Question
I have an indoor, potted lemon tree which is dropping a lot of leaves. I sprayed it with K+ Neem because there was some sort of pest living in small cobwebs up near the top. I also removed some of the affected parts and swabbed others with rubbing alcohol.

That was a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday several leaves were on the floor. I watered the tree, but the leaves are still dropping. Trunk and branches seem sound. The leaves aren't turning yellow -- they're just dropping. It's winter here and we keep the house around 68 degrees.
There are still a couple of small webs of pests living among the branches.

What's going on, and what should I do? Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Jean, the webbed culprits are called "spider mites" and love a dry, warm environment like the indoors of a house during the winter months; they are definitely contributing (if not solely responsible for) the leaves being shed. I would say that they should have been controlled by the measures you took, but you say they are still present; spray them again with the alcohol and then the next morning take the plant outside and spray it down well with your hose, washing off all the dead mites and the residual alcohol. You should see new growth before long, do not water too much, Citrus is very susceptible to root rot, only water when dry to touch 3 inches down into soil. Try to get in the habit of misting the plant every couple of days, this will deter the mites from coming back. Nick