Wow! Such passion. Maybe I came to the right place.
Heckle, sulfur also caught my eye, but it doesn't really fit either. Here's the best I found for
iron:
New leaves are the most symptomatic and when condition is most severe they can be all yellow or white but still have green veins.
Pale, yes. There is a hair-thin green color to the veins. Suggestive.
Overall you see yellow leaves with green veins leading to marginal scorching or browning of leaf tips.
None of this. The oldest leaves seem unaffected.
Tip leaves, especially basal areas of leaflets, intense chlorotic mottling; stem near tip also yellow.
I don't how to interpret most of this. The stem is not yellow at the tips, though a few show purple streaks in the leaf stem, extending part way up into the leaf.
Fruits have poor color.
N/A. Nothing has produced yet.
Shoot diameter is small.
Not that I noticed.
Iron deficit often occurs when the soil pH is higher than 7.5 meaning it is more alkaline.
IIRC, base MCMG is around 6.0. This is my first year using D/FW tap water. I don't think it's alkaline, but I'll check. There is some dissolved mineral content. In any event, all 35 pots get the same water.
Lack of Fe is common in plants living next to concrete walls, foundations etc.
This is a balcony grow with a concrete slab. But only large pots are sitting on concrete. The smaller, most affected, pots are all on racks.
Additional observations: The affected new leaves seem stunted or misshapen, though not badly so. The basal shoot that is all pale has something else going on - the larger leaves are finely mottled and are thin, almost brittle. I'll see if I can get a revealing pic.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
You have it backwards. Intense light will cause dark green growth. A lack thereof will cause pale, etiolated growth at meristems - like you are seeing. Get them some more light and it ought to correct your problem.
Good luck!
Thanks, but I didn't say no light. I said no direct sun. There is plenty of light - 14 hours of bright shade. I rented this place because it has a southern exposure above the trees. But I rented when the sun was low and didn't realize that at the solstice the balcony is in full shade. (And only my balcony. Most of the others on this side of the building get good sun.) Now that the solstice has passed the big pots along the railing get up to 3 hours of sun, which time will improve as the year goes on.
Frankly, I'm surprised at how well the plants are doing without full sun. The Brazilian Starfish seem especially comfortable without. I'm sure that I'll have better growth with sun. Fortunately, we have a long growing season here. (Double fortunate because I got a late start this year - late March.)
Heckle said:
You ever give it plain water?
Most of the time. I also let the water sit for as long as possible to off-gas.
