A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Kumquat weird problem

dear experts,

I have planted a Kumquat tree in a pot since 3 months and everything was going fine and now carrying alot of fruits, the location of the pot is south-west sunny all day long, growing mix is (peat + compost + perlite) watering (Saturday Morning + feeding with 20+20+20+TE fertilizer and Tuesday Night just watering) but the problem since two weeks the leaves from bottom-up start getting to red color as in photo below then fall , now the situation is worsen more leaves are falling from the bottom and stem become woody, and the weird thing that in the top where fruits are getting larger and larger and also coloring there are many new flowering , i have no idea what is the problem, i wondering what i have to do, i am afraid that i will lost it , please help

Welcome!

Could you try loading the photo again? It's not coming through for me. Thanks.

Off the top of my head-- and I am not a kumquat expert!-- sounds like you might be over-doing the fertilizing and watering. loosing bottom leaves might be normal for this plant. But I'll hold off saying anything more and leave it to the real experts!

This site has some information about citrus. http://www.thegardenhelper.com/dwarfcitrus.html

It says, for example:

Citrus plants need an acid type soil. If the leaves turn yellow, the soil needs to be made more acid. To maintain the acidity of the soil, dissolve one half teaspoon of magnesium sulfate (epsom salts) into one quart of room temperature water. Use this solution every two or three months. They should be fed with a complete acid type fertilizer (rhododendron, azalea type food) every three months.
Allow the plant to approach dryness before watering. Keep the soil moist, but never saturated.

thanks for your reply, what do think i have to do now? because the reason still unclear for me

Well-- I think the first thing you should do is STOP fertilizing it so frequently. And then when you do, use the azalea fertilizer as that web site recommends. If the new growth and fruit are fine, I wouldn't worry about loosing a few old leaves. Since I can't see the photo, it's hard to say what's wrong, but it could be the acidity of the soil. There are lots of ways to adjust this. I've even heard of folks putting coffee grounds on top of the dirt because coffee grounds are somewhat acidic. Also, rather than a bi-weekly watering schedule (which seems sort of arbitrary), why not let the soil dry out a bit (again, as that site recommends) and then water. Probably you'll be able to determine a watering schedule that's more in tune with what's going on with the plant and in the pot.

I'm hoping someone with more expertise about kumquats also responds to your query.

Add to Marica's post.

My Nagami kumquats bear fruits twice a year. It is normal for Kumquats to bloom while there are fruits on the trees. It is also normal for the fruits to turn from green to orange to a deeper orange color. At the last stage, the fruits are ready to harvest. What variety of Kumquat do you have?

Citruses whether in the ground or in containers are usually fertilized 2-3X between February and September. Try using a complete fertilizer [with N-P-K present] such as with a ratio of 3-1-1 [3 parts Nitrogen-1 part Phosphorous-1 part Potassium]. Citruses are heavy nitrogen feeders. A slow release granular fertilizer works best. See also the post by Marica about fertilizer for azalea and rhodo, or avocado and citrus.

Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Depending on temperature and climate, infrequent deep watering, say 1-2 times a week is better than frequent shallow watering. Try to water in the morning so the roots can absorb water and nutrients and allow same to travel upwards to the leaves through the plants vascular system. Kelp is good spray for the leaves.

really thank you guys for your valuable information after month of posting the problem , and by following your advice everything is going fine with the tree now and i started harveting the fruits.

thank you raid. that is so helpful when members come back and let us know how they made out and i am happy you were successful.