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California Gardening

Why does my Michelia Champaca loose leaves?

15 years ago

Hi,

I have a Michelia Champaca in ground for several years. It's about 10 feet tall, has a few blossoms, but very little leaves. It sheds leaves all year round and faster than the new leaves can come out.

I water it once a week (with a significant amount of water).

Is it too much water, or too little water, or not enough feterlizer?

Any suggestions will breatly apprciated.

Thanks.

KT

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Comments (4)

steveberry
15 years ago
I'm up here in the Bay Area, and mine is in a pot. I had a similar experience until I started fertilizing, mulching with compost, and watering it more regularly with an automatic drip system. I've since seen a great improvement. Still drops some leaves, but the tree looks much much better. I'm no expert on it, but that was my experience-- feed more and water more. I water mine 3 times a week for 1/2 each time. Of course, mine's in a pot.

Oh, and I've also been getting more flowers,so that was a good point too!!

Good luck. :)
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hosenemesis
15 years ago
I don't think they like it here. When they look pathetic at the nursery you can rest assured that you have done nothing wrong.
Renee
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Twice a day seems a bit excessive; you might use it maybe twice a WEEK for the first week and then maybe weekly thereafter until the plant looks like it's recovering. I've never made my own seaweed solution, so am not sure how strong it should be. As a rule of thumb, generally, you should use enough so that when mixed with water, the water looks like weak tea. But I think you need to do some Google research first because, as I said, I've never made it from scratch. (I also assumed it would be made from fresh seaweed--but once again I'm guessing.) So please do some research first. If you can't find CloudCover, maybe you can find a similar product under a different brandname. Probably best to visit a nursery and ask staff there for help; they should be able to direct you to the right product. And maybe you could buy some commercial seaweed solution while you're there so that you have instructions to follow, and save your home-made seaweed when you've done some more research on how to make and apply it safely.
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greenwitch
15 years ago
I am pretty sure they like more acidic soil (than normally found in Calif.), excellent drainage, fairly consistant moisture content (but not soggy) and humidity. I would make sure it was blanketed with a nice thick mulch too.
Leaf loss is a sign of stress.
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
15 years ago
Mine is on the east side of the house with morning sun, in well drained acidic soil. It gets plenty of water but has never been fertilized. A nearby Hydrangea has grown right up through it. Al
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