Eureka lemon (forum)

Maria starts with ...
I hope someone can help us. Last year our young eureka lemon had all its new (purple bud) leaves eaten off, and the same is happening this year. We thought it might be snails so we laid some bait and it worked for a week but then all the new purple leaves disappeared again. We also have patchy parts of the young green "branches" where the "bark" seems to be stripped off, and browny grey patches now show. Have googled endlessly and can find no pics of anything like it. Any ideas?

Time: 3rd November 2008 7:56pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report

About the Author Maria2
Perth
#UserID: 1606
Posts: 5
View All Maria2's Edible Fruit Trees

Elizabeth says...
Could your problem be possums?

Time: 3rd November 2008 8:19pm

Reply | Edit | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author
Sydney
#UserID: 0
Posts:
View All 's Edible Fruit Trees

Anonymous says...
Possums will often eat all the skin off a lemon and leave the rest still attached to the tree, totally intact. Rats will leave tell tale gnaw marks in the skin of the fruit. Snails will definitely eat new growth and bark. Citrus swallowtail caterpillars can be a problem, not sure if you have them in WA though. They are a large caterpillar which emit a foul smell from two tentacles on their heads when disturbed.

Time: 4th November 2008 5:36pm

Reply | Edit | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author
 
#UserID: 0
Posts:
View All 's Edible Fruit Trees

Maria says...
I don't think it's possums - we're mid suburbia, and I haven't seen any evidence of worms. I do have some pics, attached.

Time: 22nd November 2008 2:55pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report

About the Author Maria2
Perth
#UserID: 1606
Posts: 5
View All Maria2's Edible Fruit Trees

Anonymous says...
Pics didn't come through

Time: 22nd November 2008 2:58pm

Reply | Edit | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author
 
#UserID: 0
Posts:
View All 's Edible Fruit Trees

Maria says...
Pics attached of what used to be young and healthy new leaves ...
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 22nd November 2008 3:00pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report

About the Author Maria2
Perth
#UserID: 1606
Posts: 5
View All Maria2's Edible Fruit Trees

Maria says...
More pics - I don't know if they show the damage clearly enough. The rest of the tree is also no looking very healthy (yellowed leaves) but we realised about a year ago that we planted it in too shady a spot.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 22nd November 2008 3:04pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report

About the Author Maria2
Perth
#UserID: 1606
Posts: 5
View All Maria2's Edible Fruit Trees

Maria says...
My husband says that the growth meristems keep being eaten off by something, after about three leaves worth of growth. Then i doesn't grow any further for a whole year. So we're getting three leave's worth of growth a year on each stem.

Time: 24th November 2008 10:14pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report

About the Author Maria2
Perth
#UserID: 1606
Posts: 5
View All Maria2's Edible Fruit Trees