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Messages - lotusblos

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Ripe fruit dropping
« on: June 16, 2016, 08:33:01 AM »
Thanks for your input. The trees look healthy and bug-free, but this is unusual. By "ripe" I mean they are large (3-5 inch) fruit that have been on the tree for close to a year. Every morning I go out and pick 10 or 12 off the ground. I've been using them as much as I can and giving them to my kids for them to use. Their flavor and juiciness is good. I question whether everything is alright because my sister's tree in Santa Barbara (which NEVER endures the weather extremes we have up here), keeps it's fruit forever, and up until now my trees seemed to act the same way. We have been experiencing a drought for the last five years but this spring we got lots of rain. That's about the only difference I can think of between this year and previous years. There's new fruit on the trees, so maybe things are OK. Thanks again for your help.

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Citrus General Discussion / Ripe fruit dropping
« on: June 15, 2016, 09:43:03 AM »
Most of the ripe lemons on my two trees are dropping off. I'd like to know why. The trees are about five years old and seem healthy. Early June was very hot (105F) for a couple of weeks, but every June is very hot, and this is the first time this has happened. Any ideas?

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Did You Know
« on: April 08, 2015, 01:56:34 AM »
Interesting, I'm glad my trees are finally producing enough fruit to keep me happy. I doubt if S. Africa can compete with Mexico here in the states, but I have noticed that the price of limes has doubled over the last month. Could it be our drought?

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Leaf miner problem
« on: December 25, 2014, 11:48:48 PM »
marklee, does the imidacloprid affect the fruit? As I remember, their were no restrictions as to harvesting the fruit after application.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Trouble with my Valencia
« on: December 25, 2014, 07:20:00 PM »
I've had a problem with scale, and I've used horticultural oil on it, but the scale never went away. I found the best treatment was to simply wash off the little critters with a high pressure spray of water. At this time I can't find much scale on the tree. I'll have to take a closer look I guess.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Leaf miner problem
« on: December 25, 2014, 07:12:18 PM »
Redster, I'm no expert, but I assumed this is what leaf miner damage looked like. Most of the new growth last year had markings like in the attached photo. If it's not leaf miner, please set me straight. Thanks for your help.



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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Leaf miner problem
« on: December 22, 2014, 10:14:21 AM »
I used the Bayer Advanced Fruit, Citrus, and Vegetable Insect Control, and followed the directions on the label. I don't remember what the amount per gallon ratio was, but since I'd never used the product before I tried my best to be accurate with the dosage. Almost all of the affected leaves dropped off over the winter months and then in late summer the leaf miners struck again. My trees seem healthy otherwise (except for my Valencia orange which has come down with something over the last 2-4 weeks).

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Leaf miner problem
« on: December 21, 2014, 09:09:16 PM »
bsbullie, has this treatment worked for you? Because it's what I used last year and the leaf miners came back strong.

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Citrus General Discussion / Leaf miner problem
« on: December 21, 2014, 05:27:47 PM »
Can anyone recommend an effective treatment for getting rid of leaf miners? Last year I used a systemic poison, lost a good years growth on my tree, and now they're back. Why does everything have to be so hard?

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Citrus General Discussion / Trouble with my Valencia
« on: December 21, 2014, 05:12:38 PM »
Hi, I just noticed my orange tree has come down with a dark coating on leaves and fruit. This has come on very quickly. Can anyone tell me what it is and how to correct the problem?



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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Eureka lemon bark splitting
« on: May 27, 2014, 04:13:12 PM »
Thanks Millet. This tree did experience significant die back last winter. I think I had a bad leaf miner infestation just before the cold weather hit. The "expert" at OSH advised that I treat it with a systemic poison, which I did. The tree is growing and flowering, with I think only a minor problem with scale.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Gibberillic Acid (GA3)
« on: May 27, 2014, 04:04:50 PM »
I've never heard of it, where do you get it?

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Citrus General Discussion / Eureka lemon bark splitting
« on: May 25, 2014, 12:09:21 AM »
I've got a 5-year old Eureka lemon tree that's gotten a significant amount of split bark. I think it all happened over the winter. The tree seems healthy now, but I'm wondering if there's something I can do to prevent it from happening in the future.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Cat outhouse
« on: May 09, 2014, 09:17:57 PM »
Barb, I know that. I'm just saying that what would be a logical response to these feral cats, is not workable for me because there's no middle ground when dealing with the SPCA. I'll have to try putting some type of screening over the mulch.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Citrus...Mulch or NO Mulch?
« on: May 09, 2014, 12:34:42 AM »
I have six citrus trees in my fairly small backyard. None of them are over five years old. I live in the San Joaquin valley in central California. I use wood chips as a mulch, and keep it away from the trunks with plastic bottles that I've cut the bottoms out of and slit down the side. I do it to retain moisture and protect the roots from drying out in the hot dry summer. It doesn't appear to hurt the trees. My only problem is it seems to attract the cats in the area who use it to lighten their loads.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Cat outhouse
« on: May 09, 2014, 12:07:43 AM »
Barb. it's not that I want them around, but I can't see killing them over it. And taking them to the SPCA out here is a death sentence. I caught a pregnant female who was just about to deliver, took her to the SPCA and asked if they would allow her to deliver and nurse her kittens. They said no, so I brought her home. She had two more litters before I figured out that I was going to have to fix her and all her kittens. My only problem with them is they're using the mulch under the trees as their litter box. When I lived in Campbell I had a liquid amber tree in my front yard. I made the mistake of riding it across my lawn one day and had to put new tubes in both tires because of all the fresh holes.
Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

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Citrus General Discussion / Cat outhouse
« on: April 26, 2014, 05:02:56 PM »
Hi, I live in an area free of rodents but infested with semi-feral cats. I have five that have chosen my backyard to call home. They're usually not a problem but I've noticed that they really like to do their business under my citrus trees. I haven't noticed any problem with the trees, but I wonder how much the trees can take before they do show an adverse reaction. Any comments, are they hurting my trees?

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