Question
Hello, I brought back from california to the washington state a kumquat tree and had it inside for over a 1 1/2 now and it was doing fine then all of a sudden it started dropping leaves and the branches turn brown and die?  I sprayed it with houseplant spray thinking it was thrips since some of the leaves that were dropping were sticky and green but is still continues to die?  What can I do to save it? thanks Tad

Answer
Tad,

The stickiness indicates it has insects, either scale, mealybugs or spider mites. These insects attack the tree when it is already sick and just make the problem a bit worse but do not cause the tree to die. The problems that are killing the tree and probably caused the insects to attack the tree is that the tree is either not getting enough sun or it is getting too much water. Or it may be a combination of both. Moveing it to a sunnier location and cutting back on the amount of water you give it is your best chance of saving it. Also an hour after you water it you should empty the drain tray then do not water it again until the plant feels dry and light weight when you pick it up. It should get as much sun as possible from dawn to dusk. If you have more questions feel free to write again . Good luck.

Darlene