Leaf problem

[sheba53]

The leaves on my Azelia seem to be going brown right at the tip. They look very healthy and then overnight the ends go brown.. Does it have something to do with watering them?.. All my trees sit on trays with gravel in them. I have put a pic hope this may help. thank you sheba53

[Tim]

How do you water and fertilise?

[sheba53]

I water once a week if needed (chopstick test). They are all sitting on trays with gravel in it. I use Miracle Gro every two weeks. 1 scoop to 1litre of water. sheba53

[paddles]

I don't have any azealias, (I can kill them easily) but I noticed that my pieris did a similar thing if I fertilised them, I stopped fertilising, and they (Well there is only one left alive) started to thrive! so, I would cut the fert out, and see what happens.

[Jamie]

I water once a week if needed (chopstick test). They are all sitting on trays with gravel in it. I use Miracle Gro every two weeks. 1 scoop to 1litre of water. sheba53

i hope its the small scoop.. the big scoop would be way to much for this. surely its the small one, anyway, even try cutting that down by half a scoop. and or get an azalea/camelia fert.
the other thing i am thinking once a week in watering. you must be giving it heaps for this to be the case. try cut back the water and give it enough each day so it can dry out a little. ie. keeping the soil moist instead of watering it like crazy then waiting a week to water again. watering like that could be causing root problems which in turn could be causing your leaf problems.

just my opinion, i cant garauntee its right though

jamie

[bodhidharma]

First, i think we need to know if its potted or growing in the ground? If potted you are over fertilizing, if its only being watered once that is nowhere near enough even being in the ground. Also can you tell us how much sunlight it is getting?

[Jamie]

[quote="bodhidharma"] if its only being watered once that is nowhere near enough [quote]

if it is once a week it could be to much if the water is lasting all week if it is in a pot, yes??
i would think so anyways.

jamie

[bodhidharma]

Yes Jamie, but if that is the case and the water is lasting all week then the soil must be atrocious. Normally if i water mine, then the next day, by evening it is dry again. Having reread the post they must be in pots but the water must not get away. Sounds like a repot to me with better draining soil. Root rot could be causing the problem to.

[Jester]

Hi Sheba, I don't know anything about Azaleas, but from what you are saying , it sounds to me like you are over-fertilising by a long way. I use 1 scoop per "5" litres of water and I'm prety sure that is as per the directions on the packet. Also, I only do this "once" a month. I'm no expert on dieback but perphaps that's what's happening to your foliage. The fact that it is the tips of the leaves that are going brown suggests they might be at a stage where they are rejecting both nutrients and water.If it were me I would stop the fertiliser for a few months. It may even be worth soaking the pot in a bucket of water for half a day to flush out the fertiliser. Miracle Gro is pretty strong stuff Sheba so you have to be careful.

[Jamie]

miracle gro- 1 large scoop to 5 litres, 1 small scoop to 1-2 litres.

i use this at a mix of one full large scoop to 5 litres once a fortnight, alternate with seasol the other week along with slow release. this has and does work for me

as bodiharma has said, i do agree they are in pots and i think a repot is in order, maybe not tease out and root prune but slip pot into a growing pot for now.

if the water is sitting on top of the soil and not soaking in for ages it will be root bound or really clagged up soil. not good. my trees are like bodiharma, i water in the arvo and by the next arvo they are dry enough to water again. depending on conditions. i water as to the needs of the tree and how it is retaining water in the soil.

hope this helps

jamie

[sheba53]

Thanks everyone for your help. Yes they are in pots, did a repot 6 weeks ago, maybe gave them too much water at that time, now only water each arvo if needbe, good draining soil, stand in tray with gravel, small scoop of fert to 1lt once fortnight, they seem to be very happy now leaves fresh and green. All my trees live on the patio with filtered sunlight and seem to like it there. No drying out of soil. very grateful Sheba