White spots on Key lime trees

[jandavid]

We grew two key lime trees from seeds. They are now about 3 years old. A few weeks ago they started developing white spots on some leaves and some of the new shoots died off. We live in Southern California and keep them in pots outside year round and they've been growing fine so far.
Any suggestions what could be wrong/what to do about it would be much welcomed.

 

[GardenMouse]

Were you able to discover what was wrong? My leaves look identical to your photos and I stumbled across your question searching for answers but I cannot seem to find any information.

 

[cpp gardener]

The first plants look like they got moved from a shady spot to a much sunnier spot and got sunburned. Post some pictures of ours so we can diagnose what’s going on with yours.

 

[lifegardener]

Wouldn't worry too much. Prune off the dead growth and make sure the plant is watered well.

 

[jandavid]

OP here, in the end we didn't do anything and they recovered nicely.

In general, they've been extremely resilient. We forgot to water them for weeks and it was super hot this summer so they almost died, one was completely dried up. But it came back. Had to prune it back significantly as most of it was dead but it's now super healthy.

I don't know how long it'll take till we get some fruits (if ever, as they were grown from seeds) but they are doing very well.

 

[totem]

I believe that they were more shaded before I bought them. Fall planting in Southern Arizona this year during a late hot spell into full sun at my home I’m hoping in indeed the problem. Removing those leave ???

 

[cpp gardener]

They’ll fall off on their own when the plant doesn’t need them anymore.

 

[Anniekay]

I believe that they were more shaded before I bought them. Fall planting in Southern Arizona this year during a late hot spell into full sun at my home I’m hoping in indeed the problem. Removing those leave ???

For Arizona I would be sure to put your Lime tree in dappled shade, or in morning sun only, with shade in the afternoon. Also, your state has low humidity and the low humidity combined with extra strong sunlight will dry out the leaves that are exposed to the sun.

Since they're in pots, if you set the pots in a basin of pebbles and keep the basin full of water, that evaporation will help humidify the air around the plant. Also, I would trim it back removing the dead bits and give it some compost, also, fertilizing with a weak fish emulsion solution when it's actively growing will help a lot.