My guess would also be a nutritional deficiency, and I agree with the repot, though it would be better if you waited to repot until June, when the plant should make the fastest recovery. Keep in mind, a repot is much more extensive than simply potting up. Between now and then, I would: * Flush the soil very thoroughly the next time the plant needs water and fertilize with a soluble synthetic fertilizer with a 3:1:2 NPK ratio. RATIO is different than %s. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, 9-3-6 are all 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers. I highly recommend Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because it contains all the nutrients essential to normal growth in a favorable ratio (to each other) which can be very important - especially so if you're using a soil that forces you to water in small sips to avoid root rot or suppressed root function due to soggy soil conditions. * Fertilize regularly with appropriate doses. We can figure that out once we know what you'll be using and figure out how close you can come to watering correctly. For best growth and vitality, make sure that when you repot, it's into a soil that allows you to flush the soil of accumulating salts at will. You'll be at a turning point in your ability to maintain healthy plant material consistently once you understand how much influence excess water retention has in limiting your plants, and how much easier it is to grow things when you can water properly. The ability to water correctly is also a key element in your ability to take and maintain precise control over nutritional supplementation (fertilizing). Questions? Al

Uh oh, classic herbicide (weedkiller) damage. If you or someone else didn't spray anywhere in the vicinity, look at this about contaminated compost & manure from WSU: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/soilmgmt/Clopyralid.htm Be certain to read the info about doing a bioassay. It's easy to do and will rule in or out the manure you used. Here is a link that might be useful: contamainated compost/manure

After hitting "Preview", I realized this post is LONG! Before you guys read enough to judge my intelligence and stop, I would like to thank all those that offered advice on this issue. Even if I don't quite show it, please don't think I don't value the experience I see here. In researching 2-4D, I found that it had a halflife of 10 days. I picked up the manure on Jan 31. Some of it was aged, some, not so much. Although the age is irrelevant as the manure may have become exposed to the herbicide after being... well, abandoned by the horse. Either way, whatever the concentration, it should have been at half strength on Feb 10, quarter strength on Feb 20, 1/8 strength on Mar 2, and 1/16 on Mar 12. Plants were planted on March 6. In looking at the docs provided by Jean, my plants appear to be much worse than the worst case scenario provided by the studies they did. However, with that said, it may not be 2-4D either, but something else that is more persistent. Or, there is the possibility that my neighbor sprayed something that I'm not aware of, possibly in his front yard (these are on the end of the bed closest to the front of the house...). Still, I would think that if this were drift, it would have affected more than just these four plants and the difference between plants four and 5 wouldn't be so evident. Either way, if it was the manure, and I believe we all agree that it is, I may still be OK. I don't care about these plants. There is nothing I can do about them anyway. Even if I were to pull them, I would have to put something else in their place and unless I dig out that whole end of the yard, I'd be putting new plants in the same position as the ones I'd be pulling. Besides, I'm in Texas. It's too late to be setting out. I've never put anything out this late and had it produce anything. The plants are going to have to die, grow out of it, or sit there and pout in a permanent prepubescent state. I had plants that had this issue last year on the other end of the same bed. They grew out of it just fine and ended up producing as well as anything else in my garden (it was not a good year). In the mean time, I'll keep soaking these plants to see if I can dilute down whatever is in the soil to levels were they are not longer an issue. If the plants die, the plants die. I have about 21 more. Like I said, these are experimentals anyway. Finally, I agree that this looks exactly like herbicide damage, and if you guys have not heard of anything other than herbicide that could cause this problem from horse manure, then we'll agree that this is herbicide damage. The main thing I was worried about was my compost pile. I used half the manure I retrieved that day on the spots these plants are now mixed the other half into my compost pile. The compost is about a year's worth and is finally finished. I used all I could this year and thought some manure and leaves now and coffee grounds through the year might keep it young and vibrant to be used for next year. While I'm sure it will be safe when next year's plants hit it in Feb-March of next year, I'll be sure to add some more materials to dilute any herbicide residuals that may persist. I was very worried that I was going to lose my compost pile (how sad is that?) The plants took 3 months to grow. I work on my compost piles year round!

Jennifer —-(Spraying with Neem Oil and or and other mixtures to eradicate the insects organically could still harm those beneficial insects. Some people will just let those pest stay on the tree because they dont want to harm them. Its a difficlt choice to make for some and you need to understand that some bad infestations that might get out of hand and could cause your trees to become weak and allow other diseses to slowly kill your tree. i always try and let Mother Nature work on the right balance of the pest verses the beneficial insets to keep everything in check. But sometimes i will have to step in and use more than organic to combact the problem. its up to you to decide what is best for your tree. Laura Even those that eat leaves ___ Katydids 🌺