Lemon Tree Close-Ups

Here are some close-ups of the problem lemon tree. New growth keeps dieing.

Pocket Gopher

These pesky creatures appear every spring and wreak havoc on my lawn. I don't normally see them running around mid-day, but he must have been hungry judging by the grass stuffed in his "pockets". Do they eat grass or just build nests with it? I'm guessing this is a pocket gopher.

I battle with at least a couple of gophers every year. I first tried traps with and had limited success. Poison pellets have worked well over the years. "Sure Stop" seems to be the best locally available option. I tried barley based pellets one year and had a nice crop of barley in the middle of my lawn. My new pellet gun with scope picked this guy off with the first shot.

Onions?

I've noticed these beautiful purple flowers popping up in my front planter box. I think they are some type of onion based on the large bulb just below the surface.

UPDATE: Dah! They are bulbs. I ran across a picture at the book store and it looks like these are bulbs that bloom in early March: Valerie Finnis or Grape Hyacinth

Any hope for my lemon tree?

I have no idea about the age of my lemon tree. It was here when I purchased the property 6 years ago. When I first moved in, lemons were plentiful.















A year ago most of the leaves fell off, but it still was producing

lemons. The local garden center suggested a dose of 16-4-2, which did not really help. Today most of the new growth dies off. The leaves turn brown at the tips and existing branches appear die back from the tip. Does my lemon tree have a disease, is it just old or is neglect to blame?