Q.
I have lime, orange and lemon trees in large individual pots. I have mulch on the soil, add citrus fertiliser a couple of times a year and keep them watered. I notice with the lemon tree especially that some of the green leaves have turned quite yellow. Otherwise the tree and dark green new lemons look fine. Any suggestions please? Or is this normal? Thanks, Mickey.
A.
Yellow leaves are usually a sign of lack of magnesium. Being in pots nutrients leach out a lot quicker than in the soil so regular feeding is important. Liquid feeding over summer every couple of weeks will help plants get through the hot summer months and avoid yellow leaves. Don’t feed the tree now as you don’t want to push soft new growth that doesn’t have time to harden off before winter. Give the citrus regular waterings with Seasol seaweed based plant tonic, and in spring mix Tui Epsom Salts up in a watering can and apply around the tree.
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Is yellowing on the leaves of my citrus in pots normal? Comments
I have a similar problem with my potted mandarin. Can seaweed soaked in a bucket of water then adding a small amount to a bucket of water give the same results? How much Epsom salts do you add in Spring?
Josette Howell
Hi Josette, you would need to soak the seaweed for 24 hours to get the salt out of it and then leave it in the bucket to soak for a few weeks before using the seaweed liquid. I would not recommend doing this with container grown citrus as there is no buffer in a pot like there is with soil if the salt concentration is too high from the seaweed, which would burn the roots. I would use Seasol. I would add one teaspoon of Epsom salts to 5L of water for container grown plants. Also use a balanced fertiliser such as Osmocote Tree, Shrub and Citrus controlled release fertiliser for container grown citrus. Thanks, Jenna - Tui Team
jenna