Does the pot have lots of holes? I feed my trees in the winter time half of the recommended dosage of fertilizer, they need to eat even in winter (talking about container trees).

If you would feed the tree, I think it would be OK.

It does have plenty holes and drains nicely. I’m going to feed it. I’ll keep you posted thanks for the advice.

Looks to me like a response to colder and damper conditions than the tree would like and / or too much shade. That yellow vein chlorosis could indicate the roots are overall healthy but aren't taking up enough nutrients (if your temps are warm, this would mean under-fertilized; if your temps are cool, the roots may not be active enough) OR your roots are stressed (too much water, phytophthora root rot, etc) and not taking up enough nutrients.

It is underfed.... enuf said.

Thanks John! I’ll start feeding it and hopefully it turns around soon.

Unfortunately my Meyer is still not too happy. It has been fertilized with Oscomote Plus and 1-2 waterings with FP. It still has a bigillion blooms with one area of new growth. A couple leaves fall every few days. On warmer sunny days it gets very droopy like this and looks slightly better in the morning. The dirt Is still moist at the top from the last rain. I moved it to decrease some of its sun exposure. I will say our weather here has been slightly off. Lots of rain over the last two weeks. No frosts or anything. I am trying to just stay patient, but it is tough seeing so many leaves fall and yellow. I have not went back to the FP because it looked worse after feeding it. Any one have experience with FP solidifying slightly. I am assuming it is because of the freezing temps a few months ago. I assume I should buy a new jug. Any other input, advice, or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

I think you need to be patient. Some leaf loss is not unusual when the tree is blooming. Meyers are finicky.

Is your mix too coarse to retain enough water for your temps?

I don’t think so. It is in a modified 511 (211). When watering it thoroughly it will drain out the bottom over a few days slowly. It was in a cactus mix prior which almost killed it in the summer due to dryness. I’ve tested with a moister meter and it is not near dry although I can’t test at the bottom near the deeper roots. The one spot of new growth doesn’t ever droop it is just the rest of the tree.

Matt

Ok I’ll start feeding more regularly. Problem is we have another 5 day storm coming. If I can feed a little twice a week should not water log it especially when the sun comes back out. Hopefully I have some better photos for you in a few weeks. Thanks for the input.

Matt, are you saying you have had cold snaps? Why not use a wooden dowel? And, are you making sure the fertilizer solution is acidic?

Mike

Hey Mike,

We did have a cold snap, but these changes have been going on since last fall slightly. I have not check the fertilizer acidity. Also I never added lime to my mix. At the 2-1-1 purportions there is a lot of peat in it. I have never added the lime because my pH meter shows neutral or slightly below it. I was questioning the accuracy of the meter, but has worked well in the past. I’ll check my water and FP solution pH this weekend. Might be placebo (wishful thinking) but since I fed it a few days ago I believe the leaf dropping has slowed. Maybe I’ll use the dowel trick because my moister meter sometimes shows very wet when really the tree is dry lower down and is thirsty. We have had a pretty big storm (warm storm) roll through the past several days. I’m wondering how it will look next week with the sunny temps coming.

Matt

Hey all,

Unfortunately I don’t have a good update. Every day my poor Meyer looks even worse. I have been fertilizing with FP every watering and have found maybe slightly less yellowing but it is still very droopy. It continues to lose leaves every few days. It is blooming like a beast right now. I tested my water and FP. The pH it is pretty neutral. I Tested the soil pH and it is also almost 7 or ever so slightly below 7. I thought with adding more peat the mix would be acidic. I am slowly giving up hope. The pic was taken after a rain storm so that is why there some water below it. I have the tree under my pergola so it gets sun and shade. I would love to put it out in full sun but that just makes it look worse. I have a small Washington navel in the same mix and it looks good.

Matt

It is doubtful yellowed leaves will recover; they will eventually fall. So much bloom takes a lot of energy. Look at any new growth; if it looks fine, the tree is probably fine; the old yellowing leaves are how the tree WAS, when you were under feeding it; new growth tells you how the tree IS. Believe it or not you may still be under feeding. Meyers are heavy feeders, especially when blooming and/or fruiting.

Thanks for the insight John. Your right it’s probably because the yellow leaves fell off. I am hoping for new growth but only have that one spot that I added to the picture. That one spot has some new growth it is just very slow coming in. It is not droopy like the rest of the plant. I’ll feed again tomorrow. I will likely take all the fruit off the tree if it doesn’t thin itself in the next month.

Do you think I need to add something to lower the pH a little?

To my eyes the plant is either underwatered or a root / soil problem prevents it picking up enough water (and nutrients). Underwatering and water logging often produce similar drooping leaf appearance. So does salt buildup in the soil sometimes because it prevents the osmotic root uptake. Your problem is currently neither underfertilising nor related to pH in my view. All but the most finicky of stocks are fine with neutral pH or slightly above this. I base my opinion on your comments about drooping supported by the pics.

I would move the tree so it wouldn't get so much rain so you control the amount of water the tree receives. Have you pulled the tree out of the pot to see how the roots look?

I have not pulled up the tree to check out the roots. It is pretty large and I fear pulling it up may stress it even more. My plan was to eventually put it in the ground. I know doing it now may not be the best due to its current state, but I think in the long run it would do better. If I am going to do this year I would rather do it sooner than later because I don’t want to do it when it is really hot out.

When you repot it did you transfer it complete with cactus soil rootball in the new medium or did you bare root it first? In case you transferred with the root ball intact one thing to investigate is whether you have a problem with the original root ball remaining too dry. In any case I would pull the tree out to investigate.

Nik ,

I was thinking the same thing. I took off as much of the old soil as possible. I hosed it, manipulated, and tried dunking it. There was still quite a bit remaining but I got off as much as I could.