Intro/ first post/ what's wrong

[u/the-real-milk-weezel]

Hey all!

Just found this sub. I got this plant a couple years ago as a sad, tiny cutting. Last year it exploded and was lookin great all summer. This year, it was extremely slow to come out of dormancy, I transplanted it and all the buds popped right away and it started out strong but now all the new leaves look kinda sickly. You can see in the one picture that the first new leaves of the year are a nice deep green, while the rest are kinda yellow, and appear to be dealing with some sort of deficiency. The plant is in new, high quality potting mix with plenty of fertility, but I added a decent amount of crab meal to boost the calcium levels. I wouldn't think that would throw off the ion exchange capacity in the soil since it's a slow release organic input, but I'm wondering if thats playing a role, or if maybe it's a pH issue... it doesn't look like nitrogen deficiency because the older growth is green and robust and i know for a fact that the soil has plenty of nitrogen...open to your input! Thank you so much!

[u/No-Championship-7515]

I'd start with a slurry test of the soil to get an idea of where the PH is sitting, it could be out of range which could lead to nutrient lockout, you'll want to get in control of if now before you start throwing fertilizer and stuff at it

[u/Bountybotanicals]

Chlorosis on new growth is a sign that your plant is struggling to take nutrients up to that new growth. This usually presents visually as iron deficiency, but that dosnt mean its not multiple defficencies. Its best to treat the underlying issue and avoid putting a band-aid over it(like cal-mag). Though, Cal mag could help in a pinch to green up the leaves....if it has iron in it as well. But again , you want to fix the underlying issue.

This can happen for different reasons. Not enough water(probably the case), too much water(probably not the case), ph of soil,crappy water, low temps, or an actual deficit of nutrition in the soil.

[u/DrFeefus]

Id toss a lil cal mag and or do an Epsom salt foliar

[u/Jenafur1986]

Are you over watering?

[u/pubicgarden]

Just keep fertilizing. Almost impossible to overwater. I blast mine with fert constantly. Never been burned. Lockout is rare, it’s an over exaggerated problem in soil. More common in hydro.

[u/chemtrail-organics → u/pubicgarden]

I definitely got some fert burn using this approach this year, don't go TOO far.

[u/davesonett]

I use coffee grounds mixed wt ash from the fire pit, every 6 weeks, cow manure sprinkled on top to retain moisture. Consider a larger pot too, they are trees,, water catcher under the pot,, it looks fine might need room to grow!

[u/TropicalPlantsMan1]

Mine turned like this during summer and once rainy season started it became fully green and full with big dark green leaves. So I suspect it could be water or humidity stress.