I have an old lemon tree (at least 20 years old) which no one has really taken care of for the past 5 years, except for digging a hole around the base and the occasional watering in summer... I'm not too knowledgeable in gardening but have been trying to keep it alive after my dad passed away.

I'm from Malta (Mediterranean Island) and the lemon gets its fair share of sun.

last summer a couple of branches died and both the leaves and lemons had black spots. the colour of the leave is slightly faded around the spots.

Now another summer almost ended and again.. more branches are dying.. from the same main branch... there aren't as many black spots as the previous summer. (lemons are currently greenish.. and should be ripening soon)

since the lemon tree hasn't been pruned in the last few years .. it has a bit of an odd shape.. 2 main branches growing sideways...and another growing upwards.. the dying branches all stem from the branch that is growing upwards.. the branches that are growing sideways grew too heavy and needed a support..(one of them nearly snapped)

I am suspecting that this is some sort of disease because one of our neighbours have a citrus tree without any leaves.. on the other hand this doesn't make so much sense as another neighbour has a garden full of healthy looking orange trees.

Why did you dig around the base--this could cause damage to roots. Has the tree been fertilized? A mature lemon tree needs at least a pound of N per year (that would be 12 pounds of 8-8- spread out over 3 applications during the spring and summer.

the hole isn't deep.. its just to keep water near the tree.. not sure what its called.. here we call it a "konka"

nope never fertilized.. except for my dog shitting in the soil area

what is 8-8-?

Thanks,

Mike

A mature citrus tree should be fertilized 3 times a year using either a 8-8-8 or a 10-10-10 fertilizer. It is not wise to let water set directly on or against the trunk of a citrus tree, doing so can cause big problems. Use the search function of this forum and you will find many threads dealing with fertilizing IN GROUND citrus trees. Be sure you are reading about trees planted in the ground, as containerized trees are fertilized differently. - Millet

ok thanks.. I will look into fertilizers..

I don't think the trunk is coming into contact with the water.. the hole is more like doughnut around the trunk.

so the black spots on the leaves and lemons are not a problem?

Excuse my typo-- like Millet said citrus trees need fertilizer (like 8-8- to maintain a healthy productive tree. Most inground trees that are established need very little water except in really dry periods.

Digging around citrus trees is not recommended, they often have very shallow roots and damage to them can invite disease.

There are several diseases that can cause black spots-- a picture would help identify the problem. But you can also look at some of the links to disease identification posted on the links page of this forum.

here are some pics of the spots..and dying branches..

is it ok to remove the branches in summer-autumn?


Spots






Dying Leaves

That is Scale. Use a Hort oil in early morning or at dusk.

It also looks like the tree has gummosis or some other heavy damage. May be time to take some cuttings and root or bud some new trees from a healthy branch.

Akthough I can't see clearly it certainly looks like bugs. If you can rub them off than Lazz is correct concerning scale. That is one of the worst infestation that I have ever seen. It might take a couple application of a horticultural oil spray. You can purchase either Ultra Fine Hortiliculture oil of Volk oil, I much prefer UltraFine. Most Home Depots carry Ultra Fine. Be sure to spray both the top and bottom of the leaf surface, branches, and trunk. Follow directions on the label (1% oil spray). As Laaz directs, DO NOT SPRAY DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY. Spray very early in the morning or just before dark. Good luck to this tree. - Millet

Thanks for you help..

i couldn't find hort oil.. so for now i got this organic pest control spray that is good for red mites, white/green fly and scale until i find hort oil..apparently here they call it white oil

regarding gumosis.. the tree has had the occasional orange goo since i was a kid.. i also noticed that the node where the main branches stem from the trunk.. has cracked/dead bark..

I removed some of the dead bark.. and found some white fluffy stuff..is that some type of pest?

Laaz, you mean the tree is eventually giong to die coz of the gumosis?

Yes it looks like it is in decline. Can you get some better photos of the damage to the trunk ?

when i took the photos i noticed there were insects aswell..seems like it is some kind of nest..


white fluffy stuff & insect


trunk


tree

Yes that damage is severe. It will eventually kill the tree. Best bet is to graft a piece of one of the healthy branches to a good rootstock. Lemon is also one of the easiest citrus to root. Where are you located and do you know what variety of lemon that is ?

If you really, really want to try to save that tree, treat soil and leaves with a mix of fosetil-Al and propamocarbe every two weeks, until it starts to grow again (several months), but first get rid of the scales. Otherwise do as Laaz said.