Hi Denise, I was using the Jobes once a week but the F.E in small doses every time I watered. It seems that my trees never got enough of the minor and macro nutrients that were readily needed and eventually the leaves starting turning yellow as the roots were starting to rot when both of these fertilizers eventually compacted my soil. Maybe I was using too much? Not enough microbes in my pots to give everything my trees needed at the time? Not sure. That is why I am curious about your success. It would be nice to see what happens using the same stuff I used after a year or two in your case.

Please promise me you will continue to be a vital part of this forum and let me know what happens by next summer or spring? Your input is always appreciated))

Mike

myermike, when I read that you were using the Jobes once a week, I had to go find the application instructions. I found this: https://jobescompany.com/product/jobes-organics-fruit-citrus-granular/ It says every 2-3 months. Here are the instructions for Citrus Tone: https://www.espoma.com/product/citrus-tone/ It says every 60 days too. I guess I will back off on the organic fertilizer as I was doing it about every 30 days. I also use the Osmocote Plus according to the directions. All the research I have read said that fish emulsion is good for your plants. If there is any decline, I will let you know as I am not afraid to say I did something wrong. I don't like it, but will admit it publicly if I gave bad advice. lol.

I didn't realize I was vital. lol. Thank you. I like asking questions and learning out of the ordinary things. I read that the Neptune F.E. leaves the fish oils in their product while the Alaska brand takes it out. It makes me question the validity of the claim that oils are bad for trees. I am no scientist, but if fish oil is good for trees, then why not olive oil because it's plant based? My daughter is going to school to be a chemical engineer so I am going to ask her about it when she is about to graduate in 2 years. lol.

Nancy - I am only speculating but since you are growing entirely under artificial light, there may be some part of the EM spectrum that reacts with the FE components in sunlight that is different than the reaction under grow lights. I was sortof surprised with what I saw when I did it as it mimicked what happens when applying epsom salts to some plants. The effect eventually went away as expected however.

And as an obligatory critter note - when I was about to go out back to sit outside on the patio, I saw one of the banes of my existence and caught a couple pics before it took off like a bat outta hell -

And while out there last evening, it passed by on its "highway", saw me and literally levitated off the fence and flew down to the other end of the row of houses. The squirrel even scared the poor hummer that was at the feeder when it flew by so fast. LOL

Denise, are you kidding? of course you are vital here along with everyone. Your kindness, experience, and concern for others shows and is a huge plus here. Thank you for that. I have always been a huge proponent of F.E, just never realized it might be doing more than just keeping the insects at bay. Thank you! Thank you for the info too.

Jenny, oh boy.lol. How would you like to come home at night to see three darn possums hanging upside down from your grapevines to be caught off guard and at dusk and to be chased out of your yard?? I am scared to death to drive up when I come home now. Going to take the grapes down.. Don't worry, even my cat is afraid of squirrels and he is a male Siamese....

jenny_in_se_pa, I had my husband get me a BB gun/pistol as a gift last year. I hate squirrels in my backyard as they bring fleas along with them. I have a dog that has allergies and don't like giving her any meds unless absolutely necessary as she is a senior and worry about side affects. I shoot at the squirrels as much as possible and I don't think there is enough power in the gun to hurt them physically as I have never seen one fall over from hitting one. lol.. I am a terrible shot anyways, but whenever the squirrels see me come out in the morning wearing a pink bathrobe, they know to run as I shoot in their direction and it scares the heck out of them. lol.

That's a good point Jenny. The rest of my citrus are all lush green, so may have to wait until this little plant gets ready to show some response to fertilizer as the others do. I've received a few yellowish plants from FWG in the past and took them a few months but they did greened up nicely with the Osmocote and Peters alone. I did as Denise suggested and gave the FE to my yellow mandarin directly in addition to the foliar feed I'd done previously. I'll post a pic when it greens up.

Thanks!

Nancy, I too would love to see a pic. There was a point I was using F.E and that soley yellowed mine up. So to see them turn green is just awesome and it could of been something else I was doing wrong years back)

If you post a picture now, can we see what it looks like yellowish?

Good luck and thank you)

I'm on the road at the moment Mike. Will do when I get home tomorrow, but possibly a bit greened up by then. I threw the kitchen sink at it, some tried and true and some would call woo-woo. Osmocote, Peters, iron, fish emulsion, Super Thrive. So not a fair test of FE anymore as too many competitors. I just really wanted to get rid of the yellow in a hurry.

I just got the correct dose of FE from Denise. If things haven't improved in a few weeks I'll zap it with the right dose and take before and after pics.

Here are a few of Denise’s trees:

Here is the nzl which has grown quite a bit. The tall branch in back is new

The newest eureka from fwg. Grown at least 12" on each branch since april.

Here is the meyer lemon all filled out.

Thanks Kelley for posting these pictures. Fish emulsion has made a very big difference with my trees. My entry level NZL arrived early March of this year and I was really disappointed with it as it was practically a stick. The branch in the back with the new flush of growth was not on the tree when I received it. It has doubled in height.

The Eureka arrived in April of this year as well. The top portion of the tree is all new. My heart is going to break if I have to trim it to get it through the sunroom door in December. lol.

Lastly, the Meyer lemon is a true dwarf from FWG and has made some dramatic growth since last year. This tree was kept in the same pot and soil for over 10 years and not fertilized monthly until I joined some FB groups and this forum. I only knew to fertilize quarterly and it looked pretty bad and was too embarrassed to show pictures of it. I gave a small pruning during the spring time and it really took off after the repotting. I cannot believe I was tempted to sell it this year. This tree is 36"x36".

All of this possum and squirrel talk has me cracking up!! My husband says I’m going to be this lady one day LOL!

Kelly, I hope that all your tree,s should look like the one on the last picture, pretty nice!

If you make a sudden move and bite, that means a bunch of painful shots, not taking that change.

Properly prepared, I hear it tastes like chicken

Awww. Poor thing.

Makes my vegetarian heart ache.

Nancy, have you noticed a difference yet with your tree after applying the fish emulsion? I know it has only been a day. lol

BK, i am sure glad you post that picture, if i would have done that, whole hell would break loose again, so thanks, Bob. There is something about me that irritates them.

Ha ha Denise. No.....still yellow. It’s really never been that bad but definitely yellowish on the lower third and pale leaves above. If it hasn’t changed a bit in the next couple months then its prob just going to have to take it’s sweet time absorbing some nitrogen.

Nancy, Gee, I hope that it doesn't take months for it to change. That would make a liar out of me and I would be so embarrassed about bragging how good that stuff is. I hope you took a picture of it how it looks now and maybe compare it to some point in time like a week or two.

I don't feel bad for rodents, and theres NO SHORTAGE, LOL. Anybody try Ironite in the bag for yellow leaves, moderate does only, and don't spill it on concrete.

Brooklyn, in addition to the fish emulsion, Osmocote and Peters I put some Ironite on the Yosemite Gold too. And still makes me sad for the squirrel. My neighbor friend would really freak- she's given CPR to a seagull who hit her window.

Denise, here's what I've done so far. When I potted The Yosemite Gold I put my usual on- Osmocote Plus- Peters and Superthrive. I added Ironite because of the yellow. Then when I saw the thread about FE, I foliar fed with 1 TBSP/gal FE. Then I got your info on applying it directly. So on Weds applied again but directly. But since I already foliar fed thought I'd better be safe and just do half your recommended dose. There's nothing happening, but was too soon to expect anything, right? Have had the tree about 9 days.

The other thing is some of my small young trees got burned after the foliar feed FE. (The only tree that got the full treatment as described above is that one Yosemite Gold tree. The rest only were FE foliar fed.) I was careful to apply at night, and then next morning was sure that everything was dry on the leaves before I switched the lights on. Maybe something to do with the tender age of the trees and the flourescent lights.

Nancy, How far back did you add the Peters and Superthrive? Nine days? I worry a lot about over fertilizing which is why I asked. I have never foliar fed so I don't know how everything will work out. I am glad you diluted it more than what I recommended as I didn't know you used all those other products beforehand. I have never used Peters or Ironite myself.

I have always fertilized as such whenever I pot. And yes it was 10 days ago now for the Osmocote and Peters but each just 1/4 strength to start. The Superthrive is B1 so not worried about that. Ironite is 1-0-1 and used 1/2 strength of that too. The foliar feed was a few days after that, and your 1/2 strength recipe after that. Watching the tree closely. Any indication of over fertilizing and I will flush. I'll wait a 10-14 days see how he's doing and perhaps up things depending. In retrospect I wish I had just stuck with the Osmocote and Peters and put the FE off for another time but I got jazzed at everyone's reports.

I'm another fan of FE and believe it rescued my Bouquet de Fleurs sour orange which seems to be finicky as both Laura and Jinny had problems with it last year. Hope they read this and can update on how their plants have done.

The BdF came with light green leaves from Four Winds and for 6 weeks did nothing but get more yellow. I'd been using FE as a weekly spray for scale and in early July decided to pour the leftovers into the BdF and see if it would help. Before that it had Osmocote when first repotted and then Foliage Pro with every other watering.

Late May when first purchased,

6 weeks later in early July with yellow leaves just 2 days after FE

Mid August, 6 weeks after initial FE watering

New growth started about 2 weeks after I first watered with FE and since then I've only used it a couple more times but I do sprinkle on a tiny bit of Miracle Gro 24-8-16 before each watering following how Brian fertilizes his plants.

No pictures yet but my Gold Nugget is another FE success story as it too didn't grow at all until I applied FE about 2 weeks ago when I noticed its leaves were yellower than when it first came. Now the leaves ares still light green but it's got flower buds and new leaves emerging - just in time for the cooler weather. :-)

Nancy, in case you're wondering on dosage, the first one was 2 Tbsp/gal since I was spraying for scale but since then it's been 1 Tbsp/gal about 1x/week or maybe every 2 weeks but I do use the Miracle Gro the other times.

Carie

Thanks Carie. I'll resume FE in a week or so. Wow what a change in your tree! I'm excited to see what will happen with mine.

In real life the leaves are not as dark green, more of an apple green but what doesn't show in the picture is that they are shiny and just look really healthy. Makes the other trees look dull and sad lol. I really should use FE consistently on all the trees and see what happens.

Carie

Nancy - how is the pH of your water? Some of the stuff needs to be in slightly acidic aqueous solution to allow the target elements (e.g., iron) to be made available to the plant. I know I and others usually add a tablespoon of vinegar per gallon to granular and liquid ferts (like FP) that are diluted (I haven't done it with FE though, if using for foliar spray).

Hi Jenny. I use rainwater and it's 5.6 so think I'm good there. Thanks for mentioning.

But.....I think the yellow leaves on the Yosemite Gold are greening up. Was looking last night and while the lower third is definitely yellow the upper is greener. And I see a beautiful beginning of a flush. it's not really a fair contest though as 11 days ago when it was all yellow-green, I added Osmocote Plus, Peters 25-5-15 and Ironite. Two days later the foliar spray of FE. Then a direct application of FE a few days after that. So don't know which is helping or if all.

I've been asked to take pictures and unfortunately they are not going to be helpful. The YG is under T5HO fluorescents, but immediately adjacent there are LED lights which throw their purple cast. The tree is hard to move in a 7.5 gal.

I'll let it be for a couple weeks and then add some more half strength FE if it's still looking yellow.

Nancy, shoot. Now we will never know if it was just the F.E or a combination of all you added..)) Looking good though! Congrats

I too use rain water as much as I can. In order for me to get mine a rich green, it's a must I use vinegar if I resort to tap water.

Keep doing a good job

Mike

I mix a teaspoon of miracid fertilizer into my fertigation water and my trees seem to enjoy it, though my tap water is pretty neutral anyway. Otherwise I just use water from the hose to water my trees.

Regarding the BdF orange leaf color, I think that’s just how sour oranges grow. My Seville flushes the same pale green color and the leaves darken up over the course of 2-3 months.

But that's the thing, the BdF had no growth of any sort for 6 weeks until I used FE on it. During that time I fertilized with Miracle Gro and Foliage Pro just like with my other plants but nothing happened other than getting more yellow. Then 2 weeks after the FE it began flushing. Maybe it had finally settled and was ready to grow but my Gold Nugget is doing the same thing. It spent all summer dormant and the leaves got more yellow despite adequate fertilizer and water. Now after an application of FE there are buds all over and some new leaves are emerging. I generally use rain water but also spray with the hose too. Adding 1 Tbsp vinegar/gal doesn't seem to make any difference.

Every tree that I have used FE on is in flush, save for one, but it is the most recently potted tree - I believe the roots are still adjusting. It could be a coincidence, time of year, etc. I do know that with the change of the position of the sun, my trees are getting less direct sunlight now, but 5x the amount of growth. My VPE that was recovering from root rot put out a leaf here or there. Now it’s covered in hundreds of new leaves. The only problem with all of the new growth? CLM has arrived :(

Kelley, welcome to my world. lol. I have CLM and whiteflies. I check the new growth daily and just rub out the CLM worms which allows me to salvage the leaf. I was surprised to find a leaf that had 2 worms on it on the bottom and another on top. On a different tree, 1 had tunneled down a young branch too. I didn't know that was possible, but he's history too. lol.

VPE in full flush

Beautiful coloring!!

How beautiful Kelley! I'm waiting a couple weeks before reapplying FE to my trees but can't wait.

Kelly, that is some nice color you have there. Thanks for sharing. Good job too)))

Kelly, I have been using the Neptune's Harvest F.E for years now. I use it to spray my trees because it's cold pressed and it's local. Love how it helps them stay healthy.

Does anyone know if FE can be sprayed on phalaenopsis orchids?

Yup. That's how I treat mines. I killed all but 3 due to cold window sills but never an issue with bugs ad they grow pretty good)

Petuniafish, how do your trees look now?

The Yosemite Gold has a beautiful flush, and maybe the rest of it is a bit greener. The bottom third that was really yellow, most of leaves fell off. About three of the youngest trees have tiny bit brown crispiness on a few of the leaves- they got too much of everything. My other trees were all a nice deep green previously and many were flushing already so not much was expected of them.

I think I'll keep to my previous fertilizing schedule for now unless green leaves start to pale up or I want to stimulate growth. Maybe hit the Yosemite Gold lightly with FE a time of two yet. But I think what I have going with the Osmocote and Peter's for is working great and don't want to mess with what seems to be working. Just watch- things always start to go south as soon as I say something like that!

Thanks for following up.

Nancy, did your trees ever get a dark green? Mine get so dark green that I can see a bit of yellow in the veins.

Nancy, for most, things always start to go south when thes estupid shorter cold days arrive, ha, So don't feel bad.

Are you saying that Fish Emulsion is making no difference in the color of your leaves?

Mike

Denise and Mike-

Have to say that most of my trees were fairly deep green to start with. So not a noticeable change. Some trees that were a little lighter green have darkened a bit, but not overwhelmingly so. The Yosemite Gold's yellow leaves all fell, and the paler leaves on top greened up somewhat, but are nowhere near as dark as my other trees leaves. I might wait a couple weeks and shoot the YG again. It did flush beautifully and could stand some more green. Overall I'll probably just keep to Osmocote and Peters, with Foliage Pro here and there. The combo has been a winner for me, knock on wood.

Bump for the newbies who have joined.

Thanks for the bump, following :)

I just noticed the picture of Mike's cat. While very strange looking it is quite attractive

Mike Where did you get that cat.

Steve

Steve, I didn't have to get it. It found me and my bed. lol