Citrus Growers Forum

JoeReal · Posted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 2:27 pm

Do not apply when air temperature is going to exceed 80 deg F within a few hours after application.

If it is going to get more than 80 deg F and you have problems of ants, aphids or scales and you can't apply most horticultural oils, a simple jet spray directly on the infested parts of the trees can do wonders. Do the jet spray once a week until temperature gets milder to apply the oil.

After that, you can do the tangle foot trick and others to prevent re-infestation.

Trunkmonkey · Posted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 4:30 pm

The temperatures hre are almost always 63 or below, is that ok?

JoeReal · Posted: Mon 27 Aug, 2007 4:50 pm

Yes. I think the problem there is not temperature. It could be too much oil.

Trunkmonkey · Posted: Tue 28 Aug, 2007 12:52 am

You're probably right. It didn't start leaf drop untill I added the oil. I haven't sprayed it the last few days and leaf drop has turned down to like a couple leaves a day.

ivica · Posted: Tue 04 Sep, 2007 6:07 am

gregn wrote:

Will / can the ants aid in pollination ? Question

Greg

I did that experiment 2 years ago.
That summer I got ants in the Meyer pot (43 cm diameter).
Next months I was kicking them of the leafs...
Saucer technik similar to Laidbackdood's has been also used.
After a few months only 2 ants remainded, roaming branches in the morning and afternoon hours.
I left them for 2 reasons:
1. it's much easier to spot a scale just watching where ant stops
2. for pollination experiment (pollination is not needed for Meyer but can't do any harm, I thought)
One was bigger than the other and I gave them the names, they became my pets.
Result:
Scales - full success:
That winter I cleaned the plant from remnant scales very efficiently, thanks to them.
Pollination:
Ants was dormant during January and a part of February, when the plant had still a lot of flowers.

Repoting the plant next spring I found ant's nest, about 2 hundred of them there! Shocked

Removing nest I did a lot more damage to the roots then they did.
Clever little creatures Smile

.

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Trunkmonkey · Posted: Wed 05 Sep, 2007 8:55 pm

I'm contemplating repotting my lemon, as it's not getting any better at all. I'll probably repot the orange too to make things easier. Would it be worth it to buy all the necesary materials online? Or should I try to get evrything local? Maybe someone here could sell me some materials? I'm looking into millet's CHC mixture, so I'm gonna guess CHC is gonna be the hardes part to get.

Skeeter · Posted: Thu 06 Sep, 2007 12:48 am

You may find some locally at the pet store as reptile bedding. It may not be as good as the compressed source that Millet uses-- Crystal Co in Ohio.

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Skeet

Millet · Posted: Thu 06 Sep, 2007 2:24 am

The Crystal Company is in Saint Louis, MO. Millet

Trunkmonkey · Posted: Thu 06 Sep, 2007 9:59 pm

ok then, I will probably guy some stuff here as soon as my packages all arrive. One last thing (I hope), is this a good time to repott (right before winter?) Or should I wait until spring? I think this may be urgent, because of that stupid spray, half of my orange tree's growth on one side has died. They will get rinsed off here soon from the rain in an hour or so, maybe that's what they need. Lemon tree's not looking good.