Orange tree

PaulS · Nov 9, 2014

Does anyone know what I could do with this young orange tree. We've just gone into winter so I brought it inside under my T5 lights which are on a 12/12 cycle?
I'm worried about the colour of the leaves as they've gone quite pale.
Is it too much water? I hardly water it at all any more as it seems to stay damp from when I watered it ages ago.
Any help apprieciated.

Weed · Nov 9, 2014

Looks like an iron deficiency.

Sometimes made worse by cold damp soil.

Mr. Hill · Nov 9, 2014

How close is the T5?? could be a little to close for the top leafs and is why the top leafs look lighter then the bottom leafs?? My wife has a few lemon babies in the window with out any extra light that are doing well.

MarcV · Nov 9, 2014

What kind of fertilizer do you use? Citrus are heavy feeders, especially nitrogen. Look for a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 5-1-3 with lots of micro nutrients.
Also, make sure to use a well draining soil. Citrus don't like wet feet, although you should never let the soil dry out.

You may check this forum if you're interested in citrus...
http://citrus.forumup.org/

Weed · Nov 9, 2014

They prolly stayed damp because the soil is too cold and that led to your iron deficiency.

Happened to both my key limes and lemon last year.

Easily remedied by moving them somewhere warmer and foliar feeding a couple times with something with iron until the soil dries some.

If you cant keep them warm and lit then you have to water a lot less. A fan will help it dry out this time.

PaulS · Nov 10, 2014

able eye said:
Looks like an iron deficiency.

Sometimes made worse by cold damp soil.

Mr. Hill said:
How close is the T5?? could be a little to close for the top leafs and is why the top leafs look lighter then the bottom leafs?? My wife has a few lemon babies in the window with out any extra light that are doing well.

MarcV said:
What kind of fertilizer do you use? Citrus are heavy feeders, especially nitrogen. Look for a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 5-1-3 with lots of micro nutrients.
Also, make sure to use a well draining soil. Citrus don't like wet feet, although you should never let the soil dry out.

You may check this forum if you're interested in citrus...
http://citrus.forumup.org/

able eye said:
They prolly stayed damp because the soil is too cold and that led to your iron deficiency.

Happened to both my key limes and lemon last year.

Easily remedied by moving them somewhere warmer and foliar feeding a couple times with something with iron until the soil dries some.

If you cant keep them warm and lit then you have to water a lot less. A fan will help it dry out this time.

Thanks for the replies guys. I havent been using ferts so I'll do that and let it dry.
It's not to close to the light.
Can I use any liquid fert for follar feeding?
Also is there a specific brand of feed that is 5.1.3 ?

BigB · Nov 10, 2014

I have an orange tree, the pale leaves on top are just new leaves, they get darker once they mature. If you're going to have it inside make sure it's warm, oranges don't like to be chilly constantly and make sure you use a citrus fertilizer, if you want to supplement a foliar spray try ocean solution, it has good microbiology and many trace minerals. You could also spray with worm tea too. I'd get some humus (reccomend boogie humus) and add some on top, maybe even some pure protein too

Orange tree

PaulS

Weed

Mr. Hill

MarcV

Weed

PaulS

BigB