My Carambola tree, is this an iron deficiency? Pics included

[saltyreefer]

It’s a Kari, been in the ground for two months.
I haven’t fertilized it. I do give it a deep watering
every couple days from my artesian well if we have no rain.
Also it’s been blooming like crazy!

[saltyreefer]

Also I am in Palm Bay, Fl. Which is central east
coast Florida.

[saltyreefer]

 I’m concerned it’s dropping leaves.

[Budtropicals]

I've had a tree for a while nowc and while i'm no expert in Carambolas I think its normal. My tree gets fertilized and every year it seems to drop leaves around this time. But that's just my experience. I hope we get a proper answer here.

[EnglewoodFlorida]

Look for new flushing leaves, leaf drop winter in fl is pretty normal for carambola's.  All my trees look the same but have lots of new growth coming on this time of year also.. as long as you see new growth the tree is good

[greenman62]

mine always drops leaves in spring and puts out new shoots.

it actually doesnt look too bad... if that is white sand, i would add compost and more mulch.
they like a lot of organics... and the mulch keeps moisture even.
i was under the impression they liked some shade, yours seems to be doing better than i would have thought given the sand and full sun.

[saltyreefer]

Cool, I feel better about some leaf drop,
I just haven’t got around to mulching it yet, guess i
should before summer really sets in.
Are you guys fertilizing them and if so with what?
    About the sun, I wasn’t sure, guess we’ll see if
it makes it thru the summer there
 
 Thanks for the quick responses

[greenman62]

i use fish emulsion and compost, and in spring about 1/3 to 1/2 dose of citrus fert (6-3-3 i think)
and a teaspoon of epsom salt...
epsom is magnesium +sulfur which kinda depends on your PH and soil, i dont think it would hurt in your case. a little iron is probably wise as well.

[Budtropicals]

Carambolas do just fine in full sun. I have mine in full sun and it's doing great! Excalibur nursery also has them in full sun I believe.

[saltyreefer]

Thanks for the replies, I do have other fruit trees but have never grown
a star fruit. Yes, I just looked at the UF extension website and it said
full sun. Guess I just got lucky winging it lol
  I have to say I was excited to see a few flowers when I first planted it
but I had noooo idea it would have 100's of flowers at this point lol

I also have an avocado tree I have a question about but i'll start a new thread.

[pineislander]

The largest Carambola planting in the USA is here on Pine Island, 40 acres, all in full sun. They do have a wind screen around the planting but otherwise full sun. Right now they have pruned them severely like they do every year. I pruned my own the same a few weeks ago they responded quickly with new growth.

[saltyreefer]

That thing is HUGE!!!

[Budtropicals]

That thing is HUGE!!!

It's probably not as big as you think it is, look at the flowers for reference. I thought it was a giant branch until I looked closer.

[pineislander]

That thing is HUGE!!!

It's probably not as big as you think it is, look at the flowers for reference. I thought it was a giant branch until I looked closer.

They are large but this is a better picture of the grove:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=29381.msg348561#msg348561

[Budtropicals]

That thing is HUGE!!!

It's probably not as big as you think it is, look at the flowers for reference. I thought it was a giant branch until I looked closer.

They are large but this is a better picture of the grove:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=29381.msg348561#msg348561

Wow you guys really prune them! Is it safe to do that much damage to them?

[Guanabanus]

Normal leaf-drop, and probably also a little deficient in Nitrogen.  It is not showing an Iron deficiency.

[pineislander]

Wow you guys really prune them! Is it safe to do that much damage to them?

They prune them that way every year. they bear mostly on new wood or close to the new sprouts. The fields are big enough that they prune them section by section to stagger the harvest somewhat.

[Vigo Carpathian]

Newly planted carambloa loves to drop leaves. You should see new growth quickly after defoliating. Doesn’t look like a nutrient defficiency. Keep it out of the wind and give it chelated iron from time to time and you should be good.