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Lemon tree dusty leaves

SheWoreLemonSheWoreLemon Posts: 2
in Problem solving

Hi, I confess to being a bit of a plant novice. I received a lemon tree for my birthday which I love, but many of the leaves have become 'torn' or have small holes. The leaves also have what appears to be dust spots on them.

I gently washed the leaves with a clean cloth but the dusty marks are still there. I contacted the nursery where it came from and they said it was water marks or just dirt - which I find hard to believe as the marks were there before and after. They said my plant is healthy and nothing wrong with it.

Any advice, or is it supposed to look like this and I'm just being silly?

 imageimageimage

Thanks so much! :)

Posts

  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,439

    Move it outside. The rain and sun will be good for it. New growth will soon replace the dirty leaves.

    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,078

    Good advice for the summer Redwing image But I wouldn't do it yet unless the OP is in the far southwest of the UK ... Far too cold to put citrus outside yet here in East Anglia ..... Brrrrrr!!!


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,439

    Mine have been outside in Sussex against a SE wall since mid April.

    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,078

    Brrrrrrrrrr!  You wouldn't risk it here Redwing  ... flippin chilly 

    image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • SheWoreLemonSheWoreLemon Posts: 2

    I'm in London and it's been rather chilly the last few weeks.

    So, it doesn't look like it has any fungus/anything wrong? 

  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,439

    I find there is a balance and a compromise.  Lemons get scale insects when inside which are sticky and horrible.  I don't have a greenhouse so my two lemon bushes are kept in front of large SE facing windows which get a lot of sun in the winter but they get too warm for their liking really due to being in a house so I have to compromise.  Lemons can actually stand a few degrees of frost. If they stay inside too long the scale insect problems worsen.  Since moving outside a couple of lemons have ripened.  They will stay out now until probably about October.  They are quite challenging to grow I find.  I went from one extreme of too much watering one year to too little watering the next.  I think I've finally learned and got the balance right. 

    Last edited: 04 May 2017 11:37:22

    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
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