Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
savy4_gw

care on michelia alba

savy4
11 years ago

I have just bought a michelia alba yesterday. It looks like a grafted one. It is about 2ft tall and it is in a 2 gallon pot should I repot it or not. I don't know if I should or not please me some advice. On how to care for my plant. Thanks

Comments (254)

  • savy4
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I meant some kind of bugs eating it.

  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Savy4 - wow. Your tree is beautiful! Do you happen to use the al’s gritty mix (5:1:1)? I can’t find the pine bark fines.

  • savy4
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Hi Wakeupsandy28,


    No i just use a cactus & citrus potting mix 25 percent, miracle potting mix 25 percent 50 percent perlite use a terra-cotta small size pot it seems to do fine.


    Savy4

  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Ok. I will go with your concoction since the 5:1:1 ingredients is difficult to find.

  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Look what I found today....

  • andr3ana
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @wakeupsandy28 I have been using EB Stone Green All Microbark to make 5:1:1 with Perlite and Acidic Potting Mix. I bought the micro bark from Payless Hardware, Rockery & Nursery in San

  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Andr3ana I will try to go there this coming weekend. Thank you so much for the info

  • savy4
    Original Author
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I try that mix and it works for me I have 4 Albas altogether and they are doing great. Remember alba likes small pots. Their root systems grows very slow.

  • andr3ana
    3 years ago

    @wakeupsandy28 you are welcome, probably best for you to call them first to check inventory before you , sometimes they ran out of certain things

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago

    @David Anderson Could be your garden's soil that caused the Michelia Alba to perform poorly: when I initially planted michelia alba I also had bad experiences including dead trees(I'm in Sydney Aus too) so later when I planted them on ground I always first put lots of good quality garden soils into the hole. Right now since yours is already in ground my guess is not to disturb it & do not over water it, fertilize it adequately it might grow into a healthy tree. Also protect it from the scorching summer sun shines here .

  • HU-111822852
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Sept 5, 2020 @ 115F and Sept 6, 2020 @ 112F in Chino, CA turn a zero brown leaf tree into a half burned tree. Sad.


  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Oh no.... sorry

  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Hu-111822852 hope you and your family are safe out there. The fires are crazy right now....

  • HU-111822852
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    wakeupsandy28 all is well. The tree is recovering waiting for all the dead leaves to fall and new to sprout. Thanks for checking in.

  • ekinna
    3 years ago

    We just planted a 4-feet tall Michela Alba in ground about 2 weeks ago and everything looked fine for about 10 days. Then we noticed some of the leaves are turning yellow and look like something is eating them. What could it be and what can we do about it? Desperately need help and advice.

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago

    @ekinna Doesn’t necessarily seem to be insect, looks like just natural leave getting old to fall off, this process occurs on michelia alba routinely around the year. Keeping adequate humidity & fertilising will prolong leaves‘ lifespan but every leave will eventually turn yellow & fall, within one or two years although other new leaves will grow

  • wakeupsandy28
    3 years ago

    Hi everyone. Two of my branches on my Michelia Alba turned brown. I’m pretty sure they are dead. What do you think happened to them? And should I cut them off?

  • Janet Lo
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Hello Savy and group. I have a new 2ft tall alba. How much 20-20-20 should I give the plant? I have read some article to dissolve and water it, or should I spray it on top on the soil. Also how often do you feed 20-20-20?? Thank you everyone!

  • ekinna
    3 years ago

    @grantyang, now 3 months later since I posted my original post and pictures, my Alba has lost all it's leaves. We saw some buds forming and were hoping they'd turn into new leaves. But no such luck. Even the buds are browning and looked to be about to fall off. We're in zone 10 in the San Francisco Bay area. I'm very disappointed.

  • andr3ana
    3 years ago

    @ekinna how much have you been watering the plant? Any fertilizer?

  • andr3ana
    3 years ago

    @wakeupsandy28 when I first got my 4 feet alba and planted in pot, i had several branches turning brown. I cut them off. I suspected I did not water enough as the plant was severely root bound in 1 qt size pot and I did not water near the trunk/where the roots were when I watered it about once every 3-4 days, I kept the pot indoor and it was around March.

  • ekinna
    3 years ago

    @andr3ana, the Alba is planted in ground and it's about 4' tall she. We bought it (for quite a bit of money 😬). We've a drip system and a weather sensor to turn the system on or stay off. We haven't fertilized it since we planted it, but we did spray neem oil on the brown leaves as we had mold and fungus on other plants and thought the Alba was having similar problems. But that was only once application and after the leaves started turning brown. We planted it in the southwestern side of the yard as its tag said it likes full sun. But then later I read from many online articles that it only likes morning or afternoon sun.

  • sevenseeds
    3 years ago

    @ekinna, so sorry to hear about your michelia alba. Sounds like it may have gotten too much sun in that location. I've seen michelias do well in full sun in Berkeley, but they are very tall and well established.


    I have a few questions for those of you who live in the San Francisco / East Bay area (I live in Berkeley). As some of you may recall, I planted my Michelia alba in the ground last March and have had various problems. I think I was so worried about not watering too much, that I actually watered too little! It seems to be doing well with the rains we've had and I'm happy to report that there are many new shoots and beautiful little leaves unfurling - maybe it needed time for the roots to become strong first.


    Here are my questions:


    1) When do you begin fertilizing in this area (SF / East Bay - Berkeley) and what fertilizers do you use? Do you have a schedule?


    2) What is your watering schedule for your in-ground tree and what size is it?


    3) Almost every morning when the sun is shining just right, I will see single silk thread from branch to branch to leave. I try to get rid of them by using my hand to break the threads - sometimes spray with a jet of water. I checked with a strong magnifying glass to see whether there are any spider mites or damage to the new leaves, but I don't spot any. I've seen some ants in the branches. It is not the typical spider mite webbing, just a single thread running between branches. Any thoughts?


    Thanks in advance for your replies - I really appreciate this group!

  • andr3ana
    3 years ago

    @ekinna do you know how often and how much your drip watering system waters your m. alba all these months? Did you change the watering amount and frequency from summer, to fall, and to winter. many drip holes and how far from the trunk did you set the drip waterer?

  • andr3ana
    3 years ago

    @sevenseeds I am in Cupertino, SF South Bay Area. I planted several years old 4 ft m.alba on the ground on the alleyway on the east side of the house May last year (bought in Feb and was advised to wait to May to plant in ground by seller). The location is somewhat shaded since it's flanked between 6 ft fence and the house wall but there's few hours of mid day sun. I watered by hand about 1-2 gallons every 3 days during the first few weeks after planting and fertilized it once every 2 weeks during that month (miracle gro water soluble fertilizer). After that I put drip watering system also watering once every 3-4 days during summer about 1.5 gal each time. Switched to once a week watering 1.5-2 gal in Fall. It has been growing great so far, many big green lush leaves and it flowered around June last year.

    Since the first month fertilizing last year in May I fertilized it perhaps 3-4 times during summer-fall and stopped in winter. A couple top leaves were scorched by heat wave during summer and freeze burnt during the couple times we had winter frost, but bottom leaves all healthy.


    I planted a second m.alba in late October, several years old 5 feet one, that had been previously in a pot for 7 months. This time I planted in wide open south facing location outside the fence so zero shade. It hasn't grown and the leaves are yellow light green, probably due to the cold and no shade, but there has been few new shoots of leaves since planted and even flower buds the last month. I sprinkled granular fertilizer in the planting hole and fertilized with miracle gro water soluble fertilizer twice during the first month of planting. Watering amount and schedule same as the first I planted on east side.

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @ekinna Oh what a sad tragic experience! Is yours in ground or in pot? From my experience michelia alba turning yellow & gradually dying most are due to their root system failure: either rotting or drying out or too confined to space, etc. Root rotting normally is due to too much water. Once the tree started yellowing & shrinking it will be hard to rescue, try get a new tree & treat it more carefully. I had several dead trees when I started growing them. Last year another potted tree died because it had not enough sun exposure.

    By looking back to your older post, I’m thinking maybe your soil had some problem that caused an unhealthy michelia alba growth: is your soil heavy clay? Or alkaline heavy? Like most flowering plants michelia alba requires slightly acidic soil & the soil needs to be soft & foamy. If it’s your soil problem your might consider digging a bigger hole & pouring in good quality compost soil before planting the tree.

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @Janet Lo Just applying fertilizer in soil every one or two months would be good enough, while winter season doesn’t need fertilizer at all. When the tree is getting close & during flowering time you might use potassium-enriched fertilizer instead of balanced one to promote more flowering.

  • Janet Lo
    3 years ago

    Thank you! I just transfer the little tree to a slightly bigger pot today with new 50/50 soil mentioned here. do you usually measure the fertilizer in a spoon then sprinkle?

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago

    @Janet Lo Fertilizing just approximately will do, no need to be precise as writing software

  • ekinna
    3 years ago

    Grant Yang we planted the M.Alba in ground following the exact instructions on the plant tag by digging a hole 3x the root ball and amended the soil with planting soil as our ground is clay. We live in the SF East Bay and the weather ranges from ~50F-100F in the summer to 35F-70F in the winter season. The tree is planted in full sun, again, following the tag instructions. We haven’t fertilized it since planting it in October.

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    @ekinna As I suspected your clay soil could well be a contributor to the poor growth of the michelia alba: my backyard soil is also clay & is quite heavy: digging them often revealed very sticky light brown clay substance which seems to be good material for brick making. So according to advice from plant nursery staff I put in clay breakers such the gypsum material bought from plant nursery into the holes before planting the Michelia alba trees & also regularly added gypsum onto the top soil around the root area for a few months after planting the trees. If you didn’t add any fertilizer since October that could also cause some problem for the michelia alba since it does need nutrient regularly. The California weather is similar to our local weather here in Sydney Australia so I don’t think it is too unfriendly to michelia alba: soil, fertilizer, watering etc could well be contributors to the tree’s poor performance. Your tree hole size seems to be big enough.

  • 54jamesg
    3 years ago

    I have a row planting of these but the ones in direct afternoon sun have brown leaves and appear not to be thriving...what do I do, I live in Melbourne Australia

  • sevenseeds
    3 years ago

    @ekinna I also live in the San Francisco Bay area and can share my experience. My Michelia alba was in a pot for some 10 years (up-potted twice, finally in a half wine barrel) doing quite well in dappled sunshine under a privet tree. We decided to remove the privet tree and plant the Michelia alba in the ground. It was planted in a spot that got morning sun and continued sun till about 2:30 - 3:00 in the afternoon. We planted it in March with hopes that it would acclimate to the sun slowly. Unfortunately, the leaves began to brown, so we constructed a sunshade for it, which was not easy because the tree was already about 8+ feet tall. I purchased a camouflage (different shades of green) type netting (you can get it in different sizes with loops on the corners) and tied the corners to ropes which we attached to high points in our garden - we have some really tall camellias, a tall pittosporum, etc. It actually looked quite nice and the Michelia alba was MUCH happier! Because your Michelia is smaller, some bamboo poles and shade cloth would do the trick. We took the shade down in the winter months and it did just fine. Now I'm waiting to see what happens. After the winter rains it is doing very well - fingers crossed - letting out new shoots, leaves and some buds all over the place and so far they have not been disturbed by pests - I look closely every day.


    BTW, I also dug a hole 3 times the diameter of the container, the depth of the existing tree in the pot. Then around the diameter of the pot I dug deeper - about a foot. I amended my heavy soil (no light brown clay - just dark soil) with Bumper Crop organic soil builder - about 70% native soil and 30% additive. So the Michelia was on a solid pedestal about 1/2 inch higher than the surrounding soil. I put a mound of mulch around it, but not near the trunk. This was last March (toward the end).


    There are a couple of very tall Michelia alba's planted up on a slope of a house some blocks away from me (in Berkeley) that are huge, at least two stories tall and quite full that do very well in full sun all day - they are mature (20-30 years old) their root systems are well developed and I hope that mine will not always need a shade cloth in the hottest months once established. Also, I have surrounding plantings that have gotten taller in the past year that will create some dappled shade in parts of the afternoon. But in my experience, Michelia alba's do best with plenty of morning sun and some type of shade in the hottest hours of the day. They also love misting on hot days - in order to create humidity. From everything I've heard, it is right not to fertilize during the winter months until any chance of freezing has passed.


    Thank you andr3ana and everyone else for your helpful comments - I'm sure I will have more questions / concerns - my Michelia is far from being out of the woods! Michelia's are beguiling and there is so little information about them out there so I'm grateful to have this forum where we can exchange our experiences. I am open to messages.

  • ekinna
    3 years ago

    @sevenseeds Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It's too late to save our M. Alba now as all the leaves have fallen and even tips have turned browned. 😥 The tree was already about 4 ft tall when we bought it and we eagerly planted it in ground immediately. We followed the plant tag's instructions to the "t" but now I know that it doesn't really like full sun, which is where we planted it. We live in the tri-valley area so afternoon sun can be quite strong. Our friend bought the same tree at the same time but live in the peninsula. Theirs is doing quite well in ground. This is an expensive lesson to learn about this great tree.

  • 54jamesg
    3 years ago

    How long would you need to use the shade cloth. Ours seem to burn but want to recover but they certainly are not flourishing and I am thinking of removing them from the row we have planted. Do I persevere or not? The ones further up the row are bright green and bushy and the ones lower down seem to be struggling in comparison

  • H Ma
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Is it possible to have a M. alba in a pot and have it bloom? If so, how big must it grow until it blooms? I saw a 5 foot plant in a nursery. A worker there recommended that it be planted in ground and wait 3 years before it is capable of blooming. I would love to have this plant but dont want it to grow 30 feet. I live in zone 9b in the California south bay. Thanks

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago

    @H Ma All marcotted or grafted michelia alba trees bloom within one year after they are planted into pot or ground, only michelia alba grown from seed need to grow several years before blooming

  • H Ma
    3 years ago

    That’s great to hear! I appreciate your knowledge as I wasn’t able to find the information while searching on the web. Also do you know if propagating from cuttings is feasible and easily done?

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    3 years ago

    @H Ma Michelia alba is very weak in its regeneration capacity so report of successful cutting has been extremely rare on the internet, main methods to propagate include marcotting & grafting, both are relatively troublesome & time consuming

  • H Ma
    3 years ago

    Thanks again for your expertise! I really excited about getting one this year. My late grandmother had this plant in her yard, it brings back sentimental memories

  • H Ma
    2 years ago

    I bought the champaca alba and transpotted to larger pot 4 da ago. Prior to transplant I had 3-4 leaves on a couple of branches with brown/black spots. Today I noticed that more leaves and branches are affecTed. I am worried that it may die. Is this normalbor is there something I can do to circumvent this? Thanks in advance





  • H Ma
    2 years ago

    I bought the champaca alba and transpotted to larger pot 4 da ago. Prior to transplant I had 3-4 leaves on a couple of branches with brown/black spots. Today I noticed that more leaves and branches are affecTed. I am worried that it may die. Is this normalbor is there something I can do to circumvent this? Thanks in advance





  • sevenseeds
    2 years ago

    @H Ma - How much sunlight is your Michelia alba getting? Is it morning? Afternoon? How many hours? What exposure?

  • H Ma
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    It is northeastern exposure with 2-3 hours direct sun late morning til afternoon (11-2pm). i am an hour south of San Francisco in zone 9b Santa Clara. It’s been hotter than usual so I keep soil moist (watering every 2 days) and misting the leaves once daily

  • Grant Yang (Sydney Australia)
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    @H Ma @H Ma Looking at the very first photo you posted with relatively complete tree image, the mid left twig of the tree is still growing new leaves at its top so looks like the tree is alive well, as long as some twig or branches are still growing new leaves the tree should have no problem to survive. Just make sure adequate fertilizer, water & sunshine are provided. Your tree might be still in adaptation process since being brought into your home from its original place. At first few weeks since being bought no need to fertilise too much, water should also be kept to minimal.

  • H Ma
    2 years ago

    Will do, thanks Grant! I bought the tree 3 weeks prior. I made sure to choose a tree that had signs of new leaf growth and possibly even a flower (no luck). This tree was originally quite healthy looking apart from a couple of small brown spots on one of the lower branch. I kept in in the original pot for 3 weeks to acclimate to the positlion. Although a couple of more leaves appeared to have additional brown spots, it looked overall healthy. I decided to transpot it because the tree seems quite squished and I also noted how compact the surface roots look. Keeping a close eye on it and hoping for the best. I just wanted to be sure if it was not fungus and/or spider mites or anything other serious problems so I can proactively diffuse the situation. Here’s a photo from a top branch



  • H Ma
    2 years ago

    Will do, thanks Grant! I bought the tree 3 weeks prior. I made sure to choose a tree that had signs of new leaf growth and possibly even a flower (no luck). This tree was originally quite healthy looking apart from a couple of small brown spots on one of the lower branch. I kept in in the original pot for 3 weeks to acclimate to the positlion. Although a couple of more leaves appeared to have additional brown spots, it looked overall healthy. I decided to transpot it because the tree seems quite squished and I also noted how compact the surface roots look. Keeping a close eye on it and hoping for the best. I just wanted to be sure if it was not fungus and/or spider mites or anything other serious problems so I can proactively diffuse the situation. Here’s a photo from a top branch



  • Marc Le
    2 years ago

    i just created a Michelia Alba facebook community group hopefully to make it easier for us to learn and grow Michelia Alba

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/micheliaalba/

  • jasmine UKzone9a
    2 years ago

    I start growing michella alba at Jan. this year. it's not easy for me to grow m.alba. I grow mine indoor under grow light. because I don't have a garden and my windowsills are occupied with other plants. when I bought it. 99% of its roots are dead. only half of its taproot is alive which is about 1 to 2cm long. I use rooting hormone powder and sphagnum moss to make it grows a lot healthy root. but then 1 month later. I notice all the baby leaves dry out before they grow. then I find out 80% of its root rot and die again. again, I coat all the roots with rooting hormone powder and grow it in a small clay pot with AL/tapla's 511 mix. now, it start growing healthy root again and there are a few leaves growing. phew, what a journey!

  • HU-260442371
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I was wondering if my michelia champaca is a grafted tree. The seller informed me that it was grafted but to me it looks like from seeds. Here is a picture of it. Can anyone help me to identify it.

    Thanks

    Savy


Sponsored
2 Navy Lane, LLC
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars18 Reviews
Loudoun County's Leading Interior Designer