Growing and caring of citrus plants

[stellabella]

Can anyone please give me some advise? I have few citrus trees.  One of the citrus never have fruit and the other citrus ‘s  fruit are very tiny. 

Also, I have this problem on the leaves. Looks like have glue on and the leaves are crooked. 

Thanks heap

[Jason]

Hi @stellabella,

Great to see you make your first posts on Workshop! Welcome aboard. I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful information, advice and inspiration for your projects around the home from our community members. 

This looks like citrus leafminer - the same problem described in this previous discussion - Citrus bugs. Hopefully one of our more experienced members will be able to confirm and recommend the best course of attack.

All the best,

Jason

[Jason]

Hi again @stellabella,

Let me tag a few experienced members for you so they can have a look at your photos and confirm whether it is citrus leafminer and suggest the best course of action.

@robchin, @Noelle, @Adam_W, @Branchy249, @greygardener, @Isobel, @bergs, @CathM

Thanks for your patience,

Jason

[Adam_W]

Thanks @Jason & hi @stellabella,

Absolutely 100% is leaf miner.
They're a tiny grub that burrows (or mines) between the leaf layers so normal insecticides won't work on them.
Best option is an oil-based spray but you need to cover leaf surfaces totally both top & bottom.
My personal fave is eco-oil.

Just read any precautions about spraying on hot days etc.
You should only need to spray the new foliage and repeat applications may be needed.
The damaged leaves won't repair so you'll need to prune them off for appearences sake.

Should just add... if you don't want to use any sprays, even safe ones, then you can prune off all new foliage however collect all leaves, seal them in a bag and place in the rubbish.

[bergs · Accepted solution]

Hi @stellabella

@Adam_Wis spot on. It's pretty much inevitable that at some time your citrus will succumb to leaf miner.

I got some moth traps at Aldi, not sure if they've got them all the time or not.

Probably get them at garden centres as well.

They work really well.

We had a problem with moths inside, they weren't attracted to the lamps and I was tearing my hair out wondering what to do, so we put up some of these traps up and next morning there were about 25 moths stuck to them.

That's a good enough indication that they work

The following clip maybe of interest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FDwYj5h3sk

[stellabella]

Thank you everyone for your recommendation. I will prune off the affected leaves and spray the oil every week.

[Noelle]

Completely agree with Adam_W!

[laidbackdood]

Yes def citrus leafminer....they are a small moth that comes out at night and lay their stuff on your leaves....they then burrow tunnels through the leaves....Targeting the new growth.........They come out when the weather gets warm and hang around until early winter.......they can completely ruin a young tree......I have tried everything and they are very difficult to get rid off.......there are a few things that can help.

1.....Feed your trees through winter and into early spring with organics .....then calm down once they appear.

2....They are after the urea inside the leaves.....so feeding with high urea into spring and through summer is going to cause trouble.

3....Dont feed high urea in autumn for the growth flush then....In fact its best not to encourage autumn flush due to the miner.

4....I have tried all the oils etc pest oil/eco oil/white oil  etc and they have limited success......What i have found to be best is a mix of eco oil and neem oil......neem oil soaks into the leaf and kills the grub.....eco oil leaves a coating on the top of the leaf.

They need to be sprayed every 10 to 14 days when they appear but not when tree is flowering..eco neem is expensive for a small bottle but you use less....both eco oil and eco neem can be bought at bunnings.

5...If you spray the flowers when open....they will die and bees wont come......been there done that......never spray flowers with anything...even food(disrupts the growth)

6....Minor are the biggest pain in perth...

I have 30 trees in pots and 6 in the ground and citrus leafminer and grasshoppers are the only pests...except for the occasional scale......they can look like little cotton wool balls or tiny clams on the branches.

Remove infected leaves.....they will curl up too......You can buy sticky traps from the eco  people that capture the males(put pheromone bottle in them) ....so less breeding but they are expensive....seems strange to kill the males....would have thought females would be better but hey !....spray your trees underneath and top of leaves in the cool of the day and away from the sun with neem and eco oil mix they are both organic.....so 6pm is good.....these oils dont have a long withholding time from picking fruit either.

7....They particularly like lemons of any kind.

8....as an avid grower for a long time....i hate citrus leafminer as they attack my new growth !.........so its best to get them growing well in august/sept and get the leaves big and strong before the minor turn up !...the neem and eco helps but do it regular to minimize infestation....but you will never eradicate them.hope this helps....remember they are after the urea.....thats why people pee on them but maybe feed with low urea in the nitrogen column could help.....unfortunately citrus really like urea as well...bloody minor.

[Jason]

Great to have you sharing your experience with other community members @laidbackdood. It sounds like you have a lot to offer and we are looking forward to seeing more of your posts soon. We trust you will also receive plenty of useful information, advice and inspiration from other members in turn. Feel free to post anytime you need a hand or have something to share. 

Welcome to Workshop,

Jason

[mich1972]

The dreaded Citrus Leafminer !!! It’s a tiny little grub that burrows through the leaves eating the chlorophyll and leaving clear trails. Looks like snail slime tracks. 

It is best to cut and remove. And spray with a Horticultural Oil. To smother and suffocate. Gardeners tend to over fertilise their Citrus trees causing the tree to push out too much soft new growth, this is when they are attacked by pests. Back off on feeding them too much. Good luck 😊