What is wrong with my Red Jaboticaba?

[Tony714]

Hi guys,

I bought these Jaboticaba last fall and repotted them.   Some how 2 big trees turn red but small tree still green.   

Soil:  peat moss, sand, perlite, pumice
Water: pond water

[John B]

Couple of noticable issues. They are in too large of a pot for their size which is probably causing anaerobic conditions. Turning red like what your plants are showing is similar to cold temps negatively effecting the plants.

[SplorKeLZ]

I have heard that jabos prefer slightly acidic water, do your own research first bc im not 100% sure.

[Tony714]

Couple of noticable issues. They are in too large of a pot for their size which is probably causing anaerobic conditions. Turning red like what your plants are showing is similar to cold temps negatively effecting the plants.

we had couple nights in high 40°F.   blue pot is 1 gallon and yellow is 2 gallon pot..  are they still too big for them? 

I have heard that jabos prefer slightly acidic water, do your own research first bc im not 100% sure.

they are in peat moss soil.  I believe it's acidic .

[SplorKeLZ]

I have heard that jabos prefer slightly acidic water, do your own research first bc im not 100% sure.

they are in peat moss soil.  I believe it's acidic .
[/quote] you’re probably right, i have no experience with jaboticaba or peat. I am planning on getting a red hybrid though.

[shmojojojo]

I had something similar happen to a Grimal a while back. It ended up losing it's leaves, but recovered over the spring. Could be a phosphorus, or other deficiency, caused by the soil being too wet and cold. I have some reds in 1 gals outside doing great under 40% shade cloth. They're rootbound and usually pretty thirsty, but because of all the rain, I haven't had to water them since early December. Jabos and pots with saucers can be risky in the winter. I'd stop watering it and put it somewhere warm like a greenhouse if you have one. No rain and no direct sun. Good luck

[roblack]

Soil looks heavy and waterlogged. I would shake off as much of that dirt as possible (without hurting it), and start over in a new pot with new media.

[Jaboticaba45]

I'd cut the water, and wait. The red is from the cold.
You may need to do a soil swap as mentioned if it doesn't drain well.
Potted plants have a perched water table so in cases like these it doesn't hurt to re pot.

[John B]

we had couple nights in high 40°F.   blue pot is 1 gallon and yellow is 2 gallon pot..  are they still too big for them? 

I my opinion, for the smaller ones, 100% too big of a pot for SoCal. For the larger one, you may have been ok if it was during the summer and the plant was actively growing. That looks like  it should be in a one gallon container. I've killed lots of those seedlings when I treated them like other plants.

[gozp]

Your jabos are not happy with your soil.

Overtime your potting mix becomes compost which in time creates anaerobic conditions to your jabo roots.

I suggest changing your soil to gary top pot or gary acid mix. Those soils wont create anaerobic condition.

[John B]

Your jabos are not happy with your soil.

Overtime your potting mix becomes compost which in time creates anaerobic conditions to your jabo roots.

I suggest changing your soil to gary top pot or gary acid mix. Those soils wont create anaerobic condition.

I've always been interested in their claim that it's permanent. Their acid loving mix is just pumice and peat.

[K-Rimes]

That is classic cold damage. All of my jabos look like this outdoors, then they pop back to healthy again when spring comes. You can't go wrong with changing your soil to a very free draining medium, and minimizing the pot size though.

[Kevin Jones]

Looks like you are growing them in Zone 10... Cold should not be an issue?

Kevin

[K-Rimes]

Looks like you are growing them in Zone 10... Cold should not be an issue?

Kevin

Waterlogged + cold is what does this IMO. We get down into the high 30s at times in, even in 10a CA, and if it's soaked and that cold out, that seems to be what does it. In my case, I left the majority of my jabos outdoors not in the greenhouse and of course can't protect them from the rain, of which we've had a lot in CA this year, and then get down into the mid or even low 30s and even my grimals are crying like this.

I do think a very small pot can help, especially if the tree is fully rooted into it, because it can drink up the water faster.

The suggestions to down pot here are sound, as is free draining medium, as is cold damage. It's all of the above in varying amounts.

[Jaboticaba45]

zone 10 in CA is way different than zone 10 in FL.
my greenhouse is zone 11, and some of my jabos get red leaves due to the cold (40f)

While jabos do like water and can even tolerate standing water for short time periods, that should not be paired with cold. and Standing water is not good in general as then we get anaerobic conditions...Which disrupts the microorganism balance, and many other factors.

[Tony714]

it's possible it's water because it rained a lot for past weeks and pot tray is not helping too.  I am going to removed tray and bring in cover patio.  hope it bounce back.

thank you guys for your inputs.   

[SDPirate]

It has been a cool but very wet winter.  Most of my jabos look fine, I don't use saucers in the winter time.  Defoliation and ugly looking leaves to some degree is normal depending on the variety, while others may not be affected hardly.  We are already past the coldest part of winter and most of where my leaves have dropped already have new growth appearing to gear up for spring. Good luck with your plants.