Hi guys, I think my dorset naga has gotten a ton of rain and it being in a tall container (7 gallon bucket) and so its remaining moist for a while even with a dozen 1/2" holes in the bottom. Question is, whats the best way to help it recover at this point?
-
Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.
Dorset Naga very yellow leaves...
- Thread starter svtcontour
- Start date
Pics would be good. If it is "over watering" causing the yellowing, some kind of plastic tent over it the next time it rains would stop any new water from going in the bucket/soil.
I'll see if I can get some pictures tonight. I've even thought about moving it indoor by the big window for a week or two just to let it dry out a bit.
That would help too. Let it rest for a bit.
Here is the sad state of the plant. Its stil got some fruit growing (new fruit) and flowers but leaves are very faded and its dropping some. The small new leaves look more green though.
Unfortunately not where it would get some decent sunlight. Best hope would be indoor by the big window.
Its been raining off and on for weeks. I mean like 2-3 days of sun and then a day of cloud and some rain, then another day of sun and then another of rain..etc. Since the container is deep, it has never really dried out. I mean its not totally soaked inside but its not just damp either. If I stick one of those moisture meters in there, it will read 'moist' just 2" down into the soil and will read close to wet about half way down and then if I stick it to where the holes are, then it reads wet. I think part of the problem is that the soil has a fair bit of peat content so I think that holds moisture well right?
I was also thinking of iron from what I was reading. Because of all the rainfall, I have not had a chance to fertilize much. I use a Shultz brand which says to add 7 drops to every liter of water everytime you water but I have not been watering it. I think since mid may that its been outside, I've watered it myself like 3 times and only one of those times was fertlizer. So really, its gotten fertilizers once in 2 months.
Fertlizer is this one http://www.fukubonsai.com/images3/Schultz_5.5oz_Plant_Food.jpg
I did recently add a little bit of bone meal to it ( a week ago ). I added about 1 teaspoon to the top of it because I wasnt sure how much to add. The thing talks about using cups per x square meters..etc Something big.
As far as making a tent like thing. I guess I could but I dont have time until the weekend and its going to rain again so I've pulled it inside just to be safe..
I was also thinking of iron from what I was reading. Because of all the rainfall, I have not had a chance to fertilize much. I use a Shultz brand which says to add 7 drops to every liter of water everytime you water but I have not been watering it. I think since mid may that its been outside, I've watered it myself like 3 times and only one of those times was fertlizer. So really, its gotten fertilizers once in 2 months.
Fertlizer is this one http://www.fukubonsai.com/images3/Schultz_5.5oz_Plant_Food.jpg
I did recently add a little bit of bone meal to it ( a week ago ). I added about 1 teaspoon to the top of it because I wasnt sure how much to add. The thing talks about using cups per x square meters..etc Something big.
As far as making a tent like thing. I guess I could but I dont have time until the weekend and its going to rain again so I've pulled it inside just to be safe..
yellowing of leaves is usually a deficiency of some sort, i'd be looking into the iron
What you could do is a light foliar feeding; put some plastic wrap over the bucket to keep water off of the soil.
And yes, peat does hold water. You might add some side holes just above the floor of the bucket; maybe a dozen 1/2" holes around the circumference. That would aide drying and help avoid over-watering in the future. It would also help oxygen to get to the roots. Good luck.
And yes, peat does hold water. You might add some side holes just above the floor of the bucket; maybe a dozen 1/2" holes around the circumference. That would aide drying and help avoid over-watering in the future. It would also help oxygen to get to the roots. Good luck.
Ya its possible because I have not had a chance to fertlize much due to all the rain but I checked the fertlizer I use and it does have iron in there so maybe once the soil is a bit dry, I will water with a dose of the fertlizer and see if it darkens up after a few weeks.
Thanks AjarnV. I decided I will leave the plant indoor for a bit until the soil dries a bit. I will go ahead and drill a few holes on the sides. I have some holes on the side already but only 1" up from the bottom (in addition to whats on the bottom of the pot) but I'll also make a few holes and there about 1/3 and 1/2 way up.
I have plenty of plants that look exactly like that. A bunch were over-wintered. I'm blaming it on too much heat and too much fertilizer, even though I barely added any. I'm thinking they probably had enough in them already from last year when I used time release Osmocote. Anyway, I think just keeping them away from more water and outside in the shade will help. I moved a few of mine to the shade and they got greener quickly.
Gotta clear up the drainage issue first. Open the holes up a bit and get holes closer to the outside edge of container to collect the free flowing water that runs down the sides, particularly in a rainstorm. Doesnt matter how many holes there are if they are all plugged up with compacted soil. Also, if you can get the plant out, you should throw in a few inches of a well draining mix in the bottom. Maybe even a layer of crushed stone. This will get the soil line closer to the top of the container. Right now it looks like you have about 4-5 inches of space between the soil line and the top of the container. That collects alot of standing water. I'd also put in an inch or two of mulch, which will help absorb excess water and shed rain away. Just my $.02