I think I know what Jim means by "deep watering", and if he means watering until water leaches from the bottom of the container, then I would go him one better. I always water a containerized citrus tree until at least 20% of the water leaches out of the bottom on the pot, every time. It should be done ESPECIALLY in areas with hard water, or water high in soluble salts, to avoid a toxic build up. I do not know what is in the "tonic" portion of Vitamin B-1 plus tonic, but citrus trees themselves manufacture their own Vitamin B-1. In fact most all plants do. Perhaps Jim will tell us what nutrients are contained the the tonic, I would be interested to know - thanks. - Millet
Thanks for your replies. The tree is doing very well now. There is no further deterioration to the leaves that were left and the new growth looks great! I will continue with the new watering method and begin to look for the needed nutrients for later use. Again, thank you so much for all of your help! Angel
Security Brand Vitamin B-1 plus Plant Tonic. Thiamine hydrochloride .01% Boron .02% Chelated Iron .125% Chelated Manganese .125% Chelated Zinc .125% Molybdenum .00005% Derived from Boric acid, Iron sulfate, Manganese sulfate, Sodium molydate, Zinc sulfate and EDTA. Perhaps plants can produce their own Thiamine but not too well when the roots have been injured or stressed. We already have evidence of the roots being stressed. I like using this mixture along with a liquid 0-10-10 when we are not quite ready for the granular forms of Citrus fertilizer. We wait for the tree to be planted in the ground to apply higher ratios of the nutrients but what a liquid does is just give a quick drink but can be an effective drink at the same time. The Vitamin B-1 issue has already been addressed in another forum in regards to the myth of it relieving transplant shock. That is not why I use it to soak bare root fruit trees in before their planting. Jim
Fish emulsion, Blood meal, Bone meal, manure, Cottonseed meal and heaven forbid even sludge are considered to be an organic fertilizer. Most of the fertilizers that we use in Agriculture are synthetic. I grow Cotton so I am not going to be opposed to someone using it as a supplemental amendment but we do not get the wide range of nutrients or the residual benefits from the organic fertilizers that we can get from the synthetic fertilizers. Jim
Jim is correct about the best type of fertilizers to be used on citrus. I also only use synthetic fertilizers on citrus. The Tonic portion of the Thiamine solution might make a good foliar spray, as the trace elements are mostly sulfates. It would depend on the tonic's cost versus the cost of using STEM. Thanks Jim, very interesting. It looks almost certain that Angel's tree's problem was indeed a very high level of soluble salts in the root zone. - Millet
Hi everyone! My lemon tree was doing great. There was new growth everywhere, but I have noticed that as the leaves are maturing, they are also turning yellow. Also, some of the small ones have dried and fallen off. I have continued with the same watering method(saturating every fourth day) Please help Thanks for your time, Angel
Angel, why do water the container every fourth day? That is not good for the tree, or for that matter, most any plant. When you water, water deeply, BUT ONLY WATER when the top 3 or three inches of soil become fairly dry. Never water your tree on a schedule - ONLY when it needs watering. Over watering is often harder on a citrus tree, that underwatering. Over watering citrus is the NUMBER ONE killer of containerized or non-containerized citrus trees. If the soil is still moist do not water. - Millet
Millet, I water everyfourth day because that is how long it takes for the top three inches of soil to dry. The weather here is extremely hot. Angel
Your yellow leaves are an indication of deficiencies. Here is a link to nutritional deficiencies that might help. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_CH142 The deficiencies may be somewhat related to the root damage that the plant has undergone. Soil pH can also affect uptake. Foilar sprays may help.
Just a suggestion but I know that in most of the UAE the tap ( fawcett) water is from de-salination plants, plus water is re-cycled. Can it be that the plant does not like the treated water? My lemon was initally unhappy until I started using rain water instead of the "hard" local tap water.
Orchid: Especially in Europe, your rain water will, on average, be quite acidic. Citrus will be happy about this. Also, rainwater will be highly oxygenated, and this is also a good thing. Wonderful nature!
Please help me with my lemon tree, which looks very sick and very yellow. I shall post pictures tomorrow. I'm not really sure what's going on with the poor thing! ida
