Poncirus nutrient issues

[toehead]

All, I have a rooted Poncirus cutting with some nutrient issues that I am trying to resolve. It's been recently up-potted to a cardboard pot with MG cactus/citrus soil (which seems to be improving the symptoms slightly). Before this it was in sunshine mix #4. It's gotten, in the past, some very mild organic fertilizer in water, with no improvement.  It was last fertilized about a month ago with Jacks Citrus feed and Southern Ag foliar spray, with no improvement in symptoms.

It is currently actively sending out new growth.

The symptoms: New buds start off green, before getting pale/mottled with a very peculiar appearance. The stem also gets paler the longer it grows. Some of the longer shoots are entirely albino. Leaves on these shoots eventually drop off.

I've been watering with rainwater. The plant is currently in a grow closet with  a high-intensity light. It's getting plenty of light.


What should I try next? It doesn't seem to be in distress, but would like to get it greened up. I am sure there is some issue that is preventing mobility of some required nutrient.

[Ilya11]

I observed it also under artificial light.   For me it is due to too much infrared radiation that brings overheating.

[toehead]

Interesting! I'll turn down the light intensity and duration and see if that helps a bit.

[Millet]

I think it also has fertilizer issues.  Organic fertilizers do not work well in container grown trees, as there is not enough micro organisms to brake  down organic fertilizers into a usable forum.  Also, using an excellent fertilizer like Jacks once (a month ago) is also not a proper fertilizer schedule.

[toehead]

Yeah, I fertilize my other citrus with every watering (Jacks), following the recommended schedule on the package.

I'm worried about burning this one as it is recently rooted and i've always had poncirus respond strangely to fertilizer (Plus, foliar feeding didn't make any difference). If you all think it'll be fine, I can begin watering this with diluted Jacks as well and see if it helps. 

[mkono]

For what it's worth, I've also noticed discoloration under artificial lights. I am not so sure what I am dealing with is a nutrient issue, or if it is something else (infrared radiation, lack of humidity, etc)

[bussone]

For what it's worth, I've also noticed discoloration under artificial lights. I am not so sure what I am dealing with is a nutrient issue, or if it is something else (infrared radiation, lack of humidity, etc)

Stupid question, maybe, but why do you have it indoors?

[toehead]

It was only recently rooted (in December 2024).

Interestingly, this cutting is from another member here. I received it in early 2023.

After they failed to root hydroponically, I stuck one in soil in summer 2023. Most shriveled up but one made a callous and stayed green, so I kept it in soil. In December of 2024, more than a year later, it is woke up and rooted.

It'll go outside soon

[Zitrusgaertner]

In my experience, cuttings very often have problems with the roots. However, this also means that they are poorly nourished. I have also often seen that Poncirus is very sensitive to root disorders. 

[toehead]

That's interesting (and also somewhat my experience). Why then are Poncirus used so often as rootstock if they are sensitive?


I gave it some fertilizer today, and will continue to water with rainwater (or DI water) to avoid locking up any of the nutrients.

I really want to keep this one alive for two reasons:

- It's a northern variety that has better than average fruit
- it's a cutting from a mature tree and should bypass juvenile state.


Hopefully it grows out of this once in the ground. It's already grown from ~ 3 inches tall to about 9 inches tall with branches since december, so it is certainly vigorous enough.

[dk citrusdreams]

Ik zie dat vaker terugkomen bij citrus trifoliata zaailingen. Ik heb er ook meerdere met gedeeltelijk witte bladeren en takken.

Tevens merk ik dat jonge zaailingen die opgepot zijn nogal eens ten onder gaan aan wortelproblemen. Ze sterven dan in het voorjaar. In grote kweekbakken opkweken gaat bij mij veel beter. Geen uitval en veel betere groei. In kleine potten is het waarschijnlijk moeilijker om de juiste balans te vinden met watergeven. Te nat, je krijgt wortelrot, te droog en de plant is er ook geweest.

Zeker als de potten dan ook langere tijd bevroren zijn geweest heb je uitval.

Zijn ze wat ouder, 2 á 3 jaar dan zijn ze sterker. Degene met wortelproblemen haal je er snel uit, want deze starten veel trager op in het voorjaar. Verloren zijn ze niet, ze kunnen zeker nog herstellen.

[toehead]

Hopefully it will outgrow this issue!
Hopelijk overwint deze het probleem!

[1rainman]

Looks like a light issue. Artificial light has a very narrow spectrum. Mixing in a little sunlight and using different bulbs rotating helps a lot. I like the sun glo florescent bulb. Its a uv reptile bulb but puts out bright white light similar to sunlight then I rotated it with trying to get some window light and regular white flourescent from the store as long as its white orange ones dont work. Even though both bulbs are white they put out different spectrums. My meyer did ok in winter under that but did much better outside in summer but if I just used the same bulb all the time with no sunlight it eventually would drop leaves and be sad looking.

[bussone]

Ik zie dat vaker terugkomen bij citrus trifoliata zaailingen. Ik heb er ook meerdere met gedeeltelijk witte bladeren en takken.

Tevens merk ik dat jonge zaailingen die opgepot zijn nogal eens ten onder gaan aan wortelproblemen. Ze sterven dan in het voorjaar. In grote kweekbakken opkweken gaat bij mij veel beter. Geen uitval en veel betere groei. In kleine potten is het waarschijnlijk moeilijker om de juiste balans te vinden met watergeven. Te nat, je krijgt wortelrot, te droog en de plant is er ook geweest.

Zeker als de potten dan ook langere tijd bevroren zijn geweest heb je uitval.

Zijn ze wat ouder, 2 á 3 jaar dan zijn ze sterker. Degene met wortelproblemen haal je er snel uit, want deze starten veel trager op in het voorjaar. Verloren zijn ze niet, ze kunnen zeker nog herstellen.

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I see this more often with citrus trifoliata seedlings. I also have several with partially white leaves and branches.

I also notice that young seedlings that have been potted up often succumb to root problems. They then die in the spring. Growing them in large growing containers works much better for me. No losses and much better growth. In small pots it is probably more difficult to find the right balance with watering. Too wet, you get root rot, too dry and the plant is also done for.

Especially if the pots have been frozen for a long time, you will have losses.

If they are a bit older, 2 to 3 years old, they are stronger. You can quickly remove the ones with root problems, because they start up much more slowly in the spring. They are not lost, they can certainly still recover.

[toehead]

Looks like a light issue. Artificial light has a very narrow spectrum. Mixing in a little sunlight and using different bulbs rotating helps a lot. I like the sun glo florescent bulb. Its a uv reptile bulb but puts out bright white light similar to sunlight then I rotated it with trying to get some window light and regular white flourescent from the store as long as its white orange ones dont work. Even though both bulbs are white they put out different spectrums. My meyer did ok in winter under that but did much better outside in summer but if I just used the same bulb all the time with no sunlight it eventually would drop leaves and be sad looking.

Once it's warm enough consistently, i'll transition this to outside after hardening it off. It's in a cardboard pot, so I can plant the whole thing without messing with the roots.

[toehead]

Update: reducing the light intensity and switching to soley rainwater/DI water seems to have helped. The stem that was albino is beginning to green up and the last leaf that has grown has (for now) remained green. Still planning to get this thing outside soon. It won't be that long now: The switch has flipped and we are now in the 60's and 70's instead of the 30's and 40's