My other trees are doing fine but this one needs some help and I have no idea what to do...

Best,

Skinn30a

Skinn, hard to say without seeing the entire tree. Could be a few things. Take a photo of the entire tree, as well as the trunk and the soil beneath the tree, so we can see how the tree is planted.

More photos here:











I'm about 1/4 mile from the beach in Walton County Fl. The soil is sand/shell - i had it analyzed before I planted and ph was 7... I thought that it would be much higher given all of the oyster shell ect. Pruned it back when I planted it and was rewarded with the growth you see in the pictures it also produced some blooms (stress I think) that I pinched off. I fertilize with Citrus tone and granular citrus fertilizer three times a year and drench with Dyna-Gro once a month.

About a month and a half ago I noticed that all of the leaves were a lighter green and that the base of some of the leaves were yellowing. I had a magnesium deficiency so I hit it with a epson salt foliar spray and threw down some Ironite. No reaction what so ever. The leaves that were yellow as the base became completely yellow before falling off and all of the leaves became lighter by the day. The more I look around and ask, the more I think that it's a nitrogen deficiency but I'm hesitant to throw some nitrogen on it this late in the year.

I really want a honeybell in my yard and I'd hate to lose this one - silly but I get attached to my trees! That said, I may end up replacing it with a larger, more established specimen if I can't turn this one around.

This little guy is so top heavy that I have a suspicion that it sat at the nursery too long and got root bound which may have something to do with it's inability to take up the stuff that I put down for it. I also think that the soil is more alkaline than reports in the soil analysis....

Pictures are difficult to see as they were taken at night. However, the leaves look to be just old leaves about ready to drop. Millet 91

I agree with Millet, looks like your tree just went through a new leaf flush maybe a month or two ago? And what your're seeing are just the older leaves dropping, which is normal, especially in a young tree that is establishing itself. Your little tree actually likes quite healthy. I think a light fertilizing is fine, and if you want less nitrogen, then use a fertilizer formulated for blooming and fruiting plants. That will helps the roots continue to establish without causing another tender flush during the winter.

Relax, it's probably just some older leaves, as it's been already said... Instead of just pasting the URL, use [img]URL of an image file[/img] tag wrapper, in order to embed an image file in your post.

Igor

They look like old leaves to me too. No worries!

Here are some more pics in better light:

http://imageshack.us/a/img832/2232/hbaqk.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img525/7671/hbdbp.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img805/6484/hbfy.jpg

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http://imageshack.us/a/img24/2505/hbhdb.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/2904/hbjd.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img268/375/hbsi.jpg

I would still fertilize, and don't be surprised if you see more leaf drop, but watch for some new leaves pushing out. You may have to protect this new tree during the winter, if you get some chilly temps. Just build a little frame out of pvc pipe and fittings, put a sheet or row cloth over it, then string up some mini-Christmas tree lights (not led, but the regular kind), pop the frame over, and run the lights all night. Be sure to flood the well with water. That will protect any new flush from getting nipped. It does appear to be a little nitrogen deficient to me, and perhaps a bit of transplant shock, but your tree should recover just fine. Way too early to consider replacing it.

The tree does not show that it had neither an iron nor a magnesium deficiency. Applying this chemical and that chemical in hopes of luckily correcting the situation normally causes more problems then it solves. The tree does appear to show a nitrogen deficiency. A nitrogen deficiency shows up on the older leaves of the tree, but curiously your off color leaves seem to be showing up on leaves of every age. Do you apply a lot of water to this tree? Still, all in all the tree does not look to be all that unhealthy. - Millet 90

Millet,

I water in the absence of rain but not more than once a week. I'll dig a little in the dirt and will not water unless the soil is dry to a depth of 4 or 5 inches. Could the ph of the soil have anything to do with a nitrogen deficiency? I've fed this guy with high quality fertilizer twice this summer and with dyna-gro foliage pro once a month (drench). I think that the nitrogen is there but it's not picking it up. My other trees have been on the same schedule and look terrific - deep green leaves and growing.

Best,

Skinn30a

Unlike other nutrients that are available only in a certain pH range, nitrogen is available through the entire pH range. -Millet 89

With the slightly curling leaves and yellow veins, along with your proximity to the beach giving you sandy, salty soil, and the fact that it seems as though the tree was planted this season and may have been root-bound, it almost looks and sounds like water stress - under, not over, watering, as unusual as that may sound for citrus. Most nutrient deficiencies result in yellowing of the leaves in various patterns but leave the veins green. Yellow vein chlorosis brought on by nitrogen deficiency is an exception, but tends to result in a very stark contrast between the yellow veins and the green of the rest of the leaf. It is your midrib and veins that are showing the most pronounced yellowing. As to why this wouldn't be affecting your other plants, I know not -- are they also recently planted, and did they appear to be root bound? It also looks as though the tape holding the tree to its stake might have gotten a bit tight, which can cut down on sap flow. You might remove it if you have not already done so - some pictures it seems to be there, others it looks as if it has been removed.

If your weather conditions recently accord with this diagnosis, then you might consider watering two-three times a week in the absence of rain, at least through the remainder of the warm weather this year, and perhaps twice weekly next year. You might see some leaf drop initially, but the tree should stabilize quickly.

Sooo... I'm pretty sure that my little tree is suffering from an over watering issue. I got to thinking back to when I planted it and based on what I know now, am sure that sinking the root ball in 3 bags of miracle grow citrus was probably a bad idea. A little excavating revealed that the roots of my little tree were encased in a compacted, waterlogged mass of misleading product - Fast draining formula my foot.

I dug down, starting from the outside and removed as much of the miracle grow soil as I could without damaging the roots. The root ball looked like it had just come out of the pot with tiny bit of new root growth visible - the new "shoots" of root growth were white.

I back filled with regular soil then dug a trench around the roots in an effort to start airing things out a little... See pic here:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I guess that I'm just going to let everything dry out for a little while before applying a little root stimulator and filling in the trench with some more regular dirt. Hopefully, I didn't damage the tree too much but time will tell I'm sure. Updates forthcoming...

Best,

Skinn30a

*Trying to extricate my foot from my mouth*. Actually the other thing that can cause yellowing veins is root rot - given your watering schedule, the fact that the tree was planted recently, and your sandy soil I didn't think that could possibly be the case, but I suppose generous amounts of sphagnum could do it. Apologies for the poor advice.