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kitstar starts with ... Hi, We moved house during winter and inherited this mandarin tree. I removed heaps of ivy that was growing around the base of the tree, as well as 2 other saplings that I didn't recognise. The leaves were already yellow/green when we moved in. When spring started, the tree flowered like crazy and for a while there were heaps of tiny mandarins, though the leaves stayed yellow-ish. At that time I gave it some rooster booster. A few weeks later, the leaves were still yellow-ish, so gave it some epsom salts diluted with water, waited about 6 weeks and nothing changed, so I gave it some more epsom salts (the pack said to wait 4 weeks then reapply) and I was told to dig in some dynamic lifter too, so I did that. It's been about 2 weeks and hasn't really changed, except that at the time I took these pictures I could only count 3 baby mandarins on the tree. I water it deeply about 2-3 times a week, depending on the weather. I also saw these little spore things underneath some of the leaves too. Are they bad? I cut it back a bit in winter as there seemed to be a lot of dead wood there (is that normal?)... I'm thinking maybe I should've cut it back some more (we don't have a ladder so I couldn't trim the top)? I've never grown any kind of citrus before - I'm going to wait and see if it gets better, but any advice on how I'm supposed to care for the tree would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance! :) Jacelyn
| About the Author Jacelyn Nollamara 9th December 2013 5:35pm #UserID: 2336 Posts: 21 View All Jacelyn's Edible Fruit Trees |
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phil@tyalgum says... Don't cut those spore things off the leaves, they are the eggs of the lacewing which is a beautiful insect, the larvae of which do a fantastic job in the garden eating all kinds of nasties like aphids. Your tree should recover with all the attention you have given it, new growth will probably be a lot heathier when it appears. Keep up trace elements as well which you can buy from garden centres or hardware shops | About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 9th December 2013 6:13pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brain says... I think you are doing great for your tree already. The existing leaves will not change colour. You will only notice improvements on the new growth. spores/spots - probably bad - spray with white oil (if bad insects) or fungicide. Suggest take a leave or two to your local nursery and ask for specific advice. Dead branches - yes normal for some die back, after all the tree was neglected - take out all dead wood. I'd only trim the green branches for shape and size. If you remove too much, you won't have much mandarin this year and next. Overall, I'd hold off the epsom salt and any other fertiliser until a) you see new growth and b) the new growth are established. (otherwise all the new growth will be 'burnt' off). My guess is, it may take another month or two before you see new growth. Watch for the nodes swelling. Good luck. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 9th December 2013 6:14pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
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People who Like this Answer: kitstar Original Post was last edited: 9th December 2013 6:14pm | ||||||||||
kitstar says... Thanks so much, Phil and Brain for your advice and reassurances! Aaah of course now it makes sense that only the new growth would show improvement - I had been scrutinising only the old leaves! oops how embarrassing haha I will follow your advice and wait and see how it goes. Fingers crossed it will come back bigger and better! =) | About the Author Jacelyn Nollamara 10th December 2013 2:55am #UserID: 2336 Posts: 21 View All Jacelyn's Edible Fruit Trees |
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