Have you checked the emitters on that container to see if either they're clogged or came off? Leaf drop can be too much or too little water and either thing could be the cause. Those little emitters do both all the time.

Other than that, I'd look at any other factors that could be different for just that container.

Like, do you or a neighbor, have a cat that may have decided that particular one is great to do it's business in, or has the lighting changed for some reason on just that tree, neighbor trimmed a tree that was shading it part of the day.? Is the potting soil in that pot the same age as the others? A little sleuthing maybe.
That's all I can think of.

I checked the emitter tubing and it's functioning properly. Now that it's cooler, though, perhaps I could cut down on the watering and see if that helps at all. Nothing else is different or has changed for the tree.

You are probably dealing with root rot from over watering or soggy roots or by possibly cold. Just because you have others in the same setup dose'nt matter.

Yikes, just came back from vacation and a LOT more trees are dropping leaves. the 88-2 is almost bare now. I cut back on the watering schedule but it was raining so that data point is useless. Freaking out a little. Not sure what my next move is.

Okay, can you check your pot, Serge? Sounds like you may be retaining too much water. Dig down to the bottom of the pot to see how it looks down there.

Patty S.

I think it might be dry tomorrow - I'll take a look then. The in-ground stuff is all fine. The stuff in the planters is showing some stress.

Back from vacation and things are worse. Almost everything is showing signs of suffering. Leaf drop, branch die-back, etc. The 88-2 is a goner. A once robust cocktail grapefruit dropped 1/2 or more of its leaves and all its fruit and looks terrible and has black ends of branches.

I guess I have a soil and/or pest problem. I've posted a pic of a Page Mandarin tree. The black stuff is not dirt - it's sticky. I am assuming it's sooty mold? I've been 100% organic up to this point but am willing to use anything to save these trees. Will some kind of soil drench help? A systemic? Pretty bummed over here.

Pull the trees out of the container and re-pot in another, smaller container using a more porous mix, Serge. Watch the amount of water it gets - we're headed for more rain twice this week. Sooty mold is usually a secondary symptom due to some sucking insect, so look for scale, spider mites, etc. Treat accordingly (Neem oil, insecticidal soap). I'm pretty sure your 1/2 whisky barrels may not be draining well enough. Check the bottom of the barrels to see if they are soggy after you re-pot. I'm guessing your drip system is probably providing a bit too much water over time. It may be fine once the trees are bigger and the roots fill the container, but for now, you may just be overwatering :-)

Patty S.

Serge, as Patty suggested - - - also it would not hurt to apply AgriFos a few times (at 2-3 week intervals). I have had "goners" come back so do as above, allow for great drainage and give them time.
good luck! - George

I would normally suggest this, Becauseican, but it doesn't look like phytophthora to me. Since serge used bagged soil, it would be unlikely to be phytophthora. It won't hurt, that's for sure, but it just looks like too much water collecting in very large containers, without enough root system to absorb it fast enough to prevent soggy soil at the bottom of the containers. And with all our rain, if serge hasn't had time to re-pot, I would cover up the pots so they don't get even more water with all the rain we've had. When a tree gets stressed, as I suspect that's what's going on with the soil and roots, it becomes susceptible to insect infestation. Which, with the sooty mold, would indicate some sort of sucking insect infestation - scale, mites, aphids. So, a little work ahead of serge I think. I think if he uses something more porous, he could re-plant in the whisky barrels, and just reduce the amount of water. I had the exact opposite happen to me this summer - my drip systems I have set up for my trees in 1/2 whisky barrels stopped working (have yet to figure out what's up, but suspect a leak in the station, reducing water pressure to zero for those containers). They started to look poorly and I checked the soil - bone dry. Some water perked them right up, again. I'll address the watering issue after the holidays, and patch up the undoubted leak in this particular station, most likely due to my dogs running past some of the drip lines, and ripping them out :-(

Patty S.

My father in law shut off the supply to my drip-irrigated container bamboo while my wife and I were on vacation for 2 weeks. I feel your pain!

It's finally dry enough to go check out the soil.

I use a variant of the 5-1-1 mix, with bark fines, kellogg raised bed soil, and perlite. I add some osmocote+ and then water with some FP.

I will definitely dry out the trees...but what do I do about the sucking insects? Spinosad? Imidacloprid? I can wash off the sooty mold (oh boy there's a job).

Well, looking over the pictures posted (again), i'd suppose its possible that they din't get enough water. Or more specifically they dried out more than they could tolerate. If they indeed dried out excessively - even once, then my experience is a slow recovery - you will need patience.
For the bugs, i use a mix of Spinosad and Neem oil. I keep a sprayer full of it and spray aggressively. If scale is the issue, i hit them with highly diluted Isopropyl Alcohol from a small sprayer. There is lots of info here on the forum - search for it.
BTW: It takes a while to kill the scale.
Also, I recall suggesting testing the irrigation water pH. If its over 8 i suggest adding some vinegar (1 Tbsp/gal) in addition to the Foliage Pro to help the roots absorb.
- Good luck and keep us posted! - George

Hi George - thanks for the tips. I took Patty's advice and went down into the soil. It's wet but not sludgy. I cut off all irrigation and it's been just rainwater for a week. Of course, it's been pouring for a week so I might take Patty's advice and cover the soil for a while. BTW, they weren't underwatered - that I am sure of.

I'll hit the up with Agri-Fos and get busy with spinosad/neem.

Meanwhile...when digging up the soil I found these little orb/ball/sacs - they burst when squeezed. What are they and do they call for any action??

Snail eggs.

Patty S.

Hot damn, they're everywhere. Thanks, Patty.