Return to the Gardening in Oz Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Tulipwood
| | |
Posted by tree_man Brisbane (My Page) on Thu, Apr 6, 06 at 6:15
| I have 3 year old Tulipwood street trees planted in heavy clay/shale with lawn around. When young, they grew rapidly to the point where I pruned back to allow roots to spread and provide solid anchorage. The roots had spread through the loose shallow topsoil but not penetrated very deep. At that point they were still very green, but over the last year the foliage has turned lime green/yellow and growth is slow. The site is at the bottom of a long slope, planty of sun, and after wet periods the trees get damp feet for a few days and I suspected that I was getting washout of nitrogen. After three weeks of applying liquid fertilizer some of the older foliage is getting slightly darker but I was expecting a better response. Another thought was possible shortage of calcium affecting the pH. Some of the older suburbs (New Farm, Windsor, South Bris)have beautiful Tulipwoods growing out of the pavement so they definitely don't require fussing if the conditions are suitable. What might be affecting mine? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Tulipwood
| | |
| If you are getting a response from the nitrogen (tho slight) then you are probably on the right track with the washout idea. Maybe trace minerals are also in low supply for the same reason. Wet feet could also cause fungus in the roots, and if that is the case you may have to say goodbye to the tree; it is difficult to treat in something so big. You may have to dig up some of the root to check. Also check for collar rot if you haven't already thought of it (around the base of the trunk, and make sure there isn't any mulch sitting against the trunk). Good luck. |
RE: Tulipwood
| | |
| Could it be that I have been over-loving these trees? The liquid fertilizer that I used was made from Dynamic Lifter (chook p...) broken down in water and, being natives, could the Tulipwoods be reacting against the presence of Phosphorus? If so, the remedy seems to be a dose of Iron Chelate...any thoughts? |
RE: Tulipwood
| | |
| Hi Tree Man, Mate, you are neck deep in something which I believe has caused many of us heartache - basic chemistry. In our attempts to address a perceived deficiency in the soil, we add chemicals. When things dont work out the way that we had hoped, we add different chemicals, continually tryng to find a mythical 'balance'. My weekend planting of Rhododendrons had me in agony over the right soil mix, and I eventually settled on a suggestion from the net - 50% peat moss and 50% native soil - but I have Don Burke's workds ringing in my ears : 'the soil that you have is probably better than 90% of the stuff that you can buy in'. If we accept that soils are leached of their nutrient layer over time, the question we have to ask is 'how do rainforest plants like the Harpullia deal with this constant leaching ?'. The answer is, of course, leaf fall from the forest. If I wanted to simulate this, the last thing I would use would be chook manure. Green waste mixed with cow and horse dung is my preferred choice, and it seems to be doing the trick nicely with natives and exotics alike. Hope this helps. Cheers, Artie |
RE: Tulipwood
| | |
| Artie, The trees are coming back, but not totally sure why. Here's a summary anyhow. Ph measured 7.5 so no problem there. Dosed with Chelated Iron for suspected deficiency but no immediate change nor deterioration. I read another description of the symptoms of nitrogen deficiency and decided that was close to the mark. Watered in some Charlie Carp with no imediate sign either way, but then started to notice big improvement in one tree which suffers less from rain water leaching, while other two are greening less quickly. Conclusion so far is that problem is lack of nitrogen from two causes: leaching, and competion from lawn (organic matter lost). Last action was to put away the chemicals and top dress around the root line with good quality soil. I'm hopeful at last. Regards and thanks |
RE: Tulipwood
| | |
Try a dressing of suplhate of ammonia,that should green things up,make sure you follow the directions on the bag.
Cheers. |
|
|
|
|
