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surfpnsbch

citrus leaves turning yellow

surfpnsbch
17 years ago

my satsuma and meyer lemon leaves are turning yellow. Help! They are both young plants having been purchased this season. I fertilized them with a balanced fertilizer when I potted them. Do I need to use citrus fertilizer now?? or what?

Thanks, Sara

Comments (14)

  • birdsnblooms
    17 years ago

    Sara, make sure you're not overwatering..overwatering is the number one killer of plants. You want the soil to dry between waterings. Do you allow it to dry? Toni

  • surfpnsbch
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for your comments. I've been very careful about watering (I have a water meter and don't water until it shows dry about 3/4 down in the pot) and am pretty sure that is not the problem. When I bought the plants, the nurseryman told me I should "punch" them with fertilizer, which is why I added slow release fertilizer to the pots. Would it help to try to leach some of the fertilizer out? Or would that much water make it worse?
    I suppose I just need to let them try to make it on their own at this point and give them some benign neglect.
    Think that will help?
    Sara

  • birdsnblooms
    17 years ago

    Sarah, do you have a pic of your citrus? So many things can cause yellow leaves. Lack of nitrogen, lack of minerals (especially iron) overwatering, underwatering, and insects. Toni

  • bencelest
    17 years ago

    I was going to follow that the best way to dilute the fertilizers and perhaps other salts and things that causes yellowing is to soak your soil with running water for an hour or so without dripping over the pot. Sometimes I run my water overnight until I soak it and get rid of what is causing yellowing. I saved many a plant this way.
    Overwatering does not happenned overnight. You have to let the soil soaked many many days perhaps weeks before the roots really get rotten. Overwatering is not the cause. It is the lack of oxygen the roots need in order to breath that cause the malady. Too much stagnant water in the soil overtime will prevent the roots to breath.
    Underwatering you'll see the leaves wilt beforehand before the leaves turned yellow.

  • laidbackdood
    17 years ago

    Hi,someone above mentioned that you should not fertilise
    when you repot and wait for new growth.Well,that goes against
    all the advice i have read on this forum from the likes of
    millet etc. Their advice on repotting with all mixes including
    chc chips included osmocote slow release fert added at potting time.This is what i have read several times eg 4 parts
    chc.1 part peat,dolomite and slow release osmocote and then
    wait for new growth before adding a soluble feed solution at
    half strength.Are you saying we should not add osmocote to
    our mixes? I read they are more beneficial if incorporated
    into the soil,rather than on top of the mix.
    I have found 6 parts pine bark and 6 parts medium pumice ,1 part perlite with slow
    release fert to be an excellant growing medium which
    provides the aeration in the mix you are after,most of the
    mixes you buy for containers dont drain well enough.my trees have been going nuts in this mix.Orchid mix is good too but
    you need to add some inorganic components(air/water porous)
    to the mix.Pumice and perlite fit the bill.water should come
    out of the mix very quickly.one down side,it dries out quick
    and you need to water and feed more often but you will be
    rewarded with fast root growth which will occupy the container quickly.
    Good luck.

  • bencelest
    17 years ago

    Laidback:
    What you are saying are all true and to the point. And you have a point there. Sara might have put soil that is not well draining.
    I am not saying I am an expert like Millet, Joe, etc.... Take my advice like a grain of salt.
    I am just letting you guys know from my own experience and from what I read that I follow.
    Slow release fertilizer is just like that- slow release. The fertilizers are slowly releasing its chemical to the plant because they are coated with something. So the plant is not stressed. I should have said also that wait until new growth emerges before fertilizing with lower strength.
    But Sarah's question is why is her citrus leaves are yellowing. My answers are just to justify my answers.
    From my experience.
    Sorry guys if my answers did not give true meaning with what I intended.

  • bencelest
    17 years ago

    But then again I ask a question: Where can you buy pumice and perlite? There are none availlable in my area.

  • bencelest
    17 years ago

    I take my word back. I found some.

  • jonathancox007_hotmail_com
    17 years ago

    Lol,No offence.I am lucky that pummice is easy to get in Auckland New Zealand.It rains a lot here and that has caused
    a lot of problems for me with container mix for citrus.I
    have killed so many dwarf citrus!!!
    I have tried chc/peat,chc/coir,container mix with water storage granules,orchid mix.They have all caused trouble because of lack of aeration to the roots and some just soggy
    and never dry out.We dont get the wicked heat in the summer
    that you guys get.Your trees benny are a testament to your
    skill in creating the ideal mix and growing contions for
    your neck of the woods.Your trees are awesome.
    I have killed =grapefruit,2 clementines,tangelo,lemon,orange.So I have done well at drowning my citrus!!!!
    However,for all you people out there that live in a place
    where it rains all the time,except summer,i have found what
    is the best mix for me=
    4 parts chunky bark,4 parts pea sized pummice,1 part perlite
    and one part coir plus osmocote slow release citrus fert.
    I cation exchange the coir to be safe.
    The moment i transplant into this mix,the tree starts to
    grow and it drains great and dries steadily and never remains soggy.This mix is very chunky.
    When my trees look as impressive as yours,then i will be
    proud.It gets expensive when you snuff your trees all the
    time!My clementine i bought recently had some yellow leaves
    down low when i bought it from the store but after going into my mix,its been putting out lots of new growth.Cheers
    to all.

  • sablekitty
    16 years ago

    Can I spray for leaf miner when the lemon tree is blooming flowers?

    Loretta
    grammyof162002@yahoo.com

  • bram-v
    13 years ago

    I live in Birmingham Alabama and I have a potted Persian lemon. It's leaves turning yellow too. I do not know it because of cold weather or lack of minerals. I feed it with regular fertilizer. What type of fertilizer has all the ingredients that my tree need? Thank you.

  • bobbiewhitten
    6 years ago

    I don't see where she says whether the plants are in pots or the ground. Totally different rules. Some of the suggestions will definitely kill the plants if they are in pots. If they are in the ground they probably will get better on their own unless it's insects or fungus.

  • bobbiewhitten
    6 years ago

    Forgot to mention mineral deficiencies which can also be a problem, especially in pots.