Chlorosis

Shogunladyuk

Hi,
Every year my petunias and clematis seem to suffer from interveinal chlorosis.I don`t think it`s related to the soil, as it it also affects the plants in the tubs and baskets.From what I`ve managed to find out, it seems it could be a deficiency of maybe manganese/Iron ? I`ve tried feeding with a little Epson salts and Iron Sulphate, but so far, with not much success.Can anyone give me some tips on what to feed the plants to deal with this problem?
TIA

Kay_Peel

I don't know about chlorosis, but before you start using expensive compounds, try this:

1. For your tubs - fill a bucket with water and leave it to get warm in the sun (if there is any more sun! If not, put the bucket in your shed, garage or kitchen for the day.) Water your tubs with the warm water, instead of water straight from the tap. Use a small jug, instead of a watering can and get underneath the leaves, pouring gently. Cold water gives poorly plants a bit of a shock, but warm water right down to the roots and away from the leaves, is like a soothing bath for them.

2. Do the same for your clematis. Gently loosen the soil around it and make a dinner plate size crater. (Flat around the plant with an edge about an inch high in a circle.) Get the warm water and fill the crater. Keep filling it so that the dinner plate fills up and drains gently. When it's had a blimmin' good drink, fill the crater with a mulch - rotted compost or a piece of cardboard with some bark chipping to keep in down. That sort of thing.

Kay

Shogunladyuk

Thanks for the suggestions, Kay...certainly worth a try ...Not been much sun about in my neck of the woods lately...but I live in hope...Thanks again:beer:

renard_rouge

chlorosis sounds rather like an excessive accumulation of chlorine which has been taken up from the soil or that the minerals have been bonded by water-borne chlorine. If this is a correct summisation, the idea of letting water stand will have two benefits:
firstly the water will be at better temperature for the plants.
secondly the chlorine in the water will over time evaporate, therefore no longer being able to affect the plants. Other options include the use of rain water.

Good luck

phoilmc

Hi there

Your plants may give a clue as to what is going on - chlorosis manifests itself in different ways depending on which trace element is lacking. If your younger leaves are chlorotic/yellowing, for example, then you likely have a manganese deficiency, which causes yellowing of leaves between the young leaves (hence inter-veinal). Magnesium and iron deficiences also cause charateristic chlorosis patterns. Here are some good links for you to get further information:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0705/nutrient_deficiencies.asp
http://hort.ufl.edu/teach/orh3254/DefSymptoms.htm

Any good garden textbook (esp by the RHS) will also shed more light on this for you. It's a quite common problem in certain soils and although it is distressing to the plant, can often be easily remedied. The key, of course, is to find the cause. In some cases, poor soil drainage or the incorrect pH is preventing the minerals being available for absorption up by the plant, hence the deficiency (or deficiencies!). Rather than tackling the problem, it may be better in some cases to change to plants that are better suited to the soil conditions.

good luck
P

Shogunladyuk

Many thanks for the replies and suggestions...Much appreciated ...By way of an experiment,for the past couple of days, I`ve been using nothing but rainwater on my bedding in the greenhouse, as the petunias are already showing signs of chlorosis.:(... They certainly haven`t deterioated and seem a lot perkier, so maybe the chlorine in the tapwater IS the culprit....which brings me to my next question, if I may.My water butts are starting to feel the strain now, and I was just wondering how long tap water has to stand, before the chlorine is gone?
Many thanks