Guava Leaf Loss
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Colleen Bourke
Posted on: March 8, 2000

I have two guava plants obtained from you. I wintered them in my greenhouse and both are producing robust green shoots but leaves on the older shoots are turning burgundy and then yellowing. Eventually they dry and fall off. What am I doing wrong?

Older leaves will die and fall off. On evergreens they just last for two to three years instead of just one year as in deciduous trees and shrubs. However, if they fall off prematurely, there often is a nutritional problem causing it. The way your leaves die suggests a nutritional deficiency of a mobile macronutrient. It may be potassium. Good sources are plant residues such as banana peels, manures and compost and natural mineral sources such as granite dust and greensand. Alternately you could repot the plant in fresh well-draining rich soil.

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