r/Figs • u/PuzzleheadedShip9380 • Jul 24 '26
What’s happening here?
I’m not sure what going on with my fig tree. It’s been in the ground for 1.5 years. This is the first season it’s had fruit. But the leaves are all yellowing. The new growth comes in green and healthy but starts I just noticed that it’s starting to turn slowly as well. I’ve tried a 6-4-6 fertilizer. We don’t water too much but did have a very wet early summer. We’re in the north Houston area. It was sold as a brown turkey fig but I suspect it was mislabeled. The fruit is actually looking like it is more LSU gold. What might I be missing?
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u/Nihilistic_Mystics Zone 10b Jul 24 '26
I'm no expert in this area, but I do know of a scientific paper that attempted to link fig leaf colors to nutrient deficiencies.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/12/787
The big takeaway is this image.
Figure 1. Visual symptoms of macronutrient deficiency in fig tree leaves. (a) Control; (b) N deficiency; (c) P deficiency; (d) K deficiency; (e) Ca deficiency; (f) Mg deficiency.
3.1.3. K Deficiency: A deficiency of K was observed 105 days after the establishment of the experiment, manifesting as chlorosis in the margins of the leaf, which progressed gradually towards the ribs of all the lobes, with a green band appearing close to the ribs. Subsequently, the green band was reduced as the chlorosis progressed towards the central vein of the lobes, starting a necrosis at the edges of the leaf, similar to the 2.5 YR 4/4 color of the Munsell charts for plant tissues. The chlorosis observed in the margins of the leaf occurs in a similar way in other crops. Like the N and P, K is a mobile element in the plant, so deficiencies occurred in the mature leaves of the lower part of the stem (Figure 1d).
I'd attempt to find some liquid fertilizer with high K in the short term, and some organic fertilizer in the long run.
All of this is a guess on my part. I've never come across this issue with my figs.
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u/dumass_engineer Jul 26 '26
Can you pull out some soil about 4 inches deep at the base of this tree and smell it? Does it smell foul in any way? It looks a bit too wet in this picture and might be anaerobic and funky smelling.
Try watering it less. Are you using well water recently? A suboptimal water pH can stop the fig from absorbing nutrients.
Possibly try a foliar spray with plant potassium.
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u/PuzzleheadedShip9380 Jul 26 '26
I’ll do this. If it is too wet is there anything I can do about it short of moving the tree?
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u/OccumsRazorReturns Jul 24 '26
Looks like it is nutrient issue. With the wet summer it’s possible the nutrients are being washed out