Citrus Plants Leaves have tan-ish spots that turn into holes and turn black

[Tawny76]

Hi, I have a Hamlin Sweet Orange, Kumquat, and Improved Meyer Lemon tree in container pots in my garden. The Hamlin Sweet Orange tree is in a 25 inch diameter container pot and the Kumquat and Improved Meyer Lemon are each in their own 22 inch diameter container pot. I have not fertilized this year. I fertilized them in the Spring of 2019 and I think I might have over fertilized because they started to look sad and the leaves curled up and died and they didn't bloom or fruit. I water them around 8 pm once or twice a week pretty thoroughly using the shower setting on my hose nozzle. I only water the soil, not the tree itself. I'm unable to bring them inside during the winter (I cover them with black trash bags), so they have see some dead branches but I clipped off most of them. I've had them a few years. The Orange and Lemon trees don't really bloom now - they had a few blooms the first year I had them, so I'm not sure what I can do to get them to bloom and produce fruit. The Kumquat tree on the other hand has over 100 blooms and I'm hoping it will produce healthy fruit this year. I noticed an issue with a few of the leaves on all 3 plants that just started a few days ago. They have tan-ish spots that turn into holes and turn black. I attached a picture - the 2 bottom leaves are from the Orange tree, the 2 middle from the Kumquat, and the 1 on the top from the Lemon tree. Am I watering them too much or too little or is there a lack of nutrition or is it insects or some disease? Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!

I attached a pic of the bothersome leaves and 2 pics of each tree (most of the blooms on the Kumquat tree have blown off now) - top 2 are Orange tree, middle 2 are Kumquat tree, and bottom 2 are Lemon tree.

 

[Chuck]

Hi, I have a Hamlin Sweet Orange, Kumquat, and Improved Meyer Lemon tree in container pots in my garden. The Hamlin Sweet Orange tree is in a 25 inch diameter container pot and the Kumquat and Improved Meyer Lemon are each in their own 22 inch diameter container pot. I have not fertilized this year. I fertilized them in the Spring of 2019 and I think I might have over fertilized because they started to look sad and the leaves curled up and died and they didn't bloom or fruit. I water them around 8 pm once or twice a week pretty thoroughly using the shower setting on my hose nozzle. I only water the soil, not the tree itself. I'm unable to bring them inside during the winter (I cover them with black trash bags), so they have see some dead branches but I clipped off most of them. I've had them a few years. The Orange and Lemon trees don't really bloom now - they had a few blooms the first year I had them, so I'm not sure what I can do to get them to bloom and produce fruit. The Kumquat tree on the other hand has over 100 blooms and I'm hoping it will produce healthy fruit this year. I noticed an issue with a few of the leaves on all 3 plants that just started a few days ago. They have tan-ish spots that turn into holes and turn black. I attached a picture - the 2 bottom leaves are from the Orange tree, the 2 middle from the Kumquat, and the 1 on the top from the Lemon tree. Am I watering them too much or too little or is there a lack of nutrition or is it insects or some disease? Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!

I attached a pic of the bothersome leaves and 2 pics of each tree (most of the blooms on the Kumquat tree have blown off now) - top 2 are Orange tree, middle 2 are Kumquat tree, and bottom 2 are Lemon tree.

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Fortunately, the potting soil is correct for these plants. The only thing wrong is that you did not fertilize them and this is why you didn't have any blooms. The kumquat has a slightly different growth habit than the lemon and orange tree which is why it has blooms. Do not be surprised if all of the blooms drop after you see baby fruit. All of the trees need nutrition. In fact, choloris is just beginning in all of them. You must fertilize. In this case, I would use a granulated product from Medina called GrowingGreen as the main food source and Hasta Grow as a supplementary food source.

 

[Tawny76]

Fortunately, the potting soil is correct for these plants. The only thing wrong is that you did not fertilize them and this is why you didn't have any blooms. The kumquat has a slightly different growth habit than the lemon and orange tree which is why it has blooms. Do not be surprised if all of the blooms drop after you see baby fruit. All of the trees need nutrition. In fact, choloris is just beginning in all of them. You must fertilize. In this case, I would use a granulated product from Medina called GrowingGreen as the main food source and Hasta Grow as a supplementary food source.

Thanks for all that information, I'll buy those immediately!