My brugs, normally healthy and productive, have started putting out yellow leaves - anyone know what's happening here? Too much water?
Yellow Leaves on my Brugmansia
Here is one (a different variety) on my patio - also turning yellow.
Two much water could have something to do with it.
It is normal for older leaves to turn yellow and drop off. The yellow leaves in the photos appear to be the older ones. Without any specifics as to the care they receive, it would be difficult to pinpoint any other problem. One question though. How often do you fertilize? Brugs are food hogs. If they don't get enough fertilizer, all the leaves will look paler and the older ones will turn yellow.
I'm so sorry Bettydee for your loss.one thing i don't understand is ..if Brugs are poison to dogs and cats and people ,why don't they kill all the bugs that eat them.
Thanks, Betty Dee and Rose Girl! I have been using Peter's Bloom Booster (every other Saturday). It is 10-30-20. In previous years I used MiracleGro but the guy at a local nursery told me Peters has a better balance (it's also more $$$ - maybe THAT'S why they recommend it). Maybe I should increase the feeding to once a week?
I read somewhere that high nitrogen is necessary for healthy foliage, so I thought about using some of the Milorganite (6-2-0) that I put on my hostas as a supplement. What do you think?
As for water, I give each large planter about two gallons of water each morning, and the pot on the patio about a gallon. The excess drains off, so I don't think the pots are clogged.
I appreciate the advice from pros.
You are welcome,i use Miracle Gro and food on mine.
When I started lurking around the Brug Forum, Monika Gottschalk mentioned the formula she uses. The closest to that formula I could find was a hibiscus fertilizer with micro-nutrients and which contains half as much phosphates as it does nitrogen. However, given that Brugs can easily handle being fed twice a week, that got very expensive very quickly. We have only one box store nearby and MiracleGro was the easiest to get in large quantities, plus it cheaper than Peter's. It seems to provide all the nitrogen Brugs need.
Phosphates then to bind with the upper few inches of soil so plants can't really use all that extra phosphate they are getting. If you feel your Brugs need extra phosphorus, you will have to mix it into the soil just be careful not to damage the roots. You might consider going to a fertilizer that contains a higher percentage of nitrogen.
Even though your Brugs could probably use a bit more fertilizer, they don't look starved. My guess is the yellow leaves are just old. If you start to see younger leaves turning yellow, then there may be a problem.
I can't advise you on Milorganite as I've never used it.
Thanks for the advice, all! I've upped my fertilizing schedule and the brugs are looking better.
It's working! I've increased my fertilizing sked and my brugs are looking much better (and blooming like crazy!).
Beautiful job! Thanks for updating us.
I can always tell when my brugs are loading up with buds, I get yellow leaves and know to give a little epsom salts and extra fertilizer. Those growing buds take a lot of energy.
It is possible to buy a bag of micro-nutrients and it goes a long way. I will ck and get the name.
Yes, I'd like to have the name of the micro nutrients.
The micro nutrients is called-Essential Minor Elements by Southern Ag. it contains:
magnesium
sulfur
iron
manganese
zinc
copper
Boron
I also use magnesium sulfate on some of my plant made by Hi Yield.
Is the Essential Minor Elements available at Walmart or Lowe"s
Shirleyd
Shirleyd, No. I found it at a local farm store. I checked and it is available on line from several sources. What do you grow?
barbara
I grow some of everything. I have Brugs, hydrangeas, lots of varieties of salvias and cannas------and just about anything I find that appeals to me.
Shirleyd
Be aware those are minor nutrients and "too much of a good thing" can also do damage.
http://www.rodsgarden.50megs.com/plantnutrients.htm
http://www.a1organics.com/PDF/NutrientInfo.pdf
Checking the soil pH when a problem is suspedted and before adding anythings is important. Very often the nutrients are present, but are not available to the plant because the soil pH is too high or too low. Scroll down to Fig.2 in the following link.
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/magazine/?storyid=109