Dmitry Akselrod wrote:

Hello everyone,

I would like to ask your for expert opinions to help me with a couple of
troublesome trees.

1. I own a Serissa, about 20 years old. I acquired this tree about 6
months ago. It has always produced a healthy amount of yellow leaves every
day as well as a good amount of new growth. It even had a good amount of
dried up leaves in its pot when I purchased it. I transplanted the tree
and root pruned it (slightly) about 3 months ago. It has thinned out since,
which I guess is normal.

The problem is the yellow leaves amount. It seems to generate about a dozen
or so new yellow leaves each day. All signs point to overwatering, but I
don't think that's the case. I even invested in a hydrometer. I water the
tree when the soil is dry about an inch under the topsoil. It interval
varies with the weather. I feed it every 2 weeks or so and occasionally
give it some MirAcid (which helps lessen the yellow leaves for a while).
The tree sits in a very very bright window. Misting it or using a humidity
tray (I do both) has no visible effect on the amount of yellow leaves. The
roots seemed very healthy when I transplanted it.

The condition of the tree does not seem to get any worse or better. I would
just consider it a "Serissa Temper Tantrum" but there should be a better
answer. Is there something I am missing? Do you have any suggestions?


Dmitry: I am far from being a Serissa expert (or any other kind, for
that matter), but I do know that Serissa like a cooler and drier
environment then you obviously have in your apartment.... I would take
the advise of others about the wooden stick in the soil, but I would
make sure the stick is dry, not damp. I know it is scary, but I think
you will find less yellow leaves...


2. I also have a Willow Leaf Ficus. The ficus became water-logged shortly
after I purchased it. It was in bad soil that didn't drain well at all. I
transplanted the tree into good draining soil since that. I did not root
prune, but I did dig out the old soil out of the root ball a bit. The tree
is attempting to recover. I see tiny little green buds appear on the
branches, but most dry out, followed by drying out of the entire branch
segment. The main branches are good and green most of the way up. Only the
extremities dry out. There is one branch that has a great amount of growth
on it. There are a couple of more trying to start.

I left for a couple of days recently. When I returned, the leaves on the
branch that had all of the growth were very droopy. They feel solid, but
they are droopy. The look like dehydrated tree foliage. However, the soil
is still wet, to touch and wet according to the hydrometer. The weird part
is that the other branches that have leaves are completely fine. Only the
branch with the most growth is droopy.

I didn't feed the tree before I left, I just watered it. I don't know what
the weather was like during my absence, but it has been raining in Philly
for the past 2 weeks. We haven't had much sun at all. I think that there
may have been a day of sunshine. Could the tree have been shocked? To
not take any chances, I moved it out of the window and put it filtered light
this morning. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you all in advance,


I have a Nerifolia (willow leaf) Ficus forest that I put outside in the
shade and after two weeks in our cold wet miserable weather I put it out
in the sun. It became sun burned, and I brought it back indoors and
defoliated every leaf. I then watered the tree well (three waterings)
and put the treee in a plastic enclosure on a propagation mat. Within
three days I saw the green tips appear and the tree is in full leaf now
after seven days. After two weeks I took it out of my home made ICU.
If the weather everwarms up in southern NJ I will again try to p[ut it
out doors. Maybe you should try the ICU idea......


Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
http://bmee.net/rosner
http://www.jamesbaird.com/cgi-bin/Ja...d=00000068 48





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