Yeah hi i wonder if any one could help me my citrus trees (lemon &lime)
have some fruit but lots of bare branches i've sprayed the leaves with
insecticide and water regularly but it doesn't seem to be improving.

Matt,
If you used Lebaycid - commonly called Fruit Fly and Insect Killer, that is
your problem - citrus trees hate the stuff. With luck they will come back,
but don't over water as they hate getting their root water-logged as well
:-(

Cheers,
Geoff





"matt_y39" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yeah hi i wonder if any one could help me my citrus trees (lemon &lime)
have some fruit but lots of bare branches i've sprayed the leaves with
insecticide and water regularly but it doesn't seem to be improving.

Geoff & Heather wrote:

Matt,
If you used Lebaycid - commonly called Fruit Fly and Insect Killer, that is
your problem - citrus trees hate the stuff. With luck they will come back,
but don't over water as they hate getting their root water-logged as well
:-(

Cheers,
Geoff





"matt_y39" wrote in message
roups.com...


Yeah hi i wonder if any one could help me my citrus trees (lemon &lime)
have some fruit but lots of bare branches i've sprayed the leaves with
insecticide and water regularly but it doesn't seem to be improving.







Suggest this, cut it back a bit, (up to 1/3, apply some citrus
fertiliser in spring, and stand back.) Inviting the boys for a beer
party and let them "water" the lemon tree also works wonders I have been
told...
Er dont tell anyone elso OK?

Thanks Geoff, i'll go to my local nursery and get some Lebaycid i'm a
pretty average gardener but i'm learning. cheers Matt

thanks Jonno i have been doing a bit of my own irrigating in this way
but i was suggested some fruit fly spray is the way to go ta

matt_y39 wrote:

thanks Jonno i have been doing a bit of my own irrigating in this way
but i was suggested some fruit fly spray is the way to go ta


Lack of water is the biggest problem. The roots are surface roots and
they dry out rather quickly. Much, keep away from grass and thats the
stuff you dont smoke, and it should help. Keep it away from the woof or
is that bark... Where do you live...

Geelong

matt_y39 wrote:

Geelong



Oh hell their footy team looses leaves all the time. What are you woried
about...
Its the climate (water every day)

"matt_y39" writes:
Yeah hi i wonder if any one could help me my citrus trees (lemon &lime)
have some fruit but lots of bare branches i've sprayed the leaves with
insecticide and water regularly but it doesn't seem to be improving.

Have you been feeding it with citrus fertiliser and manure 3 to 4 times
each year? Did it start to drop leaves after you sprayed it? Perhaps
you cultivated or disturbed the soil under the leaf drip zone?

Did you let it dry out on some hot day? Citrus roots are very shallow and
can dry out in just a couple of days. Is there grass growing up to its
trunk? Does it get direct sunlight for most hours of the day?

If it is whole branches becoming denuded of leaves, check for collar
rot around the base of the trunk or borer in the dying branches.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

Matt,

No - DON"T use Lebaycid - I thought that was what you might be using -
especially when you mentioned fruit fly spray. Lebaycid /Fruit Fly Killer
will make the leaves drop off the lime tree for sure and the lemon if it is
Meyer - Rogor spray will do the same .

You shouldn't have too much trouble with fruitfly in citrus that far South -
but you may get leaf miner - little grubs within the leaves - make silvery
trails and distort the leaves. If I can get the system to accept a photo,
I'll post one that shows a leaf miner attack.

If this is a part of the problem, best thing is spray with White Oil every
couple of weeks from late Jan until new growth stops in Apr- May. Also
don't fertilize from the end of Dec until about Aug - that reduces the
amount of new growth during the period when leaf miners are active.

Another thought - how exposed to wind are your trees - citrus aren't that
keen on wind.

"matt_y39" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks Geoff, I'll go to my local nursery and get some Lebaycid i'm a
pretty average gardener but i'm learning. cheers Matt

Thanks geoff sorry i misunderstood don't worry i haven't bought
anything yet,i have heard of white oil though! i will go and get
this.It's in a sheltered place next to a fence .Thanks for your help
cheers Matt