New Lemon Tree Smells

[Amanderp]

Hello friends.
I was given a lemon tree for Christmas and it has been doing great! Then I started to notice a lot of little flies and as of this morning, it has started to smell funky. Any tips or advice on how to fix this? What’s causing it?
I have never had a fruit tree before and am new to the game. The tree is currently in a large pot by my balcony getting plenty of sun

 

[Chuck]

Hello friends.
I was given a lemon tree for Christmas and it has been doing great! Then I started to notice a lot of little flies and as of this morning, it has started to smell funky. Any tips or advice on how to fix this? What’s causing it?
I have never had a fruit tree before and am new to the game. The tree is currently in a large pot by my balcony getting plenty of sun

All citrus has a good odor and if it smells bad something bad is happening to your tree. From what you have said about the flies it is probably caused by the soil being too wet. Are the leaves turning brown or yellow or dying? Please send pictures of the tree, the base of the tree, the container and closeups of the insects

 

[roadrunner]

Hello friends.
I was given a lemon tree for Christmas and it has been doing great! Then I started to notice a lot of little flies and as of this morning, it has started to smell funky. Any tips or advice on how to fix this? What’s causing it?
I have never had a fruit tree before and am new to the game. The tree is currently in a large pot by my balcony getting plenty of sun

What exactly is smelling bad? Where are the flies? And pictures would help.

 

[Amanderp]

 

[Amanderp]

The little flies are all around the soil and drift off to bother me. The plant itself doesn’t appear to be dying. I was given the plant like this and have been watering it when the soil feels dry (I stick a finger in the soil to test to avoid over watering)

 

[Chuck]

The little flies are all around the soil and drift off to bother me. The plant itself doesn’t appear to be dying. I was given the plant like this and have been watering it when the soil feels dry (I stick a finger in the soil to test to avoid over watering)

Your plant looks good. All I can see wrong is that it is planted too deep. The root flare should be exposed. Google root flare to get a better understanding. What does this odor smell like? Ammonia? Or fresh manure? Something dead? Bitter? Sour? The last picture shows a couple of Fungus Gnats. Fungus Gnats are indicative of overwatering. Here is what I would do. The next time your water make a soil drench out of Neem Oil @ 2 oz per gallon of water and water the plant with this. This will kill both eggs, larvae and adults. Today, I would sprinkle a good layer of cinnamon on the soil. Cinnamon acts as a fungicide as well as something that smells good and will help eliminate the odor. Your soil looks good as well with a lot of organic material. Just remember that the larger pieces of this material retain water and even though your soil feels dry it really isn't as far as the gnats are concerned. You can hang or place close by some yellow sticky traps to help with them also.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Chuck's suggestions are very 'green', but neem oil needs to be fresh I am told. Household per-oxide , one part to four parts water will get rid of the gnats and is a simple oxidiser. I can't help thinking the combination of smell and gnats means too wet. Does that pot have a drainage hole? Without one you can get a pool in the bottom and be dry on top

 

[Amanderp]

Update: I transferred the tree to a bigger pot (the one it is in is not mine and the owner wanted it back) and added drainage holes to it. Since I’ve done that and added the neem oil, the bugs and smell has disappeared. Thank you all for the suggestions!