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kevincwebb

Questions about chlorosis / leaf yellowing and dropping in Meyers

kevincwebb
9 years ago

Hi folks,

I have two Meyer Lemon trees that I purchased from Four Winds in April. As is typically recommended in this forum (I've been lurking for a while), I have them in gritty mix and regularly fertilize with Foliage Pro.

They're in my office, which has a large south-facing window. I also have them under a pair of 36" T5 bulbs for supplemental light.

At first, they suffered from some initial transplant shock and lost a few leaves. After a month or so, they started to thrive. From about May to mid-August, they seemed to be doing well, with lots of new growth, although there was a bit of leaf yellowing. Lately, the leaves have been turning yellow faster and starting to drop. It's mostly the internal leaves that seem to be the most affected. The most recent growth still looks mostly good, but even that is starting to yellow in a few places.

I'm including pictures with the hopes that someone can identify this particular pattern. I've looked at pictures of common nutrient deficiencies, but haven't found anything that looks exactly like this.

It's in gritty mix and the leaves are not curling, so I don't think it's being overwatered. Leaves start to droop/wilt after about 3.5-4 days without watering, so I try to water every ~2-3 days. About a month ago, I started measuring the ph of my water (it was about 8-8.5) so I've been adding a bit of vinegar to get it closer to 5.5/6. That doesn't seemed to have helped, although I don't think it has made anything worse either.

If anyone can advise, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

This picture is what the leaves look like shortly before they fall off. This has happened to ~10-15 leaves per tree over the last ~month, leaving the trees looking bare in the middle:

Comments (12)

  • kevincwebb
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Zoomed-out picture of the trees.

  • kevincwebb
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    A view up one of the branches of new growth. Yellowing decreases as you go upwards towards the end of the branch.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    What is your fertilizer regimen, and do you flush the mix periodically?

    To my eye, it looks like possible fertilizer burn.....but I'd need to know more about your cultural habits.

    Josh

  • johnmerr
    9 years ago

    The problem with adding a lot of vinegar to such basic water is that the vinegar neutralizes the basic elements and the result is salt. The symptoms I see could all be caused by salt. A better approach would be to add the vinegar to the water and let it stand for a day or more; perhaps the salts will settle to the bottom. Aside from that if you are using an essentially neutral mix, there is no need to lower the pH of the water below 6.5.

  • kevincwebb
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the quick responses.

    I have flushed the mix once. How often should I be doing that, more than a couple of times per year? I suppose I could try doing so again...

    I typically mix 1-1.5 teaspoons of Foliage Pro into two gallons of water and pour about half into each container. Much of it (~1/2 gallon in each container) completely drains through, and I pump it out of the saucer for disposal using a small hand pump.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    I recommend that you do a thorough flushing about once a month....or every three waterings or so.

    Another thing - do you moisten the mix before fertigating? I think it's very important to make sure that the Gritty Mix is completely moist (no dry pockets) when fertilizing.

    So you're fertilizing at 1/2 strength....but I still don't know how often you fertilize.

    Josh

  • meyermike_1micha
    9 years ago

    I am tending to think what Josh is saying..

    You are using the right ferilizer and vinegar can do no harm at one tablespoon per gallon....

    Hello Josh) Great to see they let you out of lock down..Sheesh..

    MIke

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    (Hey, Mike, thanks! Was stuck with the students until 6:45pm on Friday. All safe, though).

  • kevincwebb
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm fertilizing every time I water them. My logic is that the foliage pro directions say 1 tsp per gallon per week, and I'm watering approximately twice per week with 1 tsp per two gallons. Should I back off?

    I'll try flushing again. How much water do you recommend running through on a flush?

  • MileHighGardener
    9 years ago

    Hey, Kwebb

    Patty told me once fall starts to lower the dose of foliage pro to half a teaspoon since citrus start to slow down their growth.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    Kwebb,
    1/2 strength twice a week is correct. You might try fertilizing full strength once a week to see how the tree reacts.

    To flush, if I'm remembering rightly, you pass about seven times the volume of the container through the medium. To get the most out of the flush, do a pre-watering to saturate the mix, then do the formal flush about 20 minutes later.

    Josh

  • kevincwebb
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ok, it sounds like I should try the following:

    -Flush the mix to remove any salt buildup, wetting it first.
    -Cut back a bit on the amount of fertilizer during the colder months.
    -Fertilize less often but in larger doses.
    -Wet the mix prior to adding fertilizer.

    I'll give this plan a try and report back on the results.

    Thank you all for your help, and hopefully I'll have good news to report!

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