What's Wrong with my Lime Tree?

[emanphoto]

I am having trouble with my lime tree here in BKK. 

Wife bought a pot over 2 foot across and we lined the bottom with coconut husks. 

We used locally sourced bagged soils to fill the pot around the tree root bulb when we bought it.

I've intermittently added small amounts of organic fertilizer to the surface and recently spread some dry bagged cow manure on top as well.

It's been 6 mos since potting and the tree, to me, looks sickly.  I wasn't expecting limes to start appearing but I had hoped that it would at least flourish.  Optimally, yes, I'd like to have limes at some point, but it hasn't even flowered yet in 6 months.

It gets sun from 9am to 3pm. 

The maid used to water it twice a day, now every other day.  We've seen no change since the watering was changed.

There are drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.

Given the above description and the attached photos, can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? 

Thanks for any help!

[worgeordie]

Too much water,too much fertilizer,the coconut husks are going to

retain too much water and make the roots soggy.

regards worgeordie

[djayz]

I'm no expert on the matter, but the bagged soil we buy at nurseries and garden centers is usually of very poor quality. 

[emanphoto]

36 minutes ago, djayz said:

I'm no expert on the matter, but the bagged soil we buy at nurseries and garden centers is usually of very poor quality. 

 

On 4/26/2017 at 11:59 AM, worgeordie said:

Too much water,too much fertilizer,the coconut husks are going to

retain too much water and make the roots soggy.

regards worgeordie

 

I get that feeling about bagged soils here too @djayz.  Hence my addition of manure and a small sprinkling of organic fertilizer.  My mulch pile is not ready for use yet so that will have to wait.  I go to a nearby fishing store and buy worms for the garden and have added a package of them to this tree's pot as well.

@worgeordie what would you recommend in terms of watering frequency?

[fruitman]

My potted tree's do well but if one suddenly gets sick or dies there might be white grubs in the soil who eat roots. They become small brown beatles who eat leaves as well and look like cockroaches.

 

6 months isn't much but i grew a tahiti lime like you and it bloomed after potting it. 

You can feed it some urea 46-0-0 which is pure nitrogen and can immediatly be used by the plant.

 

Just dissolve some pellets 25 or so in water and give it to the tree. You can do this weekly.. It will make the tree grow fast and also bloom.

Later you might give more urea but it will make the plant sweet and attracting pests.

 

Mor hours of sun is also good.

 

 

 

[emanphoto]

I'll look into the urea 46-0-0.  I find buying such things here somewhat intimidating as the garden supply place nearby speaks little to no English and my Thai doesn't cover much in the way of science or anything technical really.  Hopefully the labels will say "urea 46-0-0"!

 

Despite some of the leaves having a somewhat chewed-on appearance, I've found no other evidence of insects present.  I'd give the tree more sunlight but it's been placed for maximum sun already. 

[Gobbledegook]

Looks like something has been feasting on it and it appears to have a bit of leaf curl which could be caused by another bug.

Have a look on the underside of a few leaves to see if you can see a grub of some sort.

[IsaanAussie]

Butterfly larvae. If the leaves have been eaten form the edge inwards, then that's what it probable is. Have a look for butterflies around the tree at about 10am on a bright morning. There are  a number of butterflies that lay eggs of citrus trees.

[Gobbledegook]

On 4/26/2017 at 11:59 AM, worgeordie said:

Too much water,too much fertilizer,the coconut husks are going to

retain too much water and make the roots soggy.

regards worgeordie

Also not enough sun wouldn't help.

[Gobbledegook]

Just now, Gobbledegook said:

Also not enough sun wouldn't help.

Under ideal conditions (not forced) you may get some flowers. We have three plants that were planted in the ground 3 years ago that have always looked healthy but haven't flowered until now with two of them having a mass of flowers the 3rd one not so many. 

[drtreelove]

5 hours ago, IsaanAussie said:

Butterfly larvae. If the leaves have been eaten form the edge inwards, then that's what it probable is. Have a look for butterflies around the tree at about 10am on a bright morning. There are  a number of butterflies that lay eggs of citrus trees.

More likely moth larvae - caterpillars that chew on the leaf margins, skeletonize when they are young or chew holes in the leaves in later instars (bigger worms). 

Appears like multiple issues are present as others have indicated.  

Nutrition is one, general yellowing (chlorosis) is usually Nitrogen deficiency. Yellowing or mottling between green veins is usually micronutrient deficiency.

I don't see signs of citrus leaf miner, so the curling of leaves could be aphid infestation, usually evident on underside of leaves.

Full sun exposure is important for photosythesis,, but some of the brown spots look like it may be sunburn. Don't wet the foliage during full sun hottest part of day or standing water on the leaves can intensify heat.   

Bagged potting soil is usually devoid of balanced mineral nutrition. But to add only an N source like urea can stimulate excessive vegetative growth and throw things more out of balance and invite insect pests. 

Frequent watering in porous soil substitute leaches important nutrients like Calcium and Boron. Ca is important for cell wall strength and resistance to pests and disease, and B is important for Ca metabolism. There are other plant nutrient issues that only soil testing can truly resolve. For one container plant that is not practical or affordable.

I recommend to replant with real mineral soil with real compost mixed in. Or if not for any reason, use a more complete fertilizer like 15-15-15 with micronutrients. An organic slow release fertilizer is better if you can find it.

[Gobbledegook]

Our three were planted with cow manure in the bottom of the hole and then some soil on top of that then soil mix with the young tree planted amongst that.

 

Then at the start of each wet season given a hand full of a privately made granulated fertilizer made from cow manure and possibly other things. I'm sorry I can't tell you the name of it because I just don't know. We ordered 7 bags of it that came in second hand bags. I imagine this would be classed as an organic slow release fertilizer like drtreelove suggests above. I will ask the wife if she can find out where it is made if anyone is interested.

 

The only other thing I can do is take a photo of some to show you what it looks like but probably not much value in that.

[emanphoto]

I've been keeping an eye on this tree and the other night I found a 2 inch green caterpillar.  I made short work of it.  I'd not seen this under close examination during the day and there's not a lot of leaves for one to hide on!

Now there are new green growths coming from some of the branches so I may have turned a corner here.

[emanphoto]

I've been keeping a close eye on this tree and have found 3 caterpillars on it so far.  One has to look carefully to find them.

 

Since I first posted, with advice of cutting back on watering, the tree is sprouting new growth and doing much better.  The sickly looking leaves have not improved but haven't gotten worse either.  Thanks for all the help!