So I'm having some blueberries with yellowish leaves and dark green veins. Google says some sort of chlorosis. I'm trying to determine what deficiency is causing this, be it acid, or iron, or some other nutrient.
Some other details: I have a row of 6 plants. Only one initially showed this problem, but another is starting some beginning signs now. The others have some pale leaves, but I fertilized for the first time after putting these in the ground (2-3 months ago), and I hope the pale leaves are just newer growth.
The vein issue looks like it's most leaves, not just new ones.
I've checked the ph when I planted, and it as around 6. I added some soil acidifier (https://www.espoma.com/product/soil-acidifier/), and mulched with a layer of peat moss, then pine needles on top.
I'll check the ph again soon, but any ideas on what I'm dealing with here? Acid, iron or what? Best way to treat this?
Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/RVRmo
Once you've checked that ph and it's good and low that rules out one culprit.
They do like soil around 4.5 - 5.0
Next a watering and spray of Epsom Salts. This will quickly improve the leaf if Magnesium defitioncy is the problem.
Lastly iron. A little slower to work but a dose of sequestered iron should do the trick.
All are harmless if they are not the cause....but better to deal with the problem quickly.
They do like soil around 4.5 - 5.0
Next a watering and spray of Epsom Salts. This will quickly improve the leaf if Magnesium defitioncy is the problem.
Lastly iron. A little slower to work but a dose of sequestered iron should do the trick.
All are harmless if they are not the cause....but better to deal with the problem quickly.
Blueberries like a very acidic pH. If you are showing micro deficiencies either the pH is too high or you have too much phophorus which can suppress some of the micronutrients. I would use a complete fertilizer with micros and a relatively low NPK like vigoro citrus and avocado food. Epsom salts do have magnesium, but if it is one of the other deficiencies it won't fix that.
Magnesium deficiency does not turn the leaves yellow it turns the leaves and stems red and brown.
It is most likely an iron deficiency if your plant is showing yellow leaves with dark green veins.
Yellow all over may be a pH problem. Blueberries do not absorb nutrients well outside of their optimum range and they can only uss amoniacal nitrogen not nitrates. Sulfur will take a while to correct pH. Foliar sprays are a good way to give the plants micronutrients.
https://extension.missouri.edu/blueberry ... 0Strik.pdf
Magnesium deficiency does not turn the leaves yellow it turns the leaves and stems red and brown.
It is most likely an iron deficiency if your plant is showing yellow leaves with dark green veins.
Yellow all over may be a pH problem. Blueberries do not absorb nutrients well outside of their optimum range and they can only uss amoniacal nitrogen not nitrates. Sulfur will take a while to correct pH. Foliar sprays are a good way to give the plants micronutrients.
https://extension.missouri.edu/blueberry ... 0Strik.pdf
Hi,
I also had issues when planted blueberries directly in the soil (the soil ph where I live is high and blueberries like something around 4-5). They resisted only one year, even if I used acidic soil when planted them.
I didn't give up. I put them in a pot and buried the pot in the ground.
Please don't laugh. It's their 3rd year and they still survive.
I don't fertilize (thinking "organic"). I add every year a layer of peat (ph around 4).
It would be good to use rainwater for watering, but... I'd have to collect it for that and I don't do it. So, I decided to add apple vinegar (about 2 teaspoons per 2 liters of tap water) for lowering the ph - it's how I water the rhododendrons too. Again, I'm just experimenting.
I'm aware that at some point I'll have to repot them, actually to refresh the soil. Maybe next year.
I also had issues when planted blueberries directly in the soil (the soil ph where I live is high and blueberries like something around 4-5). They resisted only one year, even if I used acidic soil when planted them.
I didn't give up. I put them in a pot and buried the pot in the ground.
Please don't laugh. It's their 3rd year and they still survive.
I don't fertilize (thinking "organic"). I add every year a layer of peat (ph around 4).
It would be good to use rainwater for watering, but... I'd have to collect it for that and I don't do it. So, I decided to add apple vinegar (about 2 teaspoons per 2 liters of tap water) for lowering the ph - it's how I water the rhododendrons too. Again, I'm just experimenting.
I'm aware that at some point I'll have to repot them, actually to refresh the soil. Maybe next year.
Last edited by Algida on Wed May 18, 2016 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
I agree with you. I used ph test strips for determining the right amount of vinegar (apple vinegar only) to be added to tap water (lowering the ph at about 5 - a bit difficult to determine though, based on colors - but somewhere around). As I said, it's the 3rd year and they seem to like it. Never used tap water only - the measured ph is about 7-7.5.
During summer, when not raining, I water them every two days.
I could use chemicals, but I want to avoid it.
During summer, when not raining, I water them every two days.
I could use chemicals, but I want to avoid it.
When you say a spray of Epsom salts, do you mean dissolve it in water and spray the leaves?
I tested the ph, and while the color testing method is inexact, it seems to still be around 6. Is that off enough to cause the plant distress? I added some ironite+, which is sulfur, iron, and nitrogen. Figured I'm helping acidify the soil (albeit more slowly than I'd wish) with the sulfur, and adding iron which may also help.
Should I look into some of the quicker ways of adding acidity while waiting for the sulfur to kick in? I understand it can be a 2-6 month process.
I tested the ph, and while the color testing method is inexact, it seems to still be around 6. Is that off enough to cause the plant distress? I added some ironite+, which is sulfur, iron, and nitrogen. Figured I'm helping acidify the soil (albeit more slowly than I'd wish) with the sulfur, and adding iron which may also help.
Should I look into some of the quicker ways of adding acidity while waiting for the sulfur to kick in? I understand it can be a 2-6 month process.