Not sure if the poster you addressed will reply, given his post is a year old. His images appear to be symptomatic of the physiological disorder, oedema - see below. Given your issue is in the upper (youngest) leaves, it might not be the same. It's not unusual for leaves of F. lyrata to emerge with pinhead or slightly smaller size dots covering the leaf surface nearly entirely. This often occurs when the air is dry, as it usually is in winter or when air conditioning is operating for days on end. That particular condition is simply expression of the purple pigment anthocyanin, and it will fade as the leaves mature. That's said w/o my being able to see an image of what you're describing, which would be very helpful. Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. Questions? Al

Amanda, there are many cases of names being applied incorrectly; all apples of new york is doing is documenting that fact. If you look there is a separate entry for Canada Red in Apples of New York which clearly is describing a different apple and which lists Steeles Red as a synonym. It also mentions that the apple in fact goes by that name in Michigan, not by Red Canada or some other name (in 1904 that is!), which makes it nearly certain that the apple Denni had was in fact Apples of New York's Red Canada. Here is the Red Canada entry from that book: RED CANADA. REFERENCES, i. Thacher, 1822:131. 2. Fessenden, 1828:131. 3. Manning, Mag. Plort., 7:47. 1841. 4. Hovey, Ib., 13:75. 1847. fig. 5. Watts and Down- ing, Horticulturist, 1:482. 1847. 6. Downing, Ib., 2:289. 1847. 7. Hovey, Mag. Hort., 14:124. 1848. 8. Horticulturist, 2:483, 544. 1848. 9. Thomas, 1849:171. fig. 10. Cole, 1849:127. ii. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:101. 1851. col. pi. No. 42. 12. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1852. 13. Mag. Hort., 19:68. 1853. 14. Elliott, 1854:102. fig. 15. Hooper, 1857:76. 16. Downing, 1857:97. fig. 17. Warder, 1867:542. 18. Regel, 1868:465. 19. Barry, 1883:353. 20. Wick- son, 1889:247. 21. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:296. 22. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:247. 23. Amer. Card., 20:104. 1899. 24. Budd-Hansen, 1903:161, 276 THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. fig. 25. Powell and Fulton, U. S. B. P. I. Bui, 48:53. 1903. 26. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bui, 248:140. 1904. SYNONYMS. Bristol of some. Canada Red (25). Canada Redstreak (26). NONESUCH (2). NONSUCH (i, 3, 8, 13). Nonsuch (9). OLD NONSUCH (7, 10). Old Nonsuch (6, 9, 14, 15, 21, of Massachusetts 8 and 16). Red Canada (13, of Western New York 8 and TO). Red Winter (26). Richfield Nonsuch (10, n, 14, 15, 16, 19, of Ohio 9). Steele's Red Winter (20, 24, 25, 26, of Michigan 16). Steel's Red (17). Winter Nonsuch (10). Not the Canada Red of some portions of Ontario. See Roseau, page 292. This is a red winter apple which belongs in the same group with Baldwin and Esopus Spitsenburg. When well grown and in prime condition it is one of the best apples of its season for dessert use on account of its desirable size, attractive form and color and superior quality. It is well adapted to either general or special markets and often brings more than average prices. The quality of the fruit varies much in different seasons and in different locali- ties. When grown on heavy clay soils its quality in some seasons is decidedly inferior to that of Baldwin and would be rated only fair to good; but when grown on certain fertile soils of a gravelly or sandy nature in favorable seasons it develops color, flavor and quality fully equal to that of Esopus Spitzenburg. It stands heat well before going into storage and goes down gradually (26). Its season is somewhat variable. The commercial limit in ordinary storage is January or February, and in cold storage, April. Its season for home use usually extends from November to March or later. Although the fruit may remain apparently sound it is apt to lose much of its high flavor after midwinter. The tree is somewhat lacking in hardiness and is but a moderate grower. It should be top-worked on some hardier and more vigorous variety such as Bald- win or Northern Spy. In some cases it is an annual bearer but more often it is not a sure cropper. Waugh recognizes Roseau as the correct name for an apple which is commonly known in Ontario under the name of Canada Red. It is quite distinct from the variety above described. 1 For further consideration of this matter the reader is referred to Roseau, page 292. Historical This variety probably originated in New England but its origin is obscure. Thacher (i) in 1822 described it under the name Nonsuch and later Fessenden (2), Manning (3), Hovey (7) and other New England writers l Can. Hort., 18: 184. 1895. Waugh, Rural N. Y. t 62:143. 1903. Rural N. Y. ( 62:238, 282. 1903. THE APPLES OF NEW YORK. 277 recognized this name for the variety. In 1849 Cole (10) described it as the Old Nonsuch. It appears to have been brought into Western New York from the vicinity of Toronto, Canada, and afterwards cultivated in this region under the name Canada Red. The earliest mention we find of the variety under the name Red Canada or Canada Red, as these names appear to have been used interchangeably, is that of Watts and Downing in 1847 (5). In Michigan it has been often cultivated under the name of Steele's Red Winter. In some portions of Eastern New York it is grown under the name Bristol. It has been pretty generally distributed throughout the state. In some few localities its cultivation in commercial orchards is increasing but seldom has it been planted to any considerable extent, and, generally speaking, it is found only in old orchards. TREE. Tree medium to large, moderately vigorous to vigorous; branches short, stout, curved, crooked. Form upright to roundish, rather dense. Twigs medium in length, straight or nearly so, rather slender to moderately stout; internodes below medium to long. Bark olive-green tinged with reddish- brown, netted or streaked with thin scarf-skin, slightly pubescent. Lenticels scattering, not very conspicuous, small, round, slightly raised. Buds promin- ent, large to medium, long, narrow, plump, acute, free or nearly so, slightly pubescent. Leaves medium to broad, rather thin. FRUIT. Fruit medium to nearly large, pretty uniform in size and shape. Form roundish inclined to conic and somewhat flattened at the base, nearly sym- metrical and pretty regular but sometimes elliptical or obscurely ribbed and with sides a little unequal. Stem medium to rather slender, pubescent. Cavity usually large, acuminate, deep, wide, often partly russeted and with radiating green or russet rays, usually symmetrical, sometimes slightly fur- rowed. Calyx small, closed or partly open, pubescent. Basin small, usually narrow, shallow to moderately deep and rather abrupt, furrowed and some- times slightly wrinkled, often somewhat oblique. Skin tough, nearly smooth especially toward the cavity, slightly rough about the basin, rather clear light yellow or green largely overspread in well-colored specimens with a fine deep red blush, indistinctly striped with deeper red. Dots conspicuous, grayish or fawn colored. Toward the cavity they are scat- tering, large and often elongated as in Baldwin and Esopus Spitzenburg, but as they converge toward the apex they become more numerous and smaller. Prevailing effect very attractive bright deep red. Calyx tube elongated cone-shape or somewhat funnel-form. Stamens marginal. Core sessile, axile or nearly so, medium to rather small; cells symmetrical, closed or slit ; core lines clasping. Carpels usually smooth, roundish, narrow- ing somewhat toward the apex, mucronate, but slightly emarginate if at all. Seeds very numerous, medium to rather large, angular, long, moderately wide, plump, obtuse. Flesh whitish with yellow or greenish tinge, firm, crisp, rather fine-grained, tender, juicy, aromatic, rich, agreeably subacid but becoming rather too mild toward the close of the season, good to best Scott

Thanks, Lee. It's always nice to find out that someone finds value in the things we write. One would assume a nursery wouldn't over water their plants. In most cases, plants in nuresries WON'T be over-watered for a couple of reasons. One of those is that they are good at noticing signs that illustrate a group of plants need fopr water, or for just establishing an appropriate schedule on which to water. The second reason has to do with the fact that the plants often rest on the ground. When the pot is in direct contact with the ground, or if roots grow from the pot into the ground or through a ground cover cloth under the pots, the earth acts as a giant wick to pull excess water from the soil. If you use a soil that is capable of supporting 3-4" of perched water and you set it directly on dry ground, the perched water will disappear within minutes due to the wicking action of the earth. .... to clarify. Water when the skewer/dowel comes out free of dirt/dry looking? Yes, that's right. If you were checking daily or twice daily to get a 'feel' for how often to water, the ideal time to water would be the first time the tell comes out dry. IOW, you want to wait until just before the plant might experience drought stress before you water. With some species of ficus (like benjamina), you can clearly see or feel when the youngest leaves are just starting to lose turgidity. If you wait until then and pay attention to the interval since last watering, you can often establish an appropriate rhythm that should keep you out of trouble re over-watering. Do you have to use a new dowel every time? If you're actually using a dowel, you can cut a 4' piece in half & sharpen all 4 ends. If you're using a skewer, they're cheap, so why not use a fresh one after each moist pot you discover. Or, if you wipe the end off with a rag and wave it in the air between tests, it usually dries down enough that you can test a lot of plants with just the 4 ends from the single rod you cut in half. How much water do I flush it with? I usually suggest at least 10x the volume of the pot the plant is in; and if you err, it's better to err on the generous side and use more than 10x. How often do you do it? I use a soil that I can flush at will, and I DO flush every time I water. If you're limited to supplying small amounts of water to prevent soils from staying soggy for long periods, a thorough flush every 4-6 weeks is good. What do I use as the wick? Anything cotton? Cotton rots quickly. I prefer strands of rayon. You can buy a rayon mop head and pull it apart, or buy a man made rayon chamois and cut it in strips. Too, the nylon string ties used to tie onion or citrus bags closed very often work very well for drainage wicks (but not watering wicks). I have some of those that are 12-15 years old & still working great. Not all are created equal though, so discard those that don't work well. And do you tape it on the side of the planter out of the effluent. I meant to talk to you about the effluent. Your pot should be raised so it's above the effluent that collects in the saucer, or via other means, the effluent should have no pathway back into the soil. Reason: It doesn't make sense to flush salts from the soil only to leave a pathway right back to where they came from because the pot is sitting in the effluent. Here's how I do wicks: That covers how I do it before the planting is established. If the pot supports an established planting, I simply fold the wick over the end of a straight slot screwdriver and push it into the soil far enough that the short end is all the way into the soil. That holds it pretty securely initially and as roots grow around and into the wick, even more so. Is foliage pro 9-3-6 still your go to fertilizer? Yes. I might add a little extra K for some plants (tomato and hibiscus), but I basically use it for everything. I completely avoid any high-P fertilizers in containers. I consider a fertilizer to be high in P if the middle number (P) is equal to or larger than the first number (N). ..... it seems I will loose a bunch of leaves off the bottom. Is it ever possible to get that growth back? Yes. Once a leaf is shed, no new leaf will form in its place, but above the scar where a shed leaf was attached, there are dormant buds that can be stimulated to grow. The methods of activating these latent buds could easily fill a chapter in a book, so I won't elaborate. Back-budding will naturally occur if you can get the plant outdoors in full sun and plenty of air movement, fertilize it in what's called the luxury range, and make sure the root system is healthy and has plenty of room to run. You can artificially stimulate back-budding low on the trunk by notching or pruning the plant back hard. The hard pruning is especially effective when working with healthy plants at the peak of their food-making/photosynthesizing ability, which, where you live would be in June. Father's Day or the summer solstice are the easiest markers to remember. You mentioned the kids and learning. When I was a youngster, I went to a 1-room little red brick schoolhouse that had K-8 in the one room. Obviously, it was hard for the teacher to spend as much time with each student as they needed, so most of the time I read World Book Encyclopedia and anything I could get my hands on about animals or science. I only wish that the world of plant science would have got its hooks into me at a very young age. I hope your kids find something they love to do, no matter what it is, and have the opportunity to follow that calling. Al

I have two plants. One was turning dark brown on the edges. That would undoubtedly be from over-watering. The water meter read dry all around and moist in the middle. Water meters don't measure moisture, they measure electrical conductivity. Fill a clean cup part full of distilled water, insert a clean water meter probe and note it reads 'DRY'. Sprinkle some salt in the water (makes the water conduct electricity) and watch the meter move to 'WET'. It's much better to use a 'tell'. See below. I soaked it and the nursery said to take take it out if the pot and ket the rootball dry out. After I did that, I repotted and soak it. The advice to remove the root/soil mass was to pull the excess water out of it. Putting it back in the pot and soaking it undid what would have otherwise been beneficial. I also cut the brown off of the edges. No problem in doing that. You should find this piece about Good Growing Habits helpful. The shortest route to green thumb status starts with learning all you can, instead of trying dozens of different things and ending up totally confused by the mixed results. When you learn what to do beforehand, you don't spend your valuable time getting bit on the butt by mistakes; rather you use your practical experience to validate what you already learned. Practice that, and you'll leave the 'trial-and-error crowd' standing in your slipstream. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. The advice to water when the top inch or two of the soil is dry is almost always counter-productive. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al