage and dispose of the branches in the rubbish or burn to avoid spreading the insect.

     

    I hope this is helpful information, it will be a process of elimination as to what is causing the issue with your tree. 

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