Question about my dwarf Meyer lemon plant

[Axefan88]

Hi. I have a pretty new potted Myers lemon plant. I’ve had it about 4 months.
I live in Florida. Lately some of the smaller leaves have curled. They are still green and moist but curl under.
I also have a lot of good fresh new growth and the leaves are much larger than the original small curling leaves.
We’ve been getting a lot of rain lately but not sure if that has anything to do with the curling.
please let me know.
thanks in adVance

 

[Anniekay]

Don't worry about it, just cut off the old growth with the curly leaves and your new growth, since it's healthy, will take it's place. As it grows you'll need to give it a bigger pot, or, if you have it in the ground fertilize it with a citrus fertilizer. I use plant food spikes twice a year on my Meyer lemon that is planted in ground.

 

[Axefan88]

Don't worry about it, just cut off the old growth with the curly leaves and your new growth, since it's healthy, will take it's place. As it grows you'll need to give it a bigger pot, or, if you have it in the ground fertilize it with a citrus fertilizer. I use plant food spikes twice a year on my Meyer lemon that is planted in ground.

Hi. Thanks for the reply !
I have it in a fairly large pot. I was told I could just always keep it in the same pot and it will be a condensed plant that will bear fruit. Hopefully that’s correct. I use a citrus fertilizer and will use again come sept or oct. hopefully that’s correct.

 

[roadrunner]

Look for little bugs on the underneath of the leaves, they cause Citrus Greening, which I've also had attack my Myers Lemon tree, it's a major problem for us Floridians. However, this year I did cut back all the crappy looking foliage and wood (similar to what Anniekay in post #2 is saying). And for whatever reason, I don't see those little bugs and the foliage is very healthy.

BTW, I also do a lot of chop-and-drop around my tree, so the soil is very healthy, I never add soil amendments/fertilizers. Just heavy mulching and a lot of plant biodiversity around. I also never use any pesticides.

Here's a picture I took of them, they are very small and look kind of like an hourglass shape

The insect is called Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama).

 

[Axefan88]

I’ll have to look to see if I have those bugs. i don’t want to cut back all the curled leaf branches because that’s a decent portion of the plant. The small leaves are curled and the new growth leaves are significantly larger.. lighter green and very healthy looking.

 

[roadrunner]

I’ll have to look to see if I have those bugs. i don’t want to cut back all the curled leaf branches because that’s a decent portion of the plant. The small leaves are curled and the new growth leaves are significantly larger.. lighter green and very healthy looking.

That's probably a good call, It is hard to say without pictures, but it may be premature to cut back now.

 

[Axefan88]

Sorry. I will post a picture to give a better idea

 

[roadrunner]

Another possibility is that some of the leaves may be victim of Leaf Miners. It's generally not a serious problem and usually only affect only a few leaves, which do not have any negative effects on the plant, unlike Citrus Greening Disease.

 

[Axefan88]

Took this picture today. Lots of new growth. I still have those smaller leaves that are curling. I looked under them and don't see any pests etc.
its rained here a lot lately and Im wondering they they’re curling because of all the water.
you guys know better than I do….pls let me know.
thanks again

 

[cpp gardener]

The curling is probably from a sucking/piercing insect feeding on the leaves when they were very small and growing. The damage has been done and will not correct; they will stay curled even though the insect is gone. Just ignore them (or remove them if you can’t) and watch the new growth for signs of any new issues.

 

[roadrunner]

Took this picture today. Lots of new growth. I still have those smaller leaves that are curling. I looked under them and don't see any pests etc.
its rained here a lot lately and Im wondering they they’re curling because of all the water.
you guys know better than I do….pls let me know.
thanks again

Yeah, I would NOT cut back any limbs at this point. However, when looking for some bugs, including the two I took a picture of (post #4), are sometimes very difficult to see.

That picture in post #4 is very magnified and when you first see them with the naked eye, they don't even look like an insect. When I first saw them I didn't recognize them as an insect.

 

[big rockpile]

Use your camera on your phone to magnify.

Do you have drainage on your poy?

big rockpile