Hi can anyone offer an explanation.

When I bought my villa 2 years ago I inherited a young lemon tree which is planted in the garden Last year it didn't bear fruit, but this year it has fruit on it but all the leaves have dropped off

It is drip watered with an irrigation system but also occasionally watered with water from the water butt which collects the pool water when it's back washed. COULD THIS BE THE CAUSE


Will it recover

Strange one.---Any Spanish Percy Throwers about?
Maybe we need a Gardiners World thread,could be interesting.
Dont know what to make of your lemon tree.
What chemicals have you in the pool water?
Maybe have to wait until next year to find out if its terminally ill.

I'm sure matt will know

surely the chlorine or whatever from the pool can't help?

I wondered about the chlorine, but it was watered just the same way last year

This link may or may not help.


http://www.bizaims.com/coffee+break/...it+can+help+us

My mediterranean gardening book says lemon trees are pretty fussy about water. Apparently they like moist soil but extremely good drainage. Standing water will kill them as will letting them dry out during the first two years. They aren't too happy in coastal situations and they hate salts in the soil or alkaline conditions. They mind wind less than oranges. The book also says they are very susceptible to cold and disease.

From that I would assume the drip watering is ideal but not with pool water. If your tree is very young it may never have got established and sadly might not recover.

You don't say where you are in Spain but I would look around to see if any of your neighbours have successfully grown lemons and if so under what conditions.

Best of luck
Rose

Does it have any white 'furry' parasites on the bark anywhere?

The lemon and orange trees in the gardens here get these around this time of year. Have to pick them as I'm told they're very harmful to the tree. They also seem to lose leaves more at this time of year.

Pretty sure a build up of chlorine in the soil isn't going to do any good either.

Nothing white and furry at all on it. The only thing that is on it is the under developed fruit

Why not sing this ditty to the said tree when you and it are alone. My friend Charlie Windsor down on old Highgrove Farm swears by it. He told me.... Errrrrrrrrrrrrm it did ones lemons the world of good.

When I was just a girl of ten, my father said to me,
"Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree."
"Don't put your faith in love, Polly", my father said to me,
"I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree."

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is much to small to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is much to small to eat.

Then one hums the rest don't you know.

Polly stop using pool water and next year when you have a bumper crop go to this link


http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2008/01/...-meringue-pie/

You are a mine of useful information Posh,
Hope its not that dreaded fungus infection or it could be sad news.
I think Ive seen it before and if the plant dies it could be a problem replanting on the same spot.
Probably need some fresh soil or means of disinfecting the area first.
Anyway looking on the bright side hope it recovers(maybe if we all say a few prayers and all that)and you could be fixing some of that delicious merangue pie next year.