Hi

Could anyone give me some advice please - my lime bush (which was on my window sill but i've moved it outside and is still in its pot) has lost a lot of leaves, there are little bumps now all up the stem which i'm guessing is some kind of infestation?. Since i moved it outside it has starting growing leaves but they are reddy/brown - does this mean it has a deficiency?

any thoughts?

In article ,
Slugs&snails wrote:

Hi

Could anyone give me some advice please - my lime bush (which was on my
window sill but i've moved it outside and is still in its pot) has lost
a lot of leaves, there are little bumps now all up the stem which i'm
guessing is some kind of infestation?. Since i moved it outside it has
starting growing leaves but they are reddy/brown - does this mean it
has a deficiency?

any thoughts?

Those little bumps that don't move much are Scale. Some folks Touch
with isopropyl alcohol. I just place them out on my porch where ants
seem to protect them. But come fall they are clean and ready to be
eaten by larger vermin.

Bill perhaps new potting medium as mine are green all year but sad
come late spring so out to nature they go.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."
-Philo of Alexandria

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snails wrote:
Hi

Could anyone give me some advice please - my lime bush (which was on
my window sill but i've moved it outside and is still in its pot) has
lost a lot of leaves,

Kaffir lime is a small tree, if it is in a pot small enough to go on a
window sill it will get rootbound. Because I need to move it out of frost I
keep mine in a large tub on wheels, even so it needs some TLC to be healthy.

What was the temperature like when you moved it outside? It's a
sub-tropical plant that cannot stand frost and really doesn't like the cold,
especially cold winds.

there are little bumps now all up the stem
which i'm guessing is some kind of infestation?.

Do they peel off if you scrape them with a fingernail? Are they hard on the
outside but softer inside? If so it is scale. On a small plant you could
scrape them off with the back of a blade or there are sprays. Scale will
stress your plants and may be the cause of the leaf drop. OTOH the scale
and the leaf drop may both be a sign of general unhealthiness due to poor
conditions.

Since i moved it
outside it has starting growing leaves but they are reddy/brown -
does this mean it has a deficiency?

any thoughts?

In a small pot it will be a challenge to maintain reasonable moisture and to
feed a kaffir lime. How much light did it get indoors? How much now?

David

In article , Slugs&snails
says...

Hi

Could anyone give me some advice please - my lime bush (which was on my
window sill but i've moved it outside and is still in its pot) has lost
a lot of leaves, there are little bumps now all up the stem which i'm
guessing is some kind of infestation?. Since i moved it outside it has
starting growing leaves but they are reddy/brown - does this mean it
has a deficiency?

any thoughts?

Did you move it from indoors directly into full, outdoor sun?

Red brown in the leaves suggests sun stress. Lots of plants when sun-
stressed will develop a red colour in the leaves.

Follow David's recommendation regarding the possibility of scale.

I wonder, after you rule out scale, if the little bumps are dormant buds
activating.

Hello, thank you for all your responses they have been helpful. From your description i believe the bumps are scale and i have been able to remove the majority of them quite easily. I would prefer not to use sprays as i use the leaves in cooking - will the scale stop coming back if the plant is more healthy?

I dont think it is root bound as it is only a small bush but perhaps there is not enough goodness in the soil? I was watering and feeding it weekly until the leaves started to drop and then i began to doubt what i was doing and stopped. So havent fed it for a couple of months. So should i still repot it? How often should i water / feed?

Also should i cut it back or not? - it looks a little stragly now that most of the leaves on the branches have fallen with only the end leaves still hanging on

What position is best for it? I bought it in january (winter) and it was on my windowsill doing really well until spring time around april (when i guess the windowsill gets too much sun) I moved it in the garden to an area which probably was still too sunny so expect that was why the leaves were truning red so i have now placed it in a more shaded area.

Just in response to some of your questions i moved it outside when the frosts had finished and i had seen the scale and was worried they would hatch into loads of flies in my house! From what you have said i think it couldnt cope on the windowsill as the weather got warmer / sunnier and with it being in a small pot there was little nutrients in it.

Hello, thank you for all your responses they have been helpful. From your description i believe the bumps are scale and i have been able to remove the majority of them quite easily. I would prefer not to use sprays as i use the leaves in cooking - will the scale stop coming back if the plant is more healthy?

I dont think it is root bound as it is only a small bush but perhaps there is not enough goodness in the soil? I was watering and feeding it weekly until the leaves started to drop and then i began to doubt what i was doing and stopped. So havent fed it for a couple of months. So should i still repot it? How often should i water / feed?

Also should i cut it back or not? - it looks a little stragly now that most of the leaves on the branches have fallen with only the end leaves still hanging on

What position is best for it? I bought it in january (winter) and it was on my windowsill doing really well until spring time around april (when i guess the windowsill gets too much sun) I moved it in the garden to an area which probably was still too sunny so expect that was why the leaves were truning red so i have now placed it in a more shaded area.

Just in response to some of your questions i moved it outside when the frosts had finished and i had seen the scale and was worried they would hatch into loads of flies in my house! From what you have said i think it couldnt cope on the windowsill as the weather got warmer / sunnier and with it being in a small pot there was little nutrients in it.

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:24:51 +0100, Slugs&snails
wrote:


Hi

Could anyone give me some advice please - my lime bush (which was on my
window sill but i've moved it outside and is still in its pot) has lost
a lot of leaves, there are little bumps now all up the stem which i'm
guessing is some kind of infestation?. Since i moved it outside it has
starting growing leaves but they are reddy/brown - does this mean it
has a deficiency?

any thoughts?

Kaffirs are notorious for scale, especially when over wintered
indoors. I have two and must keep vigilant. (other indoor citrus are
susceptible, too). If you have scale on the stem, though, you likely
have it on the underside of the leaves as well. Scale must be removed
by hand, scraping each one off, or using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol.

Kaffirs also tend to get aphids when kept in a warm, dry house over
the winter. You can spot this by the shiny, sticky exudate on the
leaves.

The ruddy-colored new growth you see may just be the tiny new leaves,
as when they emerge, they are reddish in hue and will green-up as they
get older. If the reddish color all over, or in sports, almost like
rust on existing growth?

They are not difficult to grow in pots. I use larger pots, but ones
that are pretty easy to move around and keep on the windowsill, surely
not tubs as some of my other exotics here in NJ are kept in.

I get my other potted citrus to bloom and fruit, but alas, not the
kaffir. All are fertilized with a special citrus mix.

Boron

In article ,
Slugs&snails wrote:

I dont think it is root bound as it is only a small bush but perhaps
there is not enough goodness in the soil? I was watering and feeding it
weekly until the leaves started to drop and then i began to doubt what i
was doing and stopped. So havent fed it for a couple of months. So
should i still repot it? How often should i water / feed?

As a rule of thumb, the roots will take the same amount of space as the
vegetative part of the plant. Think what your plant would look like if
you turned it over and put the vegetative portion of the plant in the
pot. If it is a little crowded, that's OK. If it's really crowded,
re-pot.
Water, when the soil just below the surface is dry, and follow
instructions on fertilizer package. If you are using chemical fertilizer
(chemferts), you can cut the amount in half.

See: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/kaflime.html
--

- Billy

There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who
learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and
find out for themselves.
Will Rogers

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