Normal leaf color for citrus trees--are these OK?

10 years ago

I'm wondering if my trees are showing "normal" leaf color overall (not referring to any leaves yellowing from age or lack of nutrients, etc.).

My #1 tree, Meyer lemon, has, overall, dark green leaves.

My #2 tree, Calamansi, has much paler green-yellow leaves, like a glossy chartreuse color.

My #3 tree, Kishu mandarin, also has paler green leaves, but less yellow tones than the Calamansi.

All are potted up in 5-1-1; all are getting regular (weekly weakly) Foliage Pro and also vinegar. I've had the Meyer since end of April, the Calamansi since June, the Kishu since July. They all seem to be doing OK. Meyer has zillions of flower buds (still wishing for more new leaf growth); Calamansi has several mature fruit and quite a few more tiny fruitlets; Kishu has some new growth with a couple of tiny flowers only.

Is this color disparity normal, or should healthy citrus leaves be dark green across most varieties?

Here's a photo of the three of them in a line-up, but the lighting wasn't good, and all of them appear somewhat darker than they really are. Left to right, Meyer, Calamansi, Kishu:

Thanks for any thoughts/advice!

Sheba

Featured Answer

jinnylea

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hi, Sheba, nice trees.

It looks like your Kishu tree needs to be fed more. It looks like the leaves could have a maganese/zinc deficiency. You said you were watering and feeding the trees weekly, weakly. I would feed it at full strength, 1 tablespoon FP per gallon of water on the next feeding... (along with the vinegar in your water)

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Comments (8)

johnmerr
10 years ago
They all look very good; keep doing what you do. FYI, the Meyer, if well cared for will have new growth that is reddish brown in color, later changing to light green, and finally to darker green.
shebabee
Original Author
9 years ago
Sorry for slow response, John! Thank you for your reply.

I can see that my Meyer is really greening up now--very pleased. Just a few yellow leaves at the top. I think the calamansi is greening up as well. I think maybe that when I bought it, most of the leaves were young and thus light colored. Now I see that the lower older leaves are darker green. It seems pretty happy overall.

Meyer (left), Calamansi (right):

I'm still wondering, though, about the Kishu. I think the leaves are too pale and hungry. I am feeding regularly and giving some vinegar. Here are some photos from this week to show what I'm talking about:

Kishu leaves:

It seems hard to capture the real color of the Kishu in my photos; really all the leaves look pale to me. Here's a photo from above showing all three trees together, which, I think, makes it more clear.

Left to right, Kishu; (rose plant); calamansi; Meyer lemon:

What do you guys think? Also, there were a few new leaves emerging when I brought the Kishu home a couple of months ago, and one or two blossoms. No other buds to speak of. Should more be happening with this tree at this point?

Thanks for any thoughts! Regards,

Sheba
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shebabee
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, Jinny. When I brought it home (July 30) I had thought that just potting it up in the 5-1-1 and starting weak/weekly Foliage Pro + vinegar would be sufficient. I don't want to overdo the feeding, but I assume it should be looking better by now. Unless others chime in and suggest more wait-and-see, I'll begin feeding more liberally.

Sheba
Laura LaRosa (7b)
9 years ago
I agree that they look a bit hungry. I use 1 tbsp FP with vinegar a couple of times a week if that is any help.
shebabee
Original Author
9 years ago
Laura, do you mean 1 tbsp FP per gallon? That's a lot more than I've been giving any of mine! (And how much vinegar per gallon do you give?) Thanks!

Your trees always look gorgeous in your photos--I've noticed how green they are.

S.
Laura LaRosa (7b)
9 years ago
Hi Sheba! Thanks! Yes, I give them 1 tbsp per gallon, but only about 1/2 tsp vinegar. Now I measured the pH of my water when figuring out how much vinegar to use. I get it to around 6, but that may be different for your water depending on where it starts. I just use a cheap pH testing kit for aquariums. I do water thoroughly between fertilizing to make sure I wash away the salts.
shebabee
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you, Laura. I gave my three citrus a good meal this morning. I'll up the FP especially on the Kishu now. I haven't done a pH test yet but probably should. I'm optimistic, as my Meyer really greened up over the past month or two, so I expect the Kishu will as well. I think it must not have been fed for a long while before I took it home.