Mansoor, this looks like a combination of chlorosis, and possibly too much water. How are you watering your little tree? I see an awful lot of grass near your tree, not a good combination for citrus. I would clear away a very large well for your tree, a good 4' from the trunk, all the way around. Make a nice well, so that the out ring of the well is lower than the trunk. That way, the water will soak down at the drip line and away from the trunk (edge of the tree canopy and a bit farther out.) Grass will compete with your citrus for nitrogen, literally starving your tree. How are you fertilizing your tree? How much sun does your tree get, and how is the tree being watered?

Patty S.

Hi Patty,

I have sprinkler system and I also water it with Hose. I dont water the lawn too often I run the sprinklers for 10 Min ever week or so. I fertilize it with the citrus fertilizer its a orange bag that is for citrus and avocado. I also use ironite for iron. I checked the PH last night its around 7. I have 2 other citrus tree Lime and Grapefruit that is around the grass and they are just doing fine. First I thought it was Boron Toxicity or Boron deficiency or salt toxicity based on this link http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/C107/m107bpleaftwigdis.html

For now what can I do to fix this issue with the tree? give it a lot of nitrogen?

Okay, lawn sprinklers can be the death of a young citrus tree. They really, really do not like their trunks watered. Again, remove the grass from around the tree. Sometimes a very vigorous citrus (like a lemon), can survive and compete. Other citrus that are less vigorous, struggle.

Sounds like maybe you're using Vigoro Citrus & Avocado Fertilizer, which comes in an orange bag. There are two formulations, make sure yours is the one with micronutrients.

I still think that the tree may be too wet. Check the roots down about 12" and see how wet the soil is down there. I would think Boron deficiency would be extremely unusual, the only way to know would be to do a soil sample test. Salt toxicity only if you're very, very close to the ocean (I don't even have that, and I'm about 6 miles from the coast). Salt buildup from over-fertilizing can happen, mainly with container plants, but it can happen if you've got clay soil. Do you know what kind of soil you have? If it's clay, then I do suspect wet roots.

We in S. Calif. rarely have iron deficiencies (not sure where in CA you are). It's usually manganese deficiency we deal with, and if you're using Ironite, be careful on the amount you use. You need to water first, then apply and water in to prevent burning. And make sure the sprinklers do not hit your little tree.

Patty S.

I went to Armstrong and showed the pictures and the person told me that its salt burn(Chlorosis). I was told to dig hole and dig around the bole and look at the root if its black and soggy that means the roots are not traveling and taking everything that is dump in one location like you said . The person told me to take out the soil and use cactus soil.

I have to check the sprinklers but I made them not hit the tree when on.

Thank you for all the help :)

Do you see the green "Christmas tree" in the center of the leaf; that is classic sign of Magnesium deficiency, which can be caused or exacerbated by too much iron. The cure is Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) spread around the tree and watered in well. The brown (burned) tip of the leaves is usually salt; and as Patty said, that COULD be due to over fertilization; it could also be due to excess iron. A cupla years ago in Guatemala City we had a black sand "rain" from a nearby volcano; and that sand is 18% iron; LOTS of plants were killed and most of my garden and nursery lemons had symptoms similar to yours or worse. All my roses suffered from iron toxicity; but that is also helped a lot by application of Magnesium Sulphate.

Are you saying this is little bit of both? Magnesium defciency and salt burn?

I'm agreeing here with John. We really don't need additional iron out here in California. Check your moisture levels. Find out what kind of soil you're dealing with (DG or clay are our two most common soil types here in S. Calif, if that is where you are in California.) If your soil is really wet 12" or so down, you're drowning your trees. If it is just moist, I would then suspect too much iron and you're burning your trees. Give the trees a very good watering to try to leach out some of the iron and then apply epsom salts and water in well.

Patty S.

I will do that this weekend and see how it goes. So I need to buy Epsom salt?

If you've determined that your soil is just moist, and not saturated, then yes. Pick some up at Walgreens or CVS :-) Cheap stuff, but it will work :-) Let's rule out that you're over-watering, first. If that's the case, then just let things dry out a bit. I did this with one of my citrus. It was just a case of "over-loving", lol!! Once I let it dry out, I noticed it was flushing. I re-adjusted my watering to that tree, let it go a few weeks to make sure it was recovering, then I fertilized with Gro-More Citrus & Avocado Food, which has a pretty significant amount of humic acid, which is helpful for my thinner DG soils. Composted, and it recovered just fine.

Patty S.

I checked the soil and its not saturated. I also bought citrus soil. I used Epsom salt and will keep everyone posted. Attach are the pictures before and after I made the changes. Picture also of the root.
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How long will it take to notice the epsom salt worked on the tree?

anyone? how long does it take for the tree to recover?

It's going to take about 2 to 4 weeks to start noticing new flush, Mansoor. Roots look good. You never want to amend your soil. Plant in native soil, then fill the well with compost, and top with mulch if you're in a dry climate (like I am in S. Calif.). You don't say where in Calif. you are, and climates and soils can be vastly different depending upon where you are - north, south, coastal, inland, desert. So, I would continue applying a balanced micronutrient application to your leaves, and maybe another application of Epsom Salts in about a month. One of the best foliar micronutrient products out there is Grow Power Citrus Growers Blend. This is recommended for our area by Vince Lazaneo, our Agricultural Adviser for the San Diego Master Gardener's Program, as it has the right combinations of micronutrients for our particular soils. You can buy it at just about any good garden center, or you can get it on amazon.com. Patience, Grasshopper :-)

Patty S.

Hi Patty,

Thank you so much for getting back to me. I live in So Cali Anaheim. I did buy organic Power Citrus Growers Blend from Armstrongs last week but I did not use it for the Owari tree.

How much citrus grower blend should I add to the tree?

You would want to mix it up in water, then spray the foliage liberally. You can reapply another foliar application next month and continue every month until you see nice green leaves. As our weather and soils warm up, your citrus trees will be able to absorb micronutrients from the soil. We have some issues here in our neck of the woods with micronutrients getting locked out due to our soil pH, which can be just a teeny bit high, high enough that the pH in combination with cold temps causes them to be locked, and not absorbable during our colder winter rainy times.

And, if someone doesn't respond on the forum, just wait a bit. I work full time, so I try to squeeze in some time during breaks, but mainly can't get to the forum until after work :-) And, a lot of our members are on the east coast, too.

Patty S.

Hi all,

The tree hasn't improved much and I see dried branches which I cut off. There are some leaves but its more less now. I see the leave buds coming out but they are not growing much.

I have done all the recommend steps which I was given here but still no luck.

Thank you all,

** Update**

My owari satsuma tree is healthy with new leaves and some fruit flowers. picture below is the new growth.

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I live in south central Alabama and currently have 15 Satsumas growing in a small grove. They are Owari and all are doing well except I have one 2 year old tree that has the same symthoms as yours. Lots of fruit but only about golf ball size and not growing. Tree has plenty of leaves and are green but appear wilted and curled. Tree was in a container 1st year and was planted in ground this past spring along with the other 14. Soil drains well and I water with drip irrigation(2 gph emmiters)All the other trees appear to be fine with same ammount of fertilization and water. Trees are spaced 8 ft apart. Weed barrier to control weeds and grass. Anyone have any ideas?

Not without photos, caplocked. Please post photos of the whole tree, as well as close ups of your leaves. Could be Citrus Leafminer, could be aphids, but without photos, it's just a crap shoot.

Patty S.