cherry of the rio grande

mullenium · Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192

I have my CORTG planted on the eastern side of my house only getting about 4-5 hours direct sun and figured this would be a good spot as it's still a small seedling (about 1.5ft high)

recently the tips of the leaves started turning yellow/orange ish.. figure it was the sun but didnt think it was a big deal as it only get limited sunlight.

now the leaves are turning brittle, not all of them.. mainly the tips and a few full leaves, and the new growth dosent really look healthy..

I propped up a quick shade structure with a small cutting of shade cloth and 2 of those green plastic/aluminum garden poles broken in half. and installed it directly next to it on the north side to block the sun sort of in a /\ shape.

I dont think the plant has suffered anything major and I think the shade cloth will help I just dont want it to blow away with the monsoon winds as the structure is upright like a boat sail =)

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:40 pm Post subject:

Yah, CRG are hard to grow here. Mine dies back in hot weather too. I find that magnesium sulfate helps with this. Try a small pinch in a gallon of water and pour it around it. Mine has been in the ground for about 3 years and still hasn't fruited. Don't fertilize it with anything else.

mullenium · Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192

now the plant only has about 3 green leaves.. this is normal right?

sorta want to pull it out and just let it grow indoors next to a window, but if they typically die back this much with the heat then i suppose ill leave it. (the branches are stil flexible, so the only thing dieing are the leaves)

where would i get magnesium sulfate?

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:44 pm Post subject:

Yikes. No its not normal to loose that many leaves. Since it seems you have it in the shade I am wondering what the problem is... hmmm. Definitely don't dig it up. It wouldn't survive it.

My CRG has not been advancing much over the many years it has been in the ground. I am hatching a new theory that I might be over watering it, so I am going to try to water it on a citrus schedule instead of a grass schedule. A citrus schedule means that I will water once a week this time of year. I'll let you know how it works out.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:46 pm Post subject:

btw. You can purchase magnesium sulfate at nurseries like Harper's. However, I wouldn't put anything on your plant right now. When a plant is under that much stress you don't want to fertilize it.

grant_in_arizona · Joined: 03 Nov 2010 Posts: 4 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

I'm glad to see this discussion! I just purchased a small one at the AZ Rare Fruit Grower's Sale this past Saturday (along with several other plants). I'm not feeling very hopeful about it now, heh heh, but I'll give it a try and hope for the best. Thanks for the tip about Mg sulfate--duly noted. Thanks.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 10:54 pm Post subject:

My CRG is doing well on the citrus watering schedule. It hasn't grown much but its color is much better than it used to be. It also gets quite a lot of shade. I'm not surprised that it hasn't grown a lot yet since I changed the watering schedule. When plants have suffered from overwatering for years, their roots tend to rot, so it takes them a long time to recover when watered on a better schedule. We'll see what happens. I think if it does finally take off it will be in Spring.

grant_in_arizona · Joined: 03 Nov 2010 Posts: 4 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

Do you think half a day of sun is about right? Mine is a TINY seedling (maybe 3 inches tall at best) so I'm going to leave it in its current 1 gallon pot through the winter and then plant it in the ground in late winter/very early spring. I'm concerned if I unpot it now the root "ball" would fall away as I'm sure the roots haven't filled up the pot yet. In any case, that leaves me time to find a good spot for it, so don't be shy with suggestions. I was thinking on the east side of a solid wall.

I also bought two dwarf fruiting bananas (I've got good old seedy Musa basjoo already and it's given me the bug to try more) and a white sapote so I'll go check out the threads and info on those. I've also got a lot of the usual suspects: several citrus, several dragon fruit, various jatrophas, and far too many plumerias too.

Thanks!
Grant

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 7:15 pm Post subject:

Yes, I think you should keep it in the pot for now. Cherry Of The Rio Grande seem to struggle some in our soil and I think your little plant will grow faster in a pot in potting soil.

mullenium · Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192

man my CRG took a dive, over the summer even with the sun shade it wilted up totally and all the leaves fell off.. the branches are still flexible but no leaves, and it started growing back from the roots but only a couple inches tall...

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:19 pm Post subject:

Yes, they are pretty hard to grow here. I am still seeing if my less frequent watering schedule will help mine to do better. I have had it for 4 years but it hasn't really taken off yet.