Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian prune
trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply a few
pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency cause leaf
yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide a photo?

What kind of store wound I go to for a good price on 50 or 100 lb
bags of epson salt?

A few pounds per tree seems quite excessive to me, this is a trace element
not a major nutrient. If you over-do it you won't have a problem with
curling leaves 'cause you wont have any leaves at all. Another problem is
that epson salts is very soluble and unless it binds to humus or clay
colloids it will leach out quickly.

Here is another method that may be work if it is Mg deficiency. Treat some
(or all) trees with a foliar spray of epson salts, possibly repeated in a
week, if it is Mg deficiency they will recover quite quickly, that is within
weeks. For the longer term treat with dolomite which will slow release Mg
over time.

Another possibility is that the soil is very acid which tends to lock up
some minerals like Mg so liming or adding dolomite will raise the pH and
release Mg. A dye-indicator to test pH is cheap and sufficiently accurate
for gardening and can be used in many situations.

David

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian prune
trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply a few
pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide a
photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/


What kind of store wound I go to for a good price on 50 or 100 lb
bags of epson salt?

A few pounds per tree seems quite excessive to me, this is a trace
element not a major nutrient. If you over-do it you won't have a
problem with curling leaves 'cause you wont have any leaves at all. Another
problem is that epson salts is very soluble and unless it
binds to humus or clay colloids it will leach out quickly.

Here is another method that may be work if it is Mg deficiency. Treat some (or
all) trees with a foliar spray of epson salts,
possibly repeated in a week, if it is Mg deficiency they will recover
quite quickly, that is within weeks. For the longer term treat with
dolomite which will slow release Mg over time.

Another possibility is that the soil is very acid which tends to lock
up some minerals like Mg so liming or adding dolomite will raise the
pH and release Mg. A dye-indicator to test pH is cheap and
sufficiently accurate for gardening and can be used in many
situations.
Acid soil is common here in Seattle I believe, and it's been a long time since I
limed the lawn, so maybe that's a better idea

On 10/7/11 7:12 AM, Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian prune
trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply a few
pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide a
photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/


What kind of store wound I go to for a good price on 50 or 100 lb
bags of epson salt?

A few pounds per tree seems quite excessive to me, this is a trace
element not a major nutrient. If you over-do it you won't have a
problem with curling leaves 'cause you wont have any leaves at all. Another
problem is that epson salts is very soluble and unless it
binds to humus or clay colloids it will leach out quickly.

Here is another method that may be work if it is Mg deficiency. Treat some (or
all) trees with a foliar spray of epson salts,
possibly repeated in a week, if it is Mg deficiency they will recover
quite quickly, that is within weeks. For the longer term treat with
dolomite which will slow release Mg over time.

Another possibility is that the soil is very acid which tends to lock
up some minerals like Mg so liming or adding dolomite will raise the
pH and release Mg. A dye-indicator to test pH is cheap and
sufficiently accurate for gardening and can be used in many
situations.
Acid soil is common here in Seattle I believe, and it's been a long time since I
limed the lawn, so maybe that's a better idea

Epsom salts are acidic -- magnesium sulfate. If acidic soil is your
problem, this will only make it worse.

In any case, insufficient magnesium in the soil requires only a small
dose to correct. I put about 2 tabslespoonsful around each rose bush in
my garden only once a year. For roses, magnesium promotes the sprouting
of new canes. I corrected chlorosis in an Australian tea tree
(Leptospermum laevigatum) with a half-handful of Epsom salts without
ever repeating the dose; I merely continue to feed the tea tree with
acidic fertilizer (ammonium sulfate).

I buy Epsom salts at a local drug store. A small carton (about the size
of a half-pint of milk) lasts several years.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian prune
trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply a few
pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide a
photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/



I got a login screen and I don't have an account.

D

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian
prune trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply
a few pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide a
photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/



I got a login screen and I don't have an account.

It's the first time I tried it. I'll try to figure out the problem.

In article , "Bob F"
wrote:

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian
prune trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply
a few pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide a
photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/



I got a login screen and I don't have an account.

It's the first time I tried it. I'll try to figure out the problem.

Just change the privacy settings for the photo.

Amos Nomore wrote:
In article , "Bob F"
wrote:

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian
prune trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply
a few pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide
a photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/



I got a login screen and I don't have an account.

It's the first time I tried it. I'll try to figure out the problem.

Just change the privacy settings for the photo.

OK - settings changed. Can anyone see it now?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/

In article , "Bob F"
wrote:

Amos Nomore wrote:
In article , "Bob F"
wrote:

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian
prune trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should apply
a few pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide
a photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/



I got a login screen and I don't have an account.

It's the first time I tried it. I'll try to figure out the problem.

Just change the privacy settings for the photo.

OK - settings changed. Can anyone see it now?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/

Yes. Have you ruled-out aphids and whiteflies, etc.?

Bob F wrote:
Amos Nomore wrote:
In article , "Bob F"
wrote:

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Bob F wrote:
I've just been told that the curled under leaves on my italian
prune trees are caused by magnesiom deficiency and I should
apply a few pounds of epson salts under each tree.

Is the diagnosis likely to be accurate? Location is Seattle.


I don't know about leaves curling, I thought magnesium deficiency
cause leaf yellowing especially in older leaves. Can you provide
a photo?

Photo here (I hope)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/



I got a login screen and I don't have an account.

It's the first time I tried it. I'll try to figure out the problem.

Just change the privacy settings for the photo.

OK - settings changed. Can anyone see it now?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/

Yes. I doubt even more that it is magnesium deficiency but I cannot help
with what it is.

D

"Bob F" wrote in message

(snip)
OK - settings changed. Can anyone see it now?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68364065@N07/6220401824/

Yup - can see it. It doesn't look too bad really, but I do agree with David
about magnesium deficiency - it doesnt' look like the descriptions given for
that. It's not a stunningly healthy look, but then I wouldn't be overly
worried about it either.

How long ago were the pics taken? You'd be just about to go into Autumn
leaf loss soonish wouldn't you? If so, I'd not do anything to it until next
Spring and then if it looks as sad as it does in the pics, I'd try the usual
things - check the moisture level, give it a feed with pelleted chook poo,
give it a watering with a 2 gall can to which a teaspoon of trace elements
have been added, give it some seaweed/fish emulsion, mulch it. (Not
altogether mind you, try one thing at a time and keep an evil eye on it's
progress).

HTH.

Doesn't appear to be a Mg problem. Looks more like verticillium wilt
but that is a " looks like", not any confirmation.
Again don't go dumping a bunch of Epsom salts until you can accurately
diagnose the problem Hopefully its not silver leaf as mentioned.
You can prune a small branch to see If a brown core is running through
it... if so, you got silver leaf and a whole set of new problems. If
not, you are in the clear.

Don't know about false silver leaf, that is an environmental problem
and could be an issue. Yet again, I recommend you talk to your local
Master Gardener or go directly to WSU's diagnosis lab to get an
assessment on your own:
http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/plantcli...mples/ppd.html.

We have seen an increase in mildews, fungi up here the last few years
with the present Pacific Decadal Oscillation, So yes we are heading
into winter and the leaves will fall but many of these problems do not
go away and will reappear next year, so watch for early signs and
accurately treat .

good luck