So, I planted a lemon seed a few months ago, and it had been doing pretty well for a while got about 2 inches tall, and about a week ago the 2 leaves started to welt a little and turn a bit darker (not brown), and now the two leaves are barely hanging on by a thread. anyone know what's wrong with my little one? I water it about once a week, I live in San Francisco, it's inside, but gets sun from the window. Should I move it outside, water it more, change the soil, any ideaS?

Search "Damping Off Disease"

Welcome to the Citrus Growers Forum. Thank you for joining. I believe Lazz is correct about what unfortunately has happened to your lemon seedling. Damping off, caused by fungi Rhizoctonia, most often attacks young citrus seedlings in their second or third month. With the next citrus seedling you grow, water the tree only in the morning, and than set the your plant in the direct sun, so that the sun's rays quickly dries of the surface of the soil. Without surface moisture, fungi like rhizoctonia cannot survive to kill you tree. As you did not list your location, I assume you will be growing your citrus tree as a container plant. A word of advice on your next citrus seedling. If you plant a lemon or orange seed you will wait 10 years or more before your tree will reward you with fruit. Planting a seed from a mandarin, you can be eating fruit in 5 years. Key lime seedlings produce in as little as 2 years. Unfortunately grapefruit almost never fruit when grown as a container grown tree. Take care. - Millet (1,345-)

so is there no way to save it?

Probably not worth all the effort for such a small tree. However, if you wish to try, you can talk to your local garden center, and purchase a fungicide for damping off. Keep in mind that without actually seeing the tree, there is a possibility that the tree's problem could be from some other cause. Millet (1,345-)

Yes, it could be damping off. Almost certain if the soil surface is permanently damp.
But if it's in a small pot in the sun and only watered once a week, it could also be dying for a drink.
If the surface is quite dry, put the whole pot in a container of slightly warm water for a few hours so it soaks right through.
Many people hear about the dangers of overwatering citrus, and then go to the other extreme! Small seedlings should never be allowed to dry out completely.
Mike

here are a couple pictures. If I can't fix this, how can I prevent this from happening again?

That could be likely a root rot problem also. Usually with damping off, the seedling collapses breaking at the stem. Unless of course you mound them up after they collapsed.

You should use sterile planting media next time around.

I'd mix about 1 Tbsp AZ41 per gallon of water and use that to spray and water the seedlings once every two weeks. I'm not claiming that AZ41 is a fungicide against phytophthora and damping off so as not to violate the EPA rules, but I am recommending to try it and see if it will help the next time around.

On the pictures the stem looks turgescent and the buds still alive. It might not be Damping Off Disease where the stem dries or rotten.
It looks like the leaves have dried, maybe a sun burn?
I think there is a (little) chance you save it. With Damping Off Disease you would have had no chance.

What would be a sterile planting media?

What is AZ41?

Should I make a new soil?

I'm sorry I'm pretty new at all this.


On the plus side, my avocado seeds are growing tall.

We have resellers in Vallejo and we often go around the Bay Area. Or you can PM me if you want to try it and I'll give you instructions on how to order.

link


We recently have our next batch of AZ41 manufactured and they are being sold in the Central Valley to grape growers and vegetable farmers. So far, all the growers who sprayed AZ41 did not have an incidence of powdery mildew while their surrounding neighbors who did not spray have taken a big hit from the powdery mildew due to the abnormal late season warm rains.

I wrestled with the rest of the board to continue selling for the hobbyists via the web and have about 200 quarts ready for rebottling unto 8-oz bottles. But we are redoing our website to comply with USDA, CDFA and EPA regulations. So the process could take a while before we can sell more efficiently and "cleanly".

You can sterilize your own medium, by putting it in the oven at 230F for 30 minutes. Then after it has cooled down you can plant . You should not use dirt in a container. Use a medium that contains some chunky material, which will provide aeration, and rapid draining. - Millet (1,345-)

What do you mean "You should not use dirt in a container."
I'm planting my stuff in containers. I thought this was the container group. Maybe I don't understand again. I do sterilize my soil. But at about 150 deg. for about 45min.

This forum is for people who grow citrus either in the ground or in containers. When growing in containers it is a poor idea to use soil (dirt). Plain dirt in containers quickly compacts, eliminating soil aeration, has poor drainage, very low organics, and frequently causes root rot, especially with young seedlings. A container citrus tree can be grown for many years. I know of a containerized orange tree growing in a Catholic convent in New Jersey that is 129 years old and produces a crop of oranges every year. However, among the general public that decide one day that they would like to grow a citrus tree in a container, the tree's average life span is just under two years. If you want a healthy tree, that will produce fruit for many years, you must pay a lot of attention to the tree's root zone. Container grown plants, require good drainage, high soil oxygen levels, while at the same time retaining adequate moisture. Container citrus trees require a growth medium with excellent drainage, and excellent soil oxygen. A tree with a healthy root system, is a tree that will have a long happy life. You can use the search function on this forum to learn what kind of medium to plant your tree into. Use key words like "growth medium", "aeration", "CHC", "potting soil" and etc. Good luck. - Millet (1,345-)

I use a pretty good soil with some peet moss and perlite. made sure the pots have good drainage too. Thanks for your help everyone. Maybe I should just buy a lemon tree. Maybe I'm not cut out for this. I thought it would be a great learning experience. I've got the time to figure it out...