Erythrina caffra repotted and now going yellow + Feeding

[Rob_ct]

Hi,

I recently found 2 very nice (but sick) Erythrina caffra at a local nursery.
Stupidly, in the trees' sick state, I decided to repot them as the soil that they were in was like mud.

Having repotted them, I sprayed them with a fungicide to get rid of the black spot that they had.

The one is thriving (weak later), and has begun to sprout new shoots.

The other seems to be getting more "sulky" as you so nicely put it at [url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/bonsai/03/soil.html[/url]. All the leaves have turned yellow and are starting to fall off. There is no sign of new buds.

I know the tree is decidous, and given that it is winter here, is there a chance the the tree has gone into a dormant phaze because of the shock of being repotted + being infected with and treated for black spot + winter?
Our winters are not very cold, the tempreture during the days is generally around 15(or higher)degrees Celcius and above freezing at night. I've left the tree outside, but under a shelter from the rain.

I decided to give the plant some fertilizer, to try and encourage growth. Subsequently, I've been told that fertilizing right after repotting is bad. Why is it bad?

Having said all this, what can I do to prevent this tree from dying?


Thanks
Rob

[The Helpful Gardener]

Hmmm.

Not familiar with this tree, so any reply would be generalizing at best. That said...

Fertilizer is NOT what you wanted to do here; the repotting has left the tree with few means to absorb nutrients and the few roots still able should be growing in search of food, not bathing in it...

SO...shady locale, PLENTY of water (but not swampy; that's why it was sulking in the first place) and patience. If you have access to some micorhizal supplements, that would be the best thing for this tree right now. Compost tea would be the same thing basically...

Scott

[Rob_ct]

Thanks Scott.

The micorhizal supplements you are refferening to, iare they the same as Mycorrhizal supplements?

How is compost tea different from a fertilizer such as Nitrosol?

I've done some searching for methods to make Compost tea. Is the best method to leave compost soaking in water, but keep the mixture airated for a day or 2?

Thanks
Rob

[Rob_ct]

Sorry, ignore the post on making tea. Just checked the organic gardening forum.

But I'd still like to know how it is different from a fertilizer like nitrosol

[The Helpful Gardener]

Nitrosol is salt based nitrogen; compost tea is carbon (organic) based...

[Rob_ct]

Thanks Scott,

So can you never over fertilize with compost tea? I.e. can too much compost tea still cause root burn?

Thanks
Rob

[The Helpful Gardener]

Very low assays supported by biologicals that increase the plants ability to uptake nutrients; I have NEVER heard of burn from compost tea. Organic fertilizer is very hard to overuse; you'd need to use insane quantities...

My bad spelling is eveident; Micorrhizal, mycorrhizal, all the same...

Scott