atemoya woes

[Hana321]

So, i have this grafted Gefner Atemoya that i bought from a mail order nursery about a month ago. The plant is small, about 18 inches tall. When I first unpacked it from shipping it had lost all its leaves, presumably from stress. Since then, i have been caring for a living stick. Recently, the plant showed signs pf new growth, and it has been budding some new leaves. But today, i looked at some of the leaves. And they look like the leaves are drying out at the tips. The bases look ok, but the leaf edges are drying out, and the growth it has is so small as it is that the leaves havent even unfolded yet. I know there are documented cases of Atemoya growing in this area, so what could be wrong with my little tree? Any ideas? Also, unrelated issue, i have a seedling Longan, and it has a weird habit. The new growth leaves seem to wilt down, and shrivel in the mornings. When i come around in the evening, the new growth branch is proudly outstretched, is this normal?

[johnb51]

In the future, if you're going to have an atemoya tree shipped to you, make sure that it will arrive overnight.  I had two in one tube sent to me, each one several inches tall but less than one foot, via regular UPS.  They came overnight from SW Florida to SE Florida, and they were in perfect condition.  I immediately put them in 3-gal. pots, and so far they're doing great.  I've had them a couple months.  So anywhere in SoCal to you should work.  Maybe JF could hook you up.

[Hana321]

This one came from Florida to California. I have another Atemoya seedling that came from somewhere in California, and i didnt have an issue with that one. Unfortunately, i wasnt warned that the tree took shipping that hard. I have bought trees from that nursery many times, and they are usually good about flagging the trees that dont ship well. There was no warning on this tree. It seems to have partially  recovered from the shipping stree, as the leaves are coming back in. I am just trying to figure out why the new budding growth seems to be drying out, at least partially.

[bsbullie]

Maybe give some details on the care of the atemoya such as where its being kept, watering, other care, did you repot and what soil, etc.

A seedling atemoya will be more hardy than a small grafted tree that was shipped.

[Hana321]

The tree is kept in a 1 gallon pot. I have it in a peat moss-vermiculite blend. The tree is in an area that receives filtered light, it does not receive full sun. Soil is kept moist, but i do not water it much. The seedling, ironically, arrived to me in good shape, and after a few weeks it started to decline, all the leaves wrinkled up and died, the stems started to die back. I thought for sure the tree was dead. Then, all of a sudden it stopped dying back. Now, it has one set of leaves on it, and it looks like a scarecrow, but it isnt declining anymore. I have a theory that i may have overwatered the seedling. When it first started going downhill, i changed the soil from a standard potting mix to a peat moss blend. I dont know if it helped, but the seedling is still alive.

[spaugh]

Are you using a liquid fertilizer?  Peat moss and vermiculite don't have any nutrients in them.  And the PH is probably quite low.  You probably should use a very dilute liquid fertilizer mix PH set to 6.5 and then also check the runoff to see if it is still 6.5.

[bsbullie]

Did it come bare root or did you bare root it?  Is the new growth abive or below the graft?  It may be staying too wet.  I wouldn't worry about fertilizer at this point.  Get the tree to recover and grow first

Is the tree kept inside or outside?

[fyliu]

Sounds like it's caused by the current high heat. If it's outside, it doesn't have to be in full sun for the hot wind to burn the edges of young leaves. The best place to keep it is among the branches and leaves of an existing tree. That way, the it's shielded from the wind and even has some humidity. Wait until next week to move it back out. The heat is said to be over by next Friday.

It would be better to get a larger tree locally if you can find it next time. We're in the right area where atemoya and cherimoya grow very well and fast. Tropicals you probably have to mail order.

[Hana321]

I Havent  a liquid fish fertilizer as well as a pellet fertilizer. I havent fertilized it yet. I have heard mixed things about fertilizing trees that are stressed, and i didnt want to overwhelm a stressed tree. I spray the tree/stick with Superthrive daily. I would have bought a gerfer locally if i could have found it. At the time there wernt any around, but i did find one out in LA recently. I may go out there to get that one. A nice healthy 5 gallon. This particular tree was shipped bare rooted in a bag. It was packaged well, but the leaf expolosion that occured after i took it out of the box speaks to the stress the tree underwent. The tree isnt isolated alone. It is surrounded by other small scale trees. I can move it to a more sheltered area. I do have larger trees. I also have some fully shaded areas up front. the shaded areas are a lot cooler. Although the area the tree is located it isnt as warm as a full sun location either. I would say that it is exposed to temperatures in the mid to high 90's where it currently is. I could try and move it into the house if i can find an appropriate location. I have cats so i cant really keep houseplants.

[Hana321]

The growth is above the graft. There is one bud of growth below the graft

[Hana321]

I water the tree only a few tablespoons a day. Soil is moist, but not overly wet

[Hana321]

Pictures if they help

[Guanabanus]

Super Thrive?  Is that growth regulators?  Does the label recommend Daily use?

[Hana321]

I got one healthy bud on there

[Hana321]

Superthrive is a vitamin supplent. Concentrated. Dulution ratio is 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. It does say it can be used daily, monthly, weekly...it isnt fertilizer. It is just a vitamin. It is supposed to be used in conjunction with a fertilizer.it can be added to the soil, or foliar which is what i am doing

[Hana321]

The funny thing is that i always heard atemoys are much easier, and less picky than their relative the sugar apple, but i have a sugar apple in the same general area as both atemoyas, and it is flourishing. Growing well, happy, just repotted it about 2 weeks ago.

[bsbullie]

http://superthrive.com/

[fyliu]

It sounds like just transplant weakness. Bareroot is not so good and takes longer to recover. My seedling that's pulled out of a crevice in the winter only grew a few more leaves up to now. It's still 8 inches tall but it's recovered in the 6 months. The plant itself is around 2 years old but I couldn't dig it out. Had to leave the soil behind.

I left it in the shade for a few months before moving it slowly to the light. Hot weather is much more stressful for weak plants.

[Hana321]

We are of course currently in a heat wave. Today's expected high is 113. It should be about 93-95 where the tree currently resides

[Bananaizme]

  If you have a place such as a warm and humid greenhouse to place it and basically leave it alone for a while , just making sure to not let the rootball dry out completely. I wouldn't give it any fertilizer at this time . And just use some patience now and fight the urge to keep trying to help it.

William

[Guayaba]

I tend to agree with a lot of the folks that suggest you keep the plant moist and in part shade. Plants ordered from Florida or Hawaii have almost always gone through a drastic adjustment period to our California climate for me. Given the lack of humidity and temperatures at or over 100F, it doesn't surprise me that the plant defoliated. It should slowly rebound and look good with new foliage this fall and into next year. Don't be too surprised if it looks a bit stressed over summer.