hi everyone, I have some kumquat and key lime seedlings and they seem to be having trouble. Some of the leaves are turning bronze or papery brown (sometimes nearly all at once, other times just patches) then the leaves either curl and fall off or just fall off without curling. I can post pictures if that would help. Thanks for helping :), Ryan
I don't have enough experience to know what the problem could be, but the people who do know will probably need more information. what kind of potting medium are they in. how big are they and what sized pot. how much light? indoor or outdoor? how do you water them? do you fertilize? hope they turn out ok. i know how great it is to grow things from seed, and its always disheartening seeing things deteriorate! good luck!
good point :), thank you! They're still pretty small; only three or four true leaves. They were outside for the summer and I just brought them back inside (although the problem pre-dates bringing them inside or in fact putting them out for the summer). They're in 4 or 6 inch pots which are probably a bit too big, plastic pots with soil mixed with some perlite and vermiculite. I fertilize them at each watering with a low dose of liquid based food of 10-15-10 with some trace minerals. I tossed in two pics. thanks again, Ryan
judging from other threads, maybe the problem could be a couple of things (experts will probs correct me, but just some things to look at) Take away the water tray, sitting in water will kill citrus quick - i put gravel in my drip trays, sit the pot on top of the gravel and put some water into the tray, making sure it doesn't reach the pot. The soil looks really wet - is it free draining enough? do you let the soil dry out sufficiently before watering again? If watering too often, and fertilizing each time, might be mineral salts burning them, in which case flushing the pot might be some of the advice you're given. I would look at the fertilizer ratio you are using - i dont think its the right one for citrus, too low in nitrogen, which i understand citrus are very greedy for! hope they get better. i have lemon and grapefruit seeds waiting to germinate, growing from seeds is very rewarding! :) dan
Looks like salt buildup in the soil. How often do you fertilize & do you flush the soil ? Rhynno is correct the soil looks like it is holding too much moisture.
hmmm I hadn't thought to flush the soil so soon. There wasn't any salt build up on the top of the soil but I guess that that's not the only indicator. I took the picture right after watering the plant so I can't say for sure on the drainage although it seems to dry out within two or three days depending on conditions. Thanks for the help! Ryan
Your soil mix looks a bit heavy and your tree may be a bit overpotted a simple soil mix is 50/50 Perilte and Miracle-Gro potting soil or mix. and a smaller container will be more helpful. Dale
