Comments | gardening: Citrus Plants

mallt in gardening

Citrus Plants

Jul 24, 2012 10:09

A couple of months or so ago I bought 2 citrus plants, a Kaffir lime & a Meyer lemon.

The lime seems to be doing well, it has grown quite a few new leaves. My only worry is that I found some mealybugs (I think) on it, only a few at a time. Each time I find them I pick them off. Is there something more I can do to get rid of them or is this my best ( Read more... )

plant health, location: canada, fruit: citrus, houseplants, garden pests, zone: canadian 3

Comments 8

ladycelia July 25 2012, 01:03:42 UTC

Once your nighttime temps drop into the 40's it will be time to bring them in. Sooner, if you don't want to shock them.

mallt July 25 2012, 02:04:50 UTC

Quick convert into C... around 4... ok good to go!
Thanks! :)
Love your pic btw :D

armygeezer July 25 2012, 16:33:19 UTC

Try to find a spray that will kill the mealy bug infants (as well as picking them off). Make sure you get the spray into leaf/branch crevices. If you don't get rid of them before you bring the plants inside, the bug population will explode and probably drain the life out of the plants. Also, don't put these plants anywhere near anything else you will be bringing inside or you will spread the problem. I'm speaking from experience here. I've ended up having to throw plants out because I could not get the problem under control.

mallt July 25 2012, 16:42:05 UTC

They are already inside... I've kept it away from the other indoor plants once I noticed the bugs. The lemon & lime were shipped together but I've not seen any on the lemon plant so far.
Is there a homemade spray I can make or am I better off just heading to the garden store & buying something?

armygeezer July 25 2012, 16:46:48 UTC

No homemade spray I've ever used worked. I tried just about every mild thing I could buy until I had to bring out the big guns. You should have the plants outside during the summer and you should also fertilize with a citrus fertilizer once a month. Mealy bugs love the mild indoor climate and their population explodes. If you see any small oval/round shells on the leaves, get them off too.

mallt July 25 2012, 19:44:58 UTC

Ok... a stop at the store on the way home it is! I'll ask about citrus fertilizer while I'm there.
I've been waiting for my deck to be built pretty much since summer started it was supposed to be done in the last week of June but the wet weather meant it was delayed. Summer started the second weekend in July, more or less, & the deck was started on Tuesday... all in all they've not been inside for much of the summer so far! :)

virginiadear July 25 2012, 18:51:00 UTC

Re: mealy bugs. A cotton swab (such as you use to clean a baby's ears---or your own, for that mater) dipped in rubbing alcohol and applied to the mealy bugs (the cottony looking spots) is generally safe (unless you have an extreme sensitivity to alcohol), non-toxic to the environment, etc. Dab the mealy bugs and rub them away.
The downside to this is you do have to stay on top of making spot applications of alcohol until no mealy bugs come back. Make sure you're getting the alcohol into ...everywhere.

If you have a major infestation (I'm not sure just how bad an infestation has to be before it qualifies as major; sorry, wish I had more helpful information on that score), you might want to use the alcohol only as a stop-gap measure while you look for a heavier chemical "gun," so to speak.

virginiadear July 26 2012, 17:48:30 UTC

For citrus care in general:
http: //www.weather.com/home-garden/garden/plant-care-citrus-20120423 (Space inserted between the full colon and the '//" must be removed before pasting this URL into a new browser window.)