Underside of leaves browning on lemon tree - Ask Extension
My lemon tree appears healthy, has quite a few lemons on it, but the underside of some of the leaves are becoming almost completely brown. I think it ...
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Underside of leaves browning on lemon tree #874895
Asked June 26, 2024, 10:33 PM EDT
My lemon tree appears healthy, has quite a few lemons on it, but the underside of some of the leaves are becoming almost completely brown. I think it is only on one branch. It does not start as spots, it just starts at an edge and takes over half the leaf. Wherever the brown patches are, the leaf on top is more yellow than green. I cannot find any pictures online that look like this. They are not crispy and they don’t fall off. I think more and more leaves are starting to get like this, on that one branch.
Lemon tree lives in a very sunny window during the winter and I bring it out on the very hot and sunny deck in the spring. I have a mister that runs 10 minutes every hour during the day, on the opposite side of the deck, so it does not get directly sprayed. I have had this tree for about three years, bought when it was about a foot tall, now is about 5 feet. Last winter it got aphids I think, I treated it with neem oil and they were gone before I brought it outside. I think that happened two years in a row, but this brown leaf thing only started this year. Lemons ripen slowly, probably as usual, and they taste great.
You can see that some of the leaves have a type of yellow mottling, too. I thought that might be normal or from the neem oil. The leaves are growing in a normal shape, and are not curling. I feed it monthly with Espoma Citrus Tone.
Do you know what this could be and how I can fix it? Could it spread to my key lime tree 20 feet away or my herb and lettuce garden 5 feet away?
Thank you!
Wayne CountyMichigan
Expert Response
Hello,
Given that aphids feed on the underside of the leaves, I believe that this could be aphid damage related. It is not consistent with most types of plant injury.
You mentioned that this is limited to one branch, so I would recommend pruning this branch off completely to limit any potential spread!
I would also regularly check for aphids and treat for them consistently. Keep in mind that neem oil can give leaves a sunburn if applied when plants are exposed to direct sunlight and summer heat. You can purchase aphid sticky traps to keep an eye out for them too.
When applying your fertilizer, make sure it is being applied directly to the soil. Residual salts on the leaves can also cause burns.