On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 17:33:04 +0000, Kay
wrote:

In article , michael adams
writes


If the leaves first turned yellow, then this may be a symptom of
iron deficiency, which is sometimes encountered in acid soils, where
the iron stays locked in the soil. This can be remedied by
feeding the plant sequestered iron, which is reckoned to be
a good all round "tonic" for camellias, azalias etc. As it
would need to be, judging by the price they charge for individual
sachets. However a single feeding appears to eliminate yellowing
leaves on quite large bushes 5ft plus, for many seasons to come.

That goes against what I understood, which is that acid loving plants
have difficulty in taking up iron in *alkaline* soils, as evidenced by
yellowing of leaves, when sequestered iron may help.

Someone please un-confuse me!

Iron does not become locked up in acid soils as MA claims, quite the
opposite in fact. He's got it wrong, unless there's a very unusual set
of circumstances he has in mind. I understand it _is_ possible to get
chlorosis in ericaceous plants even when grown in an acid medium if
that medium is deficient in iron, for example in pure peat, but not in
natural soils where iron is plentiful.

Both over-watering or over-fertilising can damage root systems,
depriving the plant of iron and other essential nutrients and leading
to chlorosis amongst other things. The OP said she was aware this was
a possibility, but didn't mention chlorosis.

The OP could try scratching the bark with her fingernail to see if
it's still green underneath, in which case there may be hope.




--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net