Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[mullenium]

Looks like it might be sick.. When I Bought it initially a couple older leaves looked yellowing on the edge with the veins staying green.. Since then more look this way, and the new leaves look pale green to almost yellowish

What kind of deficiency coul this be? Or could it be over or under water?

[Dauntless]

From what you describe, it sounds like iron chlorosis.

[ajbcirc]

Sounds like iron deficiency. Get some ironite or some dispersol.

[mullenium]

[mullenium]

i bought some ironite spray, but its only 1% iron.. and its rated 6-4-1 as a fert..

is this good enough?

got it at lowes because i have a gift card. i saw at summer winds though they have one that specifically says for iron chlorosis(sp?)

which would be better?

[ajbcirc]

Ideally you want some chelated iron for instant action. You're not buying this for fertilizer, so 0-1-1 or 1-0-0 mixes are ok.

If you're going to Lowe's, I'd return the Ironite and get this:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_51944-38888-99401_?productId=3083599&site=shopLocal

Green Light Iron / Soil Acidifier

[phoenixtropicals]

It's rare for citrus to get yellow from iron deficiency here, unless they are overwatered. I am still only watering my citrus every two weeks currently.

[phoenixtropicals]

I was also thinking. New growth often comes out lighter in color than the older leaves and darkens up as it gets older. This could also be what you are seeing. I see leaves on the rest of your plant, in the background, that look fairly good, so if you aren't overwatering you probably don't need to do anything. No plant looks perfect, especially in our alkaline soil. You can often do more harm by over reacting than by just letting nature take its course. By the way. Is that plant in a pot?

[mullenium]

no this plant is in the ground..

remember that spot with my minnola tangelo that got sick..with the poor drainage

i pulled it out and reconditioned the hole digging deeper, and with more gypsum and added some gravel on the bottom, i also took out most of the compost and used native soil mixed with sand.. then i planted this guy in the same spot since it was larger and figured more acclimated root wise to sort of "take over" the hole and figured it would be okay

but i dont think thats why the leaves look like this.. it could be too wet since this spot drainage wasnt that great remember? I thought the added gypsum might solve it but it might take awhile for the gypsum to do its thing..

at first i had it on my drip emitter at 2gph twice a week for 90min just to get it settled in, but last week i plugged the emitter and am going to start watering by hose like my trovita orange which is doing great

maybe ill just hold off and see what happens.. the guys at the citrus forum on gardenweb suggest zinc or magnesium/manganese deficiency.. hmm

[phoenixtropicals]

Yah, I think twice a week is too much. As I recall, you only want to do the frequent watering schedule for a newly planted citrus for the first month or so. I think you are seeing nutrient deficiencies for sure, but they are due to the overwatering. Adding a bunch of stuff to soil to try to compensate will just stress out your tree even more. Just cut back on the water and I think you'll be good.

Citrus don't actually need the greatest drainage as long as they are watered properly. I have a tangerine in my yard that is planted where the ground seems to turn into a concrete parking lot about 2 feet below the surface. It just took longer to get established because of this, but its doing great now.

I also think your best off not adding anything like fertilizer, elements, etc. to the soil for at least a year after planting. Let the tree grow some roots and go looking for its nutrition. If you have trouble with the tree handling the heat when things get hotter, the first thing I recommend is to paint all of the exposed bark with 50% water to white latex paint mixture. Trees that are fighting off sunburn all the time spend their energy trying to heal up damaged bark rather than leafing out.

Good luck.