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In ground citrus issue

7 years ago

I have a mature in ground Satsuma growing in zone 8b in Louisiana, it is the smallest of my 3 mature Satsuma which are all over 20 years old, this one is only about 7 ft tall and about 10 ft wide (less than half the size of the others) It was planted in a less than ideal location, less sheltered than the others, and in soil that does not drain as well. There was another fruit tree (non citrus) planted next to it (6-8 ft trunk to trunk) which died last winter and has since been cut down. I have been trying to keep the Satsuma well fertilized this year, and things were going well up until about the 1st of August. Now the leaves are looking pale, which I assume may be nitrogen deficiency due to the roots of the other tree rotting. We have also received a lot of rain in the last 5 or 6 weeks, as you may have seen on the national news, and the ground has been saturated with water and just started drying out the last few days. Today I added bloodmeal around the tree as a fast acting nitrogen source in hopes it is a nitrogen issue. I was not able to get photos of the leaves today before rain started again this afternoon.

Any thoughts you might have would be most welcome.

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Comments (4)

poncirusguy6b452xx
7 years ago
You could use a pitch fork and drive 400 air holes into the not good soil for aeration. Please note that is only 100 punches on the pitch fork that can be done in an hour or two You can also use a drill bit in an electric drill and very quickly deliver several hundred hole. Use a small diameter bit 1/4 inch. You only need small holes. Drill near the drip line in and out 2 feet for a 4 foot wide perimeter. Scratch the soil surface the rain may have polished closed all the air holes in the surface.
Laura LaRosa (7b)
7 years ago
I wish I could help, but I know nothing about in-ground citrus.
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cory (Zone 7a, NJ)
7 years ago
I grow my trees in containers so not sure I can help you. However, Satsuma are smaller trees naturally and especially would be smaller if it is on dwarfing rootstock. As you say, it might be under some stress because of the extremely wet weather. Give it some time to drain and dry more and than give it more fertilizer. Check for bugs and also fungal infection due to all the recent moisture. If you find anything like that take more pictures of closeups and also the whole tree. and come back for more specific help.

Cory
Ike Stewart
Original Author
7 years ago
Well just 24 hours after adding the bloodmeal around the Satusuma tree it looks like it is getting greener already. I will continue to monitor and compare leaf color with my other 2 mature Satsumas that are the same variety, but planted about 150 ft away..

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