Fleur-de-ATaleof2Citruses

A tale of two citrus trees. 

I got a call the other day from a fellow gardener, whom I will not name.

He asked how my Meyer lemon tree was doing.

Not good. I moved it inside from my front deck before the first frost.  Always a tricky transition. In early December, it was looking great—blossoms that I pollinated with a Q-Tip, leaves glossy green.

Then came the new year. I had a few teeny-tiny green fruit where blossoms had been. As the month progressed, the tree declined. Leaves started falling, several a day. Sticky honeydew (pest secretion), but no sightings of aphids or scale. 

I can’t pick up the clay pot to move it outside for a quick organic herbicide spray on a warm day. So, I read about a different strategy: wiping each leaf with Neem oil (a naturally occurring pesticide made from Neem tree seeds). Weekly. I’d give it a try. 

When I mentioned cleaning individual leaves with Neem oil, my gardening friend gave out a “Harrumph.” 

I figured he didn’t want to spend the time wiping each leaf, week after week.

 I bought a bottle of Neem concentrate, made my mixture in a spray bottle, and squirted the magic stuff on a microfiber cloth. 

As I cleaned each leaf, I lost a few in the process, but all in all, it seemed like progress. Then I pruned out a half-dozen leafless branches. The fruit, no bigger than teardrops, had disappeared.

My bare little tree.

But maybe there was hope. I snapped a photo and emailed it to my gardening buddy, fingers crossed.

The gardener’s wife replied with a photo of their Meyer lemon—full of fruit.  And a sad emoji. 

The heartbreak of gardening. Always lessons to be learned and challenges to be met.  Or move to Florida.  Laurie Lynch

Mine

Theirs